09 April, 2016

SECOND EDITION

SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016

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Chaitra 26, 1422, Rajab 1, 1437

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 354

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

Banshkhali was unaware of rally ban 'Scrap power plant project by today'

Hussain and Adil n Anwar Sakhawat from Banshkhali The locals of Banshkhali who joined the pre-scheduled anti-coal plant rally at Gondamara on Monday afternoon were not aware of the ban on gathering slapped by the administration only hours ago.

They were also in the dark about the counter-rally announced for the same venue and time by the rival group that comprises members of the ruling party and some supporters of the proposed power plant.

This is why they could not anticipate that the law enforcers might prevent them from gathering on the West Gondamara Primary School premises, and open fire causing massive casualties.

Four people were killed by gunshots and over 30 others sustained injuries on that day after the law enforcers and the pro-coal plant supporters attacked them to foil the demonstration, witnesses say.

The upazila administration claims that they imposed Section 144 in the morning and announced it through loudspeakers in the area.

Locals, however, refuted the claim saying they did not hear any announcement.

Local police claim that they were compelled to open fire as the protesters armed with local firearms and sharp weapons wanted

n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong

INSIDE

A Bangladesh branch of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) on Friday claimed responsibility for the murder of a secular activist after he criticised Islamists on social media, a US monitoring group said, as the government vowed to catch his killers.

Ansar al-Islam said its operatives were behind the murder of Nazimuddin Samad, a 26-year-

Tonu’s close ones quizzed again Family and friends of Tonu have been interrogated again by the Criminal Investigation Department.  PAGE 3

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

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Members of rights bodies and environmental groups listening to the locals at Gondamara of Banshkhali about Monday’s killings and their concerns regarding the planned 1,224MW coal-based power plant in the area DHAKA TRIBUNE to defy the ban and turned unruly against the law enforcers. But the deaths occurred due to gunfights among the two rival groups.

The locals say that they announced the protest rally on Monday morning after learning that around seven of the protesters had been picked up by the police the previous night.

Earlier some 30,000 protest-

AQIS claims murder of Nazimuddin n AFP

and subsequently faced resistance by the villagers. A case was filed over the protest the next day based on which the police detained seven people.

Banshkhali lawmaker Mostafizur Rahman on Thursday blamed local BNP leader Liakat Ali, who is also the convenor of the anti-plant committee, for the clashes and

The locals of Banshkhali agitating against the proposed 1,224MW coal power plant by S Alam Group issued an ultimatum yesterday asking the authorities to scrap the project by this evening.

Liakat Ali, convener of the Homestead and Graveyard Protection Committee, made the announcement from a condolence rally held on the West Gondamara Primary School premises to pay respect to the four protesters killed on Monday.

“I want to make it clear that this is not a movement of any political party. Rather, it is the movement of the people. I urge the prime minister to give a second thought to the proposed project before the problem deepens. Please resolve the problem without further delay,” said Liakat, also the former chairman of Gondamara Union.

He also announced to lay siege to the UNO office tomorrow morning wearing burial clothes if the project was not cancelled by the deadline.

old law student who was killed Wednesday in Dhaka by assailants carrying machetes, SITE Intelligence Group said.

“This operation was conducted to teach a lesson to the blasphemers of this land whose poisonous tongues are constantly abusing Allah ... the religion of Islam and the Messenger ... under the pretext of so-called ‘freedom of speech’,” Mufti Abdullah Ashraf, a spokesman  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Keraniganj ready for central jail shift The Dhaka Central Jail’s new complex in Tegharia, Keraniganj, will soon become operational, with all male prisoners transferred there.  PAGE 5

ers gathered at Gondamara and exchanged views with the representatives of the police and the administration on March 23. They demanded that the government shift the plant away from the crowded area as it would affect some 7,000 households and other establishments.

Despite that, the pro-plant supporters went to the area on April 2

US considers refuge for bloggers n Tribune Desk The United States has condemned as “barbaric” the latest killing in Bangladesh of an outspoken opponent of radical Islam and said it is considering granting refuge to a select number of bloggers who face imminent danger.

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner on Thursday strongly condemned the murder of Nazimuddin Samad and told reporters the US offers “unwavering support to the Bangladeshi people in their struggle against violent extremism,” reports the Associated Press.

Assailants hacked and shot to death 28-year-old law student Nazim on Wednesday night on a street in Dhaka. The unidentified attackers shouted “Allahu Akbar,” or “Allah is great,” and escaped by motorcycle.

At least five secular bloggers and publishers were killed in similar attacks last year. That has heightened concern that religious extremists are getting a foothold in Bangladesh, a Muslim country with traditions of secularism and tolerance, and that authorities are failing to provide protection.

In December, US-based human

Hopes and fears over Ganges project Bihar representatives are up in arms against a plan by the Indian central government to build 15 small barrages on the Ganges.  PAGE 32

rights groups urged the US to offer “humanitarian parole” for Bangladeshi writers targeted by extremists for their secular beliefs. Karin Deutsch Karlekar of PEN America reiterated that call to the US and other countries Thursday, saying that Nazim’s killing “is a cruel illustration of the costs of inaction.”

Mark Toner said that humanitarian parole for a select number of bloggers who continue to be under “imminent danger” is one option under consideration, but referred questions on it to the Homeland Security Department.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

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JnU student Nazimuddin Samad buried n Our Correspondent, Sylhet Jagannath University student Nazimuddin Samad, who was killed by suspected militants in Dhaka on Wednesday night, has been laid to rest at his village home in Sylhet, his family says.

His body was taken to Boraut village in Bianibazar on yester-

day morning. He was buried at his family graveyard after a namaz-ejanaza at the local mosque, his uncle Sadek Ahmed Sajal said.

Nazim, fifth among his seven siblings, was also a pro-Awami League activist. He campaigned for secularism on Facebook and was critical of radical Islamists, his friends said.

A pall of gloom descended on

the village when his body was taken there. His mother and sisters fainted several times while mourning his loss.

The 28-year-old, also a Gonojagoron Moncho activist, was hacked and shot to death by suspected radicals at Sutrapur. Police say the pattern of the attack resembled recent assaults by banned militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla

Team and that the killers were professionals. No militant organisation has claimed responsibility.

Meanwhile, a murder case was filed with Sutrapur police on Thursday night by Sub-Inspector Nurul Islam, Investigation Officer Inspector Samir Chandra Sutrodhor said.

Samir told Dhaka Tribune that

they were investigating the case considering all possible aspects.

Police also quizzed Sohel Ahmed, who went for a walk with the victim before the attack. Shop owners near the murder spot have also been questioned.

“We are still looking into the matter,” the police officer said. “We are yet to make any breakthrough.” l

gans including “stop the culture of impunity, save secular Bangladesh.”

“It is very worrying,” said Imran H Sarker, the spokesperson for Bangladesh’s biggest secular activists’ group Gonojagoron Moncho.

“We wonder whether the government actually has the goodwill to put an end to this.”

His childhood friend and fellow activist Gulam Rabbi Chowdhury

said he had gone into hiding before the attack and deactivated his Facebook account for a number of months.

Nazim’s murder was the sixth such killing in 15 months.

AQIS previously claimed responsibility for the murder of Avijit Roy, an American atheist blogger who was hacked to death in Dhaka in February last year. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

AQIS claims murder of Nazimuddin for Ansar al-Islam, said in a statement.

Hundreds of secular activists held a protest earlier in the day to demand action for Nazim’s death, the latest in a string of murders of secular bloggers and campaigners in Bangladesh.

The murders have sparked international outrage and demands for the government to protect freedom of speech in the Muslim-ma-

jority country.

Police yesterday filed a murder case and said they were treating his death as a “targeted killing,” although no arrests have yet been made.

Abu Hena Muneem, a senior Home Ministry official, dismissed claims the government was failing to protect secularists and said the authorities were doing all they

could to track down Nazim’s killers.

“The accusations are not correct. Our law enforcement agencies are working very hard to find the culprits and they will soon be arrested,” Muneem told AFP. Activists, however, expressed concerns about the government’s readiness to protect them as they held a protest march in the capital.

Around 400 people chanted slo-

Banshkhali was unaware of rally ban deaths on Monday. He, however, declared Tk10 lakh compensation for each of the victims.

During a visit to Banshkhali on Thursday and yesterday, the Dhaka Tribune reporters talked to several local people who alleged that the deaths and injuries could have been avoided had the authorities announced the ban.

Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mohammad Shamsuzzaman said they imposed the ban on gatherings fearing a clash since two rival groups had called rally at the same place and time.

“I am not concerned over the coal-based power plant. I am responsible for maintaining law and order. The ban was imposed for three days and for this the villag-

ers were alerted. But when they entered the village, tried to remove police barricades and attacked police, the law enforcers were compelled to open fire to save lives and properties,” the UNO said.

But the villagers claimed that they only wanted to protest against the detention of seven people and had no idea about any rival group’s counter-rally.

A shopkeeper near the school said that no protester was alerted about the ban. Section 144 was imposed when the protesters started to gather at the venue.

Another villager said the protesters were angry seeing obstructions put up by the police. At that time, they threw bricks at the law enforcers for supporting the goons

of the coal plant authorities.

He said that the local administration had slapped the ban just after the clash only to save their face and justify the killings.

Liakat Ali told the Dhaka Tribune that the UNO office had not informed the organisers about imposing the ban. “The local administration and the police are now spreading false information. The locals did not have any idea about it,” said BNP leader Liakat, who is also a former UP chairman of Gondamara.

“We would have not joined the rally had they [administration] informed us about the ban,” said local madrasa teacher Md Nurul Kabir.

Bodi Ahmed, who lost his broth-

er and son-in-law on Monday, said: “The S Alam Group has engaged some brokers to force us to sell off our arable lands. To intimidate us, their goons picked up several protesters on Sunday night.”

UNO Shamsuzzaman, however, claimed that the locals were telling lies about the ban. “However, we will not spare the perpetrators,” he said.

“We were left with no other option but to open fire in self-defence. Hundreds of people armed with locally made firearms and sharp weapons swooped on us,” OC Swapan Kumar Majumder said.

“People did not die in police firing. Rather they were killed during the gunfight between two rival groups,” he claimed. l

At least four protesters were killed in gunshots and over 30 others injured on Monday afternoon when the anti-plant agitators were gathering on the school ground protesting against arrests and intimidation.

The local administration imposed a ban on gatherings Monday morning, a proposition refuted by the protesters.

State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid on Thursday hinted that the government would not have any objection rather would cooperate if S Alam Group wanted to shift the power plant to any other location.

Meanwhile, members of the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports, and some rights bodies visited Banshkhali and talked to the affected people. From a press brief-

ing at Chittagong Press Club yesterday evening, they blamed the government and the plant authorities for the deaths of the protesters.

Prof Anu Muhammad, the member secretary of the committee, demanded that the government back off from any environmentally-hazardous project. He also demanded an independent committee to investigate the killings.

“We do not want to see any probe committee that will cover up the whole issue. We will not accept any investigation which will turn out to be a farce,” he said.

“S Alam Group must bear all the medical expenses of the injured and compensate the deceased.

Moreover, the false and fabricated cases filed against hundreds of villagers must be withdrawn without any delay,” he said.

Prof Anu alleged that the plant

authorities had not followed the due process to implement the project. “The residents of the area have the right to know the impact of the proposed plant.

“The Banshkhali incident sends a clear message to the government that a coercive measure does not yield any result. The policymakers of the government should take lesson from the incident,” he said, alleging that the supporters of S Alam Group had established a reign of terror since the beginning of the project.

He suggested that the government look for alternatives to coal considering its harmful environmental impacts. “We can exploit gas from the Bay of Bengal and set up solar and wind power projects.

But the government always looks for some astronomically expensive projects which paves the way for

corruption,” he noted.

Earlier, the committee members held a protest rally on the Central Shaheed Minar premises and brought a procession in the city.

During their visit to Banshkhali, the 10-member committee that also included rights activist Sultana Kamal spoke to the locals and expressed solidarity with their concerns over the possible adverse impact of the coal-fired plant.

Sultana Kamal said that the government must pay heed to the demands of the people.

“The government will have to pay the price if it plays the role of a silent spectator. Any project that may pose a serious threat to the livelihood of the people and the ecological balance must be scrapped. Development should be meant for all the members of the society,” she said. l

‘Scrap power plant project by today’

US considers refuge for bloggers Shin Inouye, press secretary at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is responsible for administering such cases, declined to comment about any specific requests for humanitarian parole, citing privacy rules.

Humanitarian parole is used sparingly to bring a person into the US for a temporary period of time due to a compelling emergency.

Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) has claimed responsibility for the killing of Nazim, a supporter of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League.

Bangladeshi police said they suspect Nazim was targeted for his outspoken atheism and for supporting capital punishment for war crimes committed during the independence war against Pakistan in 1971. Hasina’s government set up special tribunals to try war crimes cases, including against senior leaders of an opposition, Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami.

The government has accused the opposition of supporting religious radicals it blames for the attacks on bloggers, minority Shiites, Christians and foreigners. Some of the attacks were claimed by Dae’sh or the Islamic State group, but the government dismisses those claims and says the Sunni extremist group has no presence in the country.

Democratic Rep Joe Crowley of New York, chair of US congressional Bangladesh Caucus, called the attacks on bloggers “extremely concerning” and said they were having a chilling effect on freedom of religious expression and speech in the South Asian country. l

Tonu’s family and friends quizzed again Molla, n Mohiuddin Comilla The family and friends of Sohagi Jahan Tonu have been interrogated again by the CID, which is yet to make any significant progress in its investigation.

Tonu’s elder brother Nazmul Hossain, cousin Laizu Jahan, friend Manisha, and cantonment board staff Ismail Hossain were brought in for questioning at the Comilla Criminal Investigation Department office, where they were kept between 8:30am and 11am yesterday.

Laizu told law enforcers that Tonu had been harassed over mobile phone by someone named Pial. The CID team visited the Mainamati Cantonment later in the day.

Tonu’s father Yaar Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune that the investigating team was often fetching them to ask the same questions, but never giving them any update about the case.

Tonu’s brother and cousin

were asked the same questions as before when they went to the CID yesterday, Yaar said, adding that such line of questioning is making him concerned about the outcome of the probe.

Earlier this month, the CID team led by Special Superintendent of Police Abdul Kahar Akond inspected the place where Tonu’s body was found and interrogated Tonu’s parents, the examining doctor, nurses and several others.

On Thursday, the probe team, along with Comilla CID, interrogated five army personnel from the Mainamati Cantonment.

Comilla zone SSP Nazmul Karim Khan said they were trying to figure out which army men were on duty on the day of the murder near the place where Tonu’s body was found. He said several others will also be questioned.

Tonu, a second-year student of Comilla Victoria Government College, was found dead near her home inside the cantonment on March 20. l

Engr suspended for using bamboo in construction Correspondent, n Our Chuadanga A deputy assistant engineer has been suspended after it was revealed that bamboo was used instead of rod for the construction of a new building of the Department of Agricultural Extension at Darshana in Chuadanga’s Damurhuda upazila.

Subrata Biswas was supervising the construction project of building, estimated to cost around Tk1.5 crore.

Also, a three-member probe committee of the department from Dhaka visited the building yesterday after the anomaly was revealed by some local men.

The men hit the pillars with hammers, which is when the use of bamboo in place of rod was exposed.

Locals said the contractor tried to manage them not to make the irregularity public; however James, a representative of the firm, refused to comment on the allegation.

Subrata, who was suspended yesterday, said he had been on leave for the last three to four days for elections and had no knowledge of what had happened.

He also said construction of the building began on December 1 last year and the contract was awarded to Joy International, a Dhaka-based firm owned by Mani Singh. “70% of the building is completed.”

Kamrun Nahar Mita, a DoE official, said "After I found what had happened, I ordered to break the pillars. I also informed the higher authorities and asked them to take the next steps.” l

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2 sweepers found Two armed men held dead in Faridpur zanur Rahman Bhuiyan, n Tribune Report assistant director of RAB n Tribune Report Media and Legal Wing.

Members of Rapid Action Police have recovered the bodies of two municipality sweepers from Khabashpur Miapara Road in Faridpur.

The deceased are Manik Jamaddar, 28, and his brother-in-law Bharat Jamaddar, 23, residents of Harijan Polli in Alipur area, reports UNB. Kotwali police SI Enayet Hossain said locals spotted the bodies on the road while they were going to mosque for Fajr prayers yesterday.

“We recovered the bodies and sent them to Faridpur Medical College morgue. The bodies bore several stab marks. They might have been stabbed to death while they were cleaning the road in the morning.” l

Battalion arrested two persons with firearms from the city’s Gopalbag Biswaroad check-post early yesterday.

The arrested were Nahid Serniabad, 30, son of Barisal’s late Sirajul Haque, and his associate Mohammad Zubair Alam, 29, son of late Iftekharul Alam from Gopalganj. RAB also recovered a foreign pistol, a magazine and two rounds of ammunition.

They were arrested from in front of Raj Furniture in the area when they were crossing a RAB 10 check-post, said ASP Mi-

He said the RAB team challenged the two as their movement looked suspicious. They were on a CNG-run autorickshaw which the team also seized, he added.

The two were accused in a tender snatching incident which took place on March 4 this year in Barisal’s LGED office. They snatched Tk1.68 crore that was deposited as bank guarantee for the tender.

They were also accused in several snatching, land grabbing and extortion cases in the area, the ASP said. l

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Keraniganj ready for central jail shift n Kamrul Hasan The Dhaka Central Jail’s new complex in Tegharia, Keraniganj, some eight kilometres away from the capital, will soon become operational, with all male prisoners transferred there from the current prison in Old Dhaka.

The complex will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on April 10, jail authorities announced yesterday morning at a press briefing at its headquarters in Bakshibazar.

Inspector General of Prisons Brig Gen Syed Iftekhar Uddin said preparations for the inauguration of the new jail complex was complete. The portion for male inmates of the complex, which is almost 90% complete, will be inaugurated by the prime minister.

The IG Prisons said the jail was being moved to solve prisoner accommodation problems.

Female prisoners will be shifted to Kashimpur Jail until the unit for them is complete, the IG said, adding that he was hoping the work will be complete by 2017.

“The moving of furniture and documents can be completed in

nel at the prisons and once it is approved by the cabinet, I hope the problems will be solved,” he said.

Answering a question about mobile phone use by inmates, the IG Prisons said if the jails had continuous power supply, they could deploy mobile network jamming technologies.

“But without continuous electricity it will not be possible,” he said.

The prison at a glance

The newly built jail is some 250 metres from the Dhaka-Mawa Highway. The eight buildings have been named the same as those in the old jail. The six-storey buildings have five rooms on each floor and a toilet. Each room will house 12 prisoners. Six of the buildings are for prisoners under trial – Korotoya, Karnaphuli, Motihar, Padma, Meghna and Jamuna.

Motihar and Padma are still under construction.

Two buildings are for convicts – Madhumati and Rupsa, the latter still being under construction.

Each building has one kitchen.

There are four high security cells - Banaful, Bakul, Shapla and Surjomukhi. High risk criminals such

The new central jail complex at Keraniganj awaits its inauguration by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on April 10 RAJIB DHAR a cost of Tk406.34 crore.

IG Iftekhar Uddin admitted that they had many limitations but it was set to start a fresh move towards modernisation of the country’s prisons.

Iftekhar said the entire prisons administration was running with only five first class officers, causing a severe supervision problem.

“A proposal was passed on deploying 3,107 officials and person-

several phases. The task of transferring inmates will be carried out in a single day, possibly over a weekend, so that vehicles from all prisons can be used for the purpose.

“The move can take place on a suitable day this month following consultation with different law enforcement agencies,” he said.

State authorities implemented the project in Tegharia union in Keraniganj on a 194.41 acre area at

as militants will be kept in these.

Every room there houses only one prisoner. The new prison will also have a cell for adolescent prisoners named Surma and a VIP cell named Chompakoli.

The prison complex for female inmates is separate from the rest.

A portion of the boundary wall has been completed and construction is underway. The unit will accommodate 200 female prisoners.

In the new jail the gallows are surrounded by a boundary so that no one can look in. The building that will house notorious criminals is coloured differently for easy identification.

The guards and prison officials will be housed in 20 buildings that are under construction. 17 six storied buildings for the chief prison guards and guards, one four-storey building for the deputy jailor, one three-storey building for jailors and the resident doctor. And a barrack named Durjoy with a capacity for some 400 guards.

The jail also has a solar power system and a mosque. A school and a park just outside the boundary are in the plans but have not begun because of a legal dispute over the land. l

HSC exam centre a cheating haven n SM Rezaul Karim, Jhalakathi Adakhola Secondary School in Jhalakathi’s Rajapur upazila , an exam centre for the ongoing Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations, is a cheating haven for exam takers where the invigilating teachers help students cheat.

Hearing the rumours, this correspondent visited the centre on Tuesday and found that the rumours were indeed true.

The scheduled test on Tuesday was Business Management test under the Technical Education Board. At total of 257 examinees from four colleges took the exam at the centre that day.

At almost every room in the centre, students were seen consulting book pages that the invigilators allowed them to take inside to write their exams. In some rooms, the invigilators went a step ahead and wrote on the board the answers to tricky questions that the students could not figure out themselves.

While the invigilators helped the examinees inside the exam rooms, the hall secretary stood guard in the hallways, alerting the students and teachers of a visiting magistrate or journalist approaching the rooms.

TEMPERATURE FOREC AST FOR TODAY

PARTLY CLOUDY SATURDAY, APRIL 9

When the hall secretary saw this correspondent, they rushed to the exam rooms to alert the examinees. Entering a room, this correspondent saw students hastily stashing the book pages under the table. When this correspondent tried to take photos of the black board, the invigilators promptly left the room.

‘I am trying to ensure a good exam environment.

You should understand: these students are weak’ An HSC examinee, seeking anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune that their college teachers took an extra Tk500 from each student as the “cheating fee” when they collected the admit card for the exam.

“They [the college teachers] have an understanding with both the exam authorities and the exam centres. They ensure that the examinees get all the help they need during the exams,” the examinee said.

This correspondent later went to speak with the hall magistrate who was in charge of the exam centre.

The magistrate, Md Al-Amin Hossain, Dhaka

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an official of Ekti Bari, Ekti Khamar project in the area, was found sitting in the library.

“I am trying to ensure a good exam environment. You should understand: these students are weak,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

The hall secretary, Rezaul Karim, seemed offended that a journalist was in the exam centre. “It is not any of a journalist’s business what happens in the exam centre. Journalists cannot enter an exam centre. We do try to help the students a little bit, but not in exchange of money. I stand guard in the hallway to monitor the exam, not for anything else,” he said.

Later, he tried to convince this correspondent not to publish this report by offering a hefty sum of money.

This correspondent contacted Rajapur Upazila Nirbahi Officer ABM Sadiqur Rahman, who said: “There is no scope for cheating in any exam. Strict action will be taken against everyone who is involved in this ill practice.”

When contacted, Rajapur police station OC Monirul Gias said he did not about the rampant cheating. “If someone files an official complaint, we will look into this matter.”

No one at the board was available for a comment when this report was filed. l 41

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Fajr: 4:23am | Zohr: 12:00pm Asr: 3:28pm | Magrib: 6:21pm Esha: 7:48pm Source: IslamicFinder.org

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BD keen to boost export to 2 health information mobile apps launched Manipur, other Indian States n BSS

n UNB Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, now in the Indian State of Manipur, yesterday said Bangladesh wants to export its quality products to Manipur and adjacent region.

“Bangladesh’s exportable goods have earned reputation in the global market,” he said expressing Bangladesh’s interest to export furniture, readymade garments, pharmaceuticals, foodstuff and other products as per demand.

The commerce minister said this in a meeting with Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh at the latter’s office, said a PID handout yesterday.

Tofail said both Bangladesh and India would be benefited if Bangladesh’s export to Manipur and other North East States.

He mentioned that India is pro-

viding duty- and quota-free market access to Bangladeshi products for reducing trade gap between the two countries.

‘Export didn’t reach expected level due to the imposition of countervailing duties in some cases’

“But, the export didn’t reach expected level due to the imposition of countervailing duties in some cases,” Tofail said adding that Manipur will be able to import Bang-

ladeshi products at a cheaper rates if the problem is resolved through discussions.

Countervailing duties (CVDs), also known as anti-subsidy duties, are trade import duties imposed under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules to neutralise the negative effects of subsidies.

Manipur chief minister appreciated Bangladesh’s socioeconomic development and said his State also keen to have stronger trade ties with Bangladesh. “There’s huge demand for Bangladeshi products in Manipur.”

The Bangladesh Minister attended the “Northeast Asean Business Summit 2016” in Manipur on Thursday.

An 18-member trade delegation, led by FBCCI President Abdul Matlub Ahmad, is also attending the three-day business summit. l

Aponjon, a mobile health messaging service for mothers and newborns, has launched two mobile phone apps for expectant mothers and adolescent girls to provide necessary health information services, ensuring healthy life.

The two mobile phone apps -Aponjon Shogorbha and Aponjon Koishor -- have been developed to meet health needs of expectant mothers and adolescent girls, said Chief Executive Officer of D.net Dr Ananya Raihan at the launching function at Spectra Convention Centre in the capital on Thursday.

State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Bernicat, Additional Director General of Health Services Prof Dr Abul Lakam Azad and Director of Health, Nutrition and HIV/AIDS Dr Ishtiaq Mannan addressed the function, among others.

Palak said: “We have developed massive collectivity to expand e-health. Upazila-level hospitals and health complexes are enjoying advancement of ICT to provide better health care facilities to people.”

The ICT Division launched tele-medicine centers at upazila-level health complexes to ensure the access of the people especially rural people to better medical services, he said. “We have a plan to scale up e-health services to bring rural folks under health care facilities.”

Marcia Bernicat said: “Despite very impressive successes in reducing maternal and child mortality, Bangladesh’s mortality figures, especially for newborns remain too high.” Improving the nutrition and care, a woman receives during pregnancy, delivery and after birth will not only save lives but also result in healthier, stronger mothers and newborns, she added. l

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Construction of most tanneries incomplete n Nadim Hossain, Savar Despite repeatedly missing deadlines, the relocation of industrial units of tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar Tannery estate remains uncertain as the construction of most tanneries at Savar, in the outskirts of the capital, is yet to be completed.

Moreover, construction of the Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) is unfinished, making the process more difficult, said tannery owners.

Tannery owners said they cannot run their business as the government has deployed police to stop rawhide supplies from entering Hazaribagh’s tanners.

This was done since traders failed to relocate their factories to the newly-built Savar Industrial Park within the stipulated deadline, which ended on March 31.

During a visit yesterday to the leather industry at Hemayetpur in Savar, this correspondent found most tanneries were still under construction.

Construction on a few tanneries has been completed from 60% to 70%. Their owners said they still need over three months to finish the work on the tanneries.

Construction has been completed on only a few factories. Their owners said they only have electricity connection, and need gas as well as water supply connections to start production.

Most tanneries and the Central Effluent Treatment Plant at Savar tannery estate remains incomplete. The photo was taken recently MEHEDI HASAN Apart from this, construction work on many tanneries is yet to start.

The government decided to transfer the tanneries from the capital’s Hazaribagh area to Savar amid pressure from environmental activists. The decision was taken because the tanneries are harming public health and the environment, as their owners would dump untreated toxic waste into the Buriganga River and in surrounding areas.

To faciliate the relocation, the government allocated plots to 155 tannery owners at the industrial

park set up on a 200-acre land.

Many tannery owners said the government has yet to provide them with the legal papers of those plots. Thus, the traders cannot get loans from banks as well as begin construction of their factories.

Shah Emran Patowary, owner of the under-construction Messers Lien Enterprise, told the Dhaka Tribune that most factories had not yet gotten gas and water connections. Only a few received electricity connections.

“To start production at the factories, we need gas, electricity and

water connections. We cannot even do business at both locations – Savar and Hazaribagh. Here [Hemayetpur] we are not receiving utility facilities, and there, the government has stopped the inflow of rawhide by deploying police.

“If this situation continues, we will face huge losses in the coming days,” he said.

He added that if they relocate tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar, they have to face transportation problems as there is no wide road in Hemayetpur on which to transport their products.

He also alleged that work on constructing the CETP had been stopped for the last one month and the expensive equipment of the CETP was kept under the open sky.

Engineer Ekramul Sheikh told the Dhaka Tribune that most of work on the treatment plant had been completed. The recent work stoppage on the plant was due to a fund crisis.

He said they had already informed the higher authorities about the fund crunch.

Seeking anonymity, employees involved in the treatment plant construction told the Dhaka Tribune that they needed two to three months more to end the work.

Project Director Abdul Kaium told the Dhaka Tribune that tannery owners who had applied for electricity and water supply connections had gotten them. He, however, said they needed more time to provide gas connections.

Being irritated by the relocation delay, Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu gave a 72-hour ultimatum on January 10 to relocate the factories.

Later, the government has extended the deadline till March 31.

On October 8, 2007, the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) had extended the time-frame and approved a Revised Development Project Proposal (RDPP). In the RDPP, it was proposed that the project would be completed at a cost of Tk545.36 crore by 2012. l

One dead in Ctg Electrical power theft rampant in Panchagarh turf war Rahman Sazzad, n Sazzadur Panchagarh Tribune Report n

An alleged local criminal was hacked and shot dead by men from a rival faction in Chittagong city’s Sadarghat area on Thursday night over establishing supremacy, the police said.

The deceased was identified as Md Idris, 28, son of Abdul Jabbar, a resident of Sahebpara area of Sadarghat. Jabbar is a local criminal and drug addict, accused in several cases filed with the Sadarghat police station, said Marzina Akhtar, OC of Sadarghat police station.

The OC said Idris had been at loggerheads with one Jahangir over establishing supremacy in the area.

Jahangir and his men had swooped down on Idris with sharp weapons on Thursday night over the issue in the Sahebpara area.

They hacked and shot Idris leaving him critically injured. He succumbed to his injuries in Comilla on the way to Dhaka from Chittagong Medical College Hospital, said OC Marzina.

Police sent the body to the CMCH medical morgue for autopsy. l

A powerful syndicate, which includes corrupt government officials, is stealing hundreds of thousands of taka by providing illegal power connections to villages in Panchagarh's Boda upazila.

These power thieves provide power connections to households by illegally extending lines from the 11KV main power line and installing transformers and meters that are not authorised

by Panchagarh Palli Bidyut Samity, the Dhaka Tribune found out through investigation.

The head of this syndicate is Mostafizur Rahman Pramanik, a licensed technician who has been running the business of providing illegal power connections to households and to farmers for irrigation in Boroshoshi, Kajalganj, Chilahati and Kaliaganj unions in Boda for years, making millions in the process, said sources at Panchagarh Palli Bidyut Samity, one of the cooperatives run by Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (REB).

He installs steel and bamboo

poles and meters to connect the users with the 11KV main power line.

For every installation, he charges around Tk25,000-35,000, and then collects a bill of Tk150-300 from the users on the 29th of every month, villagers told the Dhaka Tribune.

The meters are always set to zero, and the bills he shows to the users are not prepared in the format used by the REB, but are made by himself, the villagers complained.

Moreover, Mostafiz has extended illegal powers lines as far as 4,300 feet from the main line, whereas the REB regulations allow the maximum of 120-foot extension.

Some corrupted officials and employees of Panchagarh Palli Bidyut Samity have been assisting him in running the illegal business in exchange of hefty bribe, causing the government a massive loss of revenue, the sources said.

Locals filed complaints about Mostafiz's rampant theft of electricity at the zonal office, but the authorities never took any action against him, they told the Dhaka Tribune.

Earlier this year, receiving hundreds of complaints against Mosatafiz, rural electrification authorities raided his business office at Bogduljhula Bazar in Boroshoshi and charged him a fine of more than Tk600,000, also disconnecting the meter at his office.

However, for unknown reasons the authorities neither took any legal action against Mostafiz, nor did they cancel his licence, said the villagers.

Seeking anonymity, an official of Panchagarh Palli Bidyut Samity said installing a new power connection requires the approval of the samity's general manager, deputy general manager, engineer, superviser, wiring inspector and line technician.

“How he [Mostafiz] is getting these approvals astounds me,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

This correspondent tried to contact the deputy general manager of Panchagarh zonal office at Thakurgaon Palli Bidyut Samity in this regard, but he was on leave. Assistant General Manager Mahbubul Islam Shaon responded when the Dhaka Tribune contacted him, but he said

he had recently joined the office and did not know much in this regard.

Later, this correspondent contacted Thakurgaon Palli Bidyut Samity's General Manager Khalequzzaman on Tuesday and informed him about Mostafiz's illegal power business. Khalequzzaman instructed Panchagarh zonal office's official Md Yakub Ali to look into this matter.

When this correspondent contacted Yakub again on Thursday, he said he had run an investigation and seized nine illegal meters. He also sent a report in this regard to the Thakurgaon office.

The Dhaka Tribune also contacted Mostafiz who, despite agreeing to see this correspondent several times, never showed up at the meeting. This correspondent also contacted him on each of his four mobile phone numbers, but he refused to talk.

Thakurgaon Palli Bidyut Samity GM Khalequzzaman on Thursday said this matter was currently being investigated. “We will take legal actions against Mostafiz after receiving the investigation report.” l

DT

8

News

SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016

8 villages inundated in Dumuria, Koyra n Our Correspondent, Khulna At least 17,000 residents of eight villages in Khulna’s Dumuria and Koyra upazilas were marooned after parts of embankments on the Bhodra and Shakbaria rivers collapsed on Thursday afternoon.

Many have taken refuge on higher grounds and living under the sky in inhuman condition with their livestock. The rising water swamped paddy fields, destroyed commercial fish enclosures, ponds, flooded houses, educational institutes and roads. With no food and fodder, the residents stare at a bleak future.

Promila Rani, resident of Chandgar village, said they could not save

anything as the water rushed in suddenly. Joya Roy of Akra village said the flash flood had wreaked havoc on people’s properties and crops.

Chandgar’s Abdus Salam said the residents had taken their families and livestock to higher grounds. “We do not have anything to eat,” he said.

High tides breached a 400-metre stretch of the dyke on Bhodra River submerging six villages. Vast swathes of Hariharpur and Gabbunia villages were flooded after a 200-metre area of the embankment on Shakbaria River gave in to water pressure.

Sharafpur Union Parishad Chairman Sheikh Rabiul Islam Robi said

the flooding had affected at least 15,000 people in six villages. “We are trying to help them with limited resources but are yet to get any assistance from the Water Development Board or the district administration,” he claimed.

Robi said alternatives dykes were constructed 19 times in the past 45 years in Chandgar.

“So far, two primary schools, two mosques, two Eid congregation sites, a madrasa, five sluice gates, numerous houses have been lost to river erosion. About 5,500 families have lost everything and 1,500 of them moved elsewhere but the embankment issue has not been addressed,” he said.

Upazila Education Officer Md

A martial arts training session titled ‘self-defence training for Tonus’ was organised at the foot of Raju Memorial Sculpture on Dhaka University campus yesterday. The Pritilata Brigade organised the session with a view to creating awareness among women about the importance of knowing self-defence mechanism to prevent sexual harassment DHAKA TRIBUNE

AL activist killed over UP polls Correspondent, n Our Jhenaidah An Awami League activist was killed and 20 others were injured in a factional clash between two ruling party groups over the chairman post in union parishad election in Chhoyaile village of the district’s Sadar upazila yesterday.

The dead was Aka Mir, 50, son of Belat Ali Mir of the village.

Jhenaidah police station Officer-in-Charge Hasan Hafizur Rahman said the clash broke out between supporters of Awami League-backed chairman candidate Nizamul Goni Litu and Bikash Chandra Biswas, incumbent chairman of Padmakor union parishad, over the post in the upcoming polls around 7am.

At one stage of the alter-

cation, activists of the two groups attacked each other with sharp weapons and sticks, leaving 21 people, including Aka Mir – a supporter of Bikash Chandra, injured.

The injured were later taken to Jhenaidah Sadar Hospital where duty doctors declared Aka Mir dead.

The OC said additional police have been deployed in the area to avoid occurrence of any further incidents.

Nomination papers snatched from Comilla election office

Miscreants snatched away nomination papers of the union chairman candidates from the upazila election officer after entering his office in Monoharganj upazila on Thursday midnight.

Quoting Monoharganj election officer Nazir Hossain Mia,

police said a group of people, led by Awami League-nominated chairman candidate Ziaur Rahman alias Shahin Zia of Jhalam union, also joint convener of Monoharganj upazila unit Jubo League, stormed the upazila election office at midnight.

Later they tore off the nomination paper of a chairman candidate in front of him and snatched away nomination papers of two others.

Police arrested Noman, general secretary of Monoharganj upazila unit Chhatra League over the incident, said Bipul Chandra, officer-incharge of Monoharganj police station.

Meanwhile, election officer Nazir Hossain Mia filed a case against Noman and some others unidentified with the police station yesterday morning. l

Wahidul Islam said two primary schools in Chandgar had been submerged but they were making alternative arrangement to continue classes.

Water Development Board (WDB) Sub-Divisional Engineer Debpratim Haldar said they would visit the affected area in Chandgar and take steps to mitigate the situation. “We cannot protect the area mainly because of fund crunch.”

Dumuria Upazila Parishad Chairman said making a move to prevent erosion or strengthening the embankment without government funding was difficult.

In Koyra upazila, 25 shrimp enclosures were inundated in Thursday’s flooding after high tides washed

away parts of the WDB dyke.

“Parts of the embankment caved in during Tuesday’s low tide.

At that time more than half of it was destroyed,” said Gabbunia village’s Jabbar Gayeen. “Locals and shrimp cultivators tried to repair it but could not avert the disaster.”

WDB Deputy Assistant Engineer Khairul Islam said the part that broke was weak. “We informed the higher authorities but could not repair it due to fund crunch.”

Koyra Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Bodiuzzaman said they had taken swift action following the disaster. “We took immediate measures to prevent erosion and opened the nearby cyclone shelter for the people,” he said. l

9

DT

Learn English

SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016

Pre-reading task 1. Are you religious?

2. What do you think about New Age beliefs?

Now, read the article and compare your experiences with those outlined in the article.

2 secular

2b

1 services

1b Exercise 1

8 organised religion 7 devout 6 holy text

Exercise 2

Exercise 1 Comprehension: Multiple choice. For each sentence choose the correct ending.

1.

150 years ago the British ... a. awere more influenced by Christianity than they are today. b. never missed a church service. c. never had any doubts about their faith. d. were more religious than they are today.

2.

Half of the British population ... a. regularly go to community centres. b. do not have any religious beliefs. c. do not consider themselves to be Christians. d. never go to religious services.

3.

People in Britain may be turning away from Christianity because ... a. they haven’t got time to attend church services. b. they find church services boring. c. their lives have become more materialistic. d. they think it’s old-fashioned.

4.

Many practising Christians ... a. find church services boring. b. have converted to Buddhism. c. are also Buddhists. d. also attend Buddhist services.

5.

Some people are attracted to New Age spirituality because ... a. it’s something completely new. b. they’re unhappy with the consumer society. c. they care about the environment. d. there are no church services to attend.

Exercise 2 Vocabulary: Matching. Choose the correct words to fill the gaps in the sentences: faiths / worship / services / devout secular / holy text / dogmatic / organised religion 1.

2.

Answers

Want to find more learning activities?

Visit www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish

3 dogmatic

bel_ef membership Chur_h Organi_ed Dou_t Practi_e Fai_h Relig_ous meditati_n Wo_ship

4 worship

See if you can find these words in the grid. They can be horizontal, vertical, diagonal and backwards.

3c

Word search

5 faiths

Are people in the modern world losing their sense of spirituality? A hundred and fifty years ago in Britain the question may never have occurred to many people. Britain then was an almost entirely Christian nation.

Virtually everybody attended church regularly. Christian faith played a central role in people’s daily lives. But Britain at the beginning of the new millennium is a very different place.

Although about 70 per cent of Britons today consider themselves to be Christians,

only a small percentage of these are actively involved with their faith. Almost half of the population never attend religious services of any kind and 16 per cent say they have no religion at all. Many of the nation’s churches no longer act as places of worship, having become secular community centres instead.

Still others stand closed and derelict.

After so many centuries of devout Christianity, what could have brought about such a dramatic break from tradition? A number of intellectual influences and social changes are probably responsible. Advances in scientific knowledge have cast a shadow

4b

n Graham Bradford

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5c

Spirituality

of doubt, and made many question their religious beliefs. The horrific events of 20thcentury history have also caused others to question the existence of God. A wealthier population and all the temptations of the consumer society have made religious worship seem less appealing.

Yet despite these changes, it would be wrong to say that Britain has lost its sense of spirituality. Membership of many nonChristian faiths has increased dramatically over recent decades. Islam, for example, is Britain’s fastest growing religion and there are now over one and a half million Muslims in the population. Members of the Sikh and Hindu faiths have also greatly increased in number over the past 30 years, and there is a rapidly growing interest in Buddhism.

Officially, Buddhists in Britain today number over a 150,000, but there are also many Christians who practise Buddhist meditation in addition to attending church services. So what is it that draws people to Buddhism? For many the appeal is the healing power, both physical and psychological, of meditation. For others, Buddhism seems less dogmatic than many other forms of organised religion. This may also be the reason why many people are turning to so called New Age religions.

New Age is a catch-all term that includes a variety of beliefs and practices, often with roots in ancient Celtic religions such as Druidry or mystical eastern faiths like Taoism. It is not a religion in the traditional sense, with a holy text or an organised membership, and this is part of its appeal.

Faiths such as Druidry tap into spirituality by turning to the forces of the natural world.

In an age of environmental destruction, many people are searching for a faith that brings them closer to nature.

So it seems that people in Britain are still searching for something spiritual in their lives. Is this true in your country, too? l

3.

The ideas factory

5

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Church …..... in Britain often involve people singing hymns.

This shop specialises in religious books, but it does sell a number of …..... works as well.

He eventually left the church because he found its rules far too ….....

For Christians, Sunday is a day of ….....

People of many different …..... live in this community, including Hindus, Muslims, Catholics and Protestants.

Many religions have a …..... Islam, for example, has the Qur’an.

My Grandmother was an incredibly …..... Catholic – she never missed church on a in her entire life, and was always reading the Bible.

Many people find …..... …..... too restricting; they don’t want to be told when and how to worship.

© British Council 2016

DT

10

Culture

SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016

The two faces of childhood: A cultural evening with a difference

Happy Times International School arranged a scintillating cultural function and drama on April 7, based on the theme of “Celebrating Childhood at Bangladesh” at the Shishu Academy. With poetry, songs, dance and other performances made by adolescents, the event focused on exploring the essence of childhood, on how it is a

magical experience in mystery, adventure and imagination.

On the other hand, the original drama titled Unheard Voices highlighted another face of childhood: the struggle for survival of children who are poor, vulnerable, exploited by society and made victims of wars over which they had no control.

The drama gave a voice to

these children, who spoke out strongly for their hopes “to live like a child in a world gone mad” and ended on a note of optimism with a stirring song that pledged to give “the children of tomorrow the right to speak, the right to sing, and the right to reach the stars.”

Saidur Rahman, country manager of Edexcel and chief

guest at the occasion, stated that Happy Times was one of the key schools working with Pearson Edexcel and that it had proved its excellence

not only through academic results but also through extracurricular activities which gave students the skills required by universities at home and abroad. l

DT

Editorial 11

SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016

INSIDE

An American education at home?

PAGE 12

Heavenly havens PAGE 13

BIGSTOCK

Climate change PAGE 14

A new era for GDP growth

Bangladesh and a world at war PAGE 19

Be heard Write to Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Email letters.dt@ dhakatribune.com

Send us your Op-Ed articles:

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

E

conomic growth in Bangladesh stands on the threshold of exceeding 7% a year for the first time since independence.

The planning minister has reported that economic growth crossed 7% in the first nine months of the current fiscal year. On current projections, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics estimates GDP growth will stand at 7.05% in 2015-16, up from 6.55% the previous fiscal year.

This is slightly above ADB and World Bank estimates, which forecast GDP growth rising to 6.9% in the next two years.

It is a testament to the effort and innovation of Bangladeshi workers and entrepreneurs that the economy is continuing to show tremendous resilience, and is moving to new heights of growth Getting beyond the 6% growth barrier is an important milestone, but must only be the start.

The government needs to ensure more business-friendly policies to truly unlock the economy’s potential and attract more much needed investment.

With 2 million young workers entering the workforce every year, the country urgently needs to speed up the creation of new high value jobs, to maximise the benefits of the demographic dividend.

Bangladesh’s location at the crossroads between the growing markets of South and Southeast Asia means there is still a lot of untapped potential for growth.

The government needs to press ahead with policy reforms to encourage entrepreneurs and attract more foreign investment.

Cutting red tape and improving infrastructure are key to building a more businessfriendly environment and freeing the entrepreneurial instincts of our people.

It is vital the government stays focused on reforms to encourage a virtuous cycle of new investment creating new higher value jobs and opportunities.

Every effort should be made to nurture and sustain higher economic growth to build a better future for all the nation’s people.

Getting beyond the 6% growth barrier is an important milestone, but must only be the start

12

DT

Opinion

SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016

An American education at home?

Let’s face it: An American degree has a lot of cachet in Bangladesh

n Esam Sohail

I

remember being the proverbial fish out of water when, barely a few weeks after officially stepping into adulthood, I was walking to my very first university class at 7am on a wintry morning when the stars were still visible.

Much of the excitement of starting college in a brand new land had gone out of me that morning, as I trudged through fresh snow, wondering if this was such a good idea after all: I mean, not too many weeks ago, my mornings began quite differently, at a respectable hour, and with real breakfast ready on the table.

That was a quarter of a century ago.

Today, I live not too far from that campus, have less hair on my head, and have put my formal education and experience to decent use as a contributing, taxpaying member of society here in the United States. But that long journey that I took for a better education continues unabated in the lives of many Bangladeshis every year.

So does the toll for individuals, families, and the country as a whole. I saw an estimate by the central bank in 2012 that a full seven-figure dollar amount was transmitted officially to the US and UK on account of higher education costs; surely that number has gone up considerably today -- and it doesn’t include the probably much higher levels of remittance through informal channels like hundi and hawala.

At the other end of the pipeline is a brain drain of some of the best and brightest of the lot, whose passion, creativity, and good higher education is often, though not always, put to work abroad.

Then there are those who, for reasons of affordability and accessibility alone, are unable to take that journey at all, despite having the talent to do so. And finally, the bonds of family and familiarity suffer, notwithstanding the incredible advances in cheap communications (I remember making five-minute phone calls to Dhaka at $3 per minute!).

Yet, there is a solution today that wasn’t available until even 15 years ago: The offshore campus of an American university. Let us be perfectly candid: Whether we admit it openly or secretly, the cachet of a degree from an American college or university is undeniable in our part of the world, be it in the personal,

Can an American education be home-delivered?

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Instead of paying the incredible social and financial cost of making the trek to that university in Michigan or New Jersey, why not have that university come to Bangladesh and provide the same credentials at a substantially lower cost? Qatar, the UAE, and Singapore, among others, have already moved to adopt this model by negotiating with several American universities to open satellite campuses in their own countries

professional, or public relations realms.

Instead of paying the incredible social and financial cost of making the trek to that university in Michigan or New Jersey, why not have that university come to Bangladesh and provide the same credentials at a substantially lower cost?

Qatar, the UAE, and Singapore, among others, have already moved to adopt this model by negotiating with several American universities to open satellite campuses in their own countries.

Granted, for practical reasons,

not all disciplines and levels can be taught at every satellite campus abroad; but the idea and its implementation have merit worth examining for a country like Bangladesh.

The satellite campus model can be further modified by engaging in actual partnerships between an American university and a reputed private university in Bangladesh which “hosts” some programs of the former with the understanding that the degree granted will have, at the very least, the names of both institutions on it. Several permutations of this model may

be possible and are working elsewhere.

There are going to be several key challenges to the satellite campus model, even if one of the 5,000 or so accredited American post-secondary institutions decide to take that leap. One, there will be the usual regulatory hassles due to outdated laws and the University Grants Commission’s own arcane rules.

Two, there will be the typical protests by assorted groups of leftists and Islamists who see a “Western conspiracy” in even the rustle of the leaves on a tree.

Three, more crucially, before such a satellite campus can be considered, there have to be iron-clad guarantees by the government of the day that freedom of inquiry, scholarship, research, and academic expression will be protected: Those are non-negotiable criteria for accreditation of colleges and universities in the United States whereby, for example, mandating that some area of history or sociology is out of limits for debate is simply a non-starter.

Finally, the physical safety of such a satellite campus has to be ensured in its totality; no university worth its salt will open up a foreign campus knowing that the “student” wing of the ruling party of the day can commit intimidation and violence with decided impunity.

Challenges aside, for the simple reasons of fiscal common sense and social demand, it is worth having policy discussions regarding such satellite campuses of foreign institutions. l Esam Sohail is an educational research analyst and college lecturer of social sciences. He writes from Kansas, USA.

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DT

Opinion

SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016

Heavenly havens Pakistanis pay every day to admit their filthy rich into Panama

Black money does not have homing instincts

n FS Aijazuddin

S

pring has not shed its bloom, yet its roses have turned the colour of congealed blood. The latest massacre of our innocents took place this time at Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park Lahore on March 27. Over 75 children, their parents, and other holiday-goers died.

More than 340 were injured.

It was a cruelly premature Easter resurrection for the Christians amongst them, and a hellish holiday for their Muslim covictims.

Surviving Lahoris did not need to proclaim: “Je suis Lahore.”

Over centuries, that slogan has been repeated with less grief in the adage -- “Lahore Lahore hai” (Lahore is Lahore).

Lahore did not need to illuminate its Minar–e-Pakistan in mourning colours. That eastern Eiffel tower stood shrouded already in white, which on our national flag symbolises our terrified minorities.

Who, it could be asked, amongst those who lost their lives on that Easter Sunday, secured martyrdom -- the suicide bomber or his hapless victims?

A contemporary Oxford historian, Peter Frankopan, speaking recently in Lahore, provided an answer. He differentiated between a martyr sacrificing his/her own life in the name of faith, and those who commit suicide as an act of faith, to gain martyrdom, but murder

BIGSTOCK

unwary martyrs around them.

Did that suicide bomber in Gushan-e-Iqbal Park believe that there are discrete heavens, as there are separate graveyards on earth, for Muslim and Christian martyrs? Surely, divinity does not contain discrimination in its DNA.

phenomenon. Nations have been doing it for centuries.

Imperial Athens and Rome, Beijing and Moscow, London and Paris transferred regularly the portable riches of their colonies to swell their treasuries at home. Immoveable assets were

littlest finger, like Krishna did Mt Goverdhan.

The post-Gorbachev’s perestroika of 1980s made the island economy of Cyprus a sanctuary to cool red-hot Russian money. Dubai’s property boom soared after Arab oil shifted from

Now that Panama has destroyed its reputation (who needs a tell-tale bank manager?) and damaged those of its trusting clients, one wonders how newer 21st century Nadir Shahs will hide their troublesome wealth?

Whichever heaven those martyrs have gone to, it is certainly not in Panama. That heavenly haven was once thought secure and inviolate.

Instead, e-Leaks have disclosed reams of secret off-shore transactions by luminaries such as Putin, the Bachchans, and the Sharifs. They all assumed that they would take their secrets (if not their money) with them to the grave. Instead, their financial fandango has been exposed.

Their fiscal tomfoolery has become known to the public, and probably also to their spouses. The last thing these well-known names expected to see was their laundered money being washed again like dirty-linen in public.

Money-laundering is not a new

kept abroad, in kind.

For example, in the 1880s, King Leopold II effectively owned the Congo Free State. That allowed him to exploit its enormous mineral resources and then divert the proceeds to his personal benefit.

Victorian Britain became Great Britain riding astride the elephantine economies of its colonies.

Even a minnow country like Holland expanded its lungs breathing in oxygen provided by the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia).

By contrast, the rulers of today prefer to denude their own nations and, instead, window-dress the economies of foreign ones.

One single super-rich Russian oligarch, for example, can prop up London’s property market on his

beneath the sand and transmuted into skyscrapers built above it.

Now that Panama has destroyed its reputation (who needs a telltale bank manager?) and damaged those of its trusting clients, one wonders how newer 21st century Nadir Shahs will hide their troublesome wealth?

Will they solidify it into gold? Each would need a private Fort Knox to safeguard that. In property abroad? As Rockwood Estate once showed, there is always the danger of having to disclose beneficial ownership.

Through shell companies?

Sea clams are more reticent than Panamanian lawyers. In overpriced jewellery? Not any longer.

Even majesties dress like frugal

republicans. The maladies of the over-rich are peculiar to their own species. That is why they invent such Panamanian antidotes.

Strange as it may seem but plausible in its perversity, perhaps the safest haven for our Muslim magicians is to make their money disappear into Israeli banks.

Who would think of searching there? How could NAB -- even if it was so inclined -- retrieve assets that have been squirreled away in a country we do not even recognise?

Only a myopic optimist or a naïve parliamentarian would believe that money that has been taken out of the country will ever find its way back.

Black money has no such homing instincts. Similarly, there will little to be gained from moral finger-wagging and social tut-tutting.

Neither will arouse the conscience of either democratically elected kings or of their courtiers.

They do not care. As Nietzsche said: “He who cannot give anything away cannot feel anything either.”

Money no longer matters to those slaughtered in Gulshane-Iqbal Park and in Army Public School Peshawar.

They paid admission fees with their lives. Pakistanis pay every day to admit their filthy rich into Panama. l FS Aijazuddin lives in Lahore and is a columnist for Dawn, Pakistan’s main English-language newspaper. This article first appeared in Dawn.

DT

14

SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016

Climate Change

Youth conference on community-based adaptation to climate change Khadim and Rigan A n Jennifer Khan

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mpowering communities in the poor and vulnerable countries to climate change is one of the keys to building a resilient society.

As world leaders in global platforms debate about different issues and policies, the least developed countries (LDCs) are striving for survival right here on the ground.

The International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) at the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) is preparing for the 10th International Conference on Community Based

share and consolidate the latest developments in communitybased adaptation practices, policy, and theory across sectors globally.

It aims to strengthen the existing network of practitioners, policy-makers, planners, and donors working on all levels of community-based adaptation, and enhance the capacity of practitioners, governments, and donors to help improve the livelihoods of those most vulnerable to climate change.

There will be a two-day Youth Conference on community based adaptation running parallel to the main conference, which will be held from 26-27 April, 2016.

The CBA Youth conference is CBA 10 participants visit sites such as these to understand the challenges posed by urban climate change better

The event will integrate the essentials of social entrepreneurship in climate change adaptation into the discussions and look at ways of building long lasting, beneficial and sustainable systems that can benefit young people

Adaptation to Climate Change (CBA10) which will be held at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) from April 21 - 28.

This conference is aimed to

equally multi-dimensional and aims to encourage young people to be agents of change, particularly in addressing climate change issues in their communities.

International participants who took part in the CBA youth conference in Kenya last year are also expected to come this year and share their experience and learning from the conference.

The youth conference is organised by Plan International Bangladesh and International Centre for climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) along with Save the Children, WaterAid Bangladesh, and Bangladesh Youth Environmental Initiative (BYEI).

To get a sense of the realities

faced by vulnerable communities, youth participants will get a chance to go to a community suffering from the adverse effects of climate change.

In addition, the event will integrate the essentials of social entrepreneurship in climate change adaptation into the discussions and look at ways of building long lasting, beneficial, and sustainable systems that can benefit young people.

Youth have the strength and potential to build a better future.

With the right kind of knowledge

and capacity they can become leaders in the field of climate change.

The 10th Community Based Adaptation Youth Conference is a continuation of a journey where young people from all backgrounds are engaged in the fight against climate change by learning from experts and the field. l Jennifer Khadim (jennifer.khadim.81@ gmail.com) and Rigan A Khan (pavel. khan21@gmail.com) are organising the CBA10 Youth Conference.

Field visits for conference participants give first hand experience of living in urban settlements n Meraz Mostafa

I

n less than a month’s time, Dhaka City will host the 10th International Conference on Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change (CBA10) at the Independent University, Bangladesh. The theme of this year’s conference, organised by the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS), the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), and the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) will be “Enhancing urban community resilience.”

Urban climate change is a rapidly growing concern, particularly for countries in the global South.

Sometime in mid-2009, the majority of the human population shifted from being rural to urban.

In developing countries, cities

have urbanised and grown at unprecedented rates. Dhaka in 1950 had a population of less than half a million and today it is estimated that there are more than 14 million people.

A city like Dhaka has not been able to meet the needs of its overwhelmingly large and dense population. Many people in Dhaka find themselves living in informal settlements, or slums, without clean sanitation or proper waste management systems.

Not only do these residents face the constant fear of eviction by local authorities, but environmental calamities such as water-logging and fires also threaten their ability to stay in their homes. As some of the most vulnerable people living in Dhaka, forthcoming anthropogenic climate change poses an even greater threat on their already precarious situation.

It is hard to directly link different urban environmental hazards to climate change. However, we can suggest that increased temperature and unstable weather patterns will exacerbate many issues the city is already struggling to address.

Urban migration caused by climate change and other environmental and economic factors will also add pressure to the city. Unfortunately, history shows that poor rural migrants to the city are often the ones who suffer most from the absence of basic services.

It is therefore imperative climate change practitioners, urban planners and Dhaka’s city corporations start to think about and implement the best ways to address these future vulnerabilities.

Each CBA conference consists of field trips that allow participants to experience first-hand commu-

nity-level actions being taken to address climate change. Tentative sites for this year’s visit include informal settlements at Mirpur and Mohammadpur, as well as outside of Dhaka City at Tongi.

CBA participants will work with organisations such as CARE Bangladesh, Islamic Relief, Save the Children, Action Aid and Practical Action to see the kinds of projects they are implementing at the ground level.

Field trips tend to be immersive at CBA conferences and participants will get the chance to really dive-deep into the different community-led projects.

Whether the mock DRR drills that occur at a school in Tongi, or the various strategies to reduce water-logging at Mirpur, participants will learn hands-on how urban resilience is being planned for in Bangladesh.

CBA10 will occur from April 21 to April 28. The field trip component will take up the first three days of the conference.

Whereas traditionally most work done on CBA has occurred in rural spaces, urban climate change is a crucial area for researchers and practitioners to now take up. l Meraz Mostafa is the communications associate for ICCCAD. This page has been developed in collaboration with the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) and its partners, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) and International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). This page represents the views and experiences of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of Dhaka Tribune or ICCCAD or its partners.

Editor’s Note

I

n about less than a week, the Pahela Baishakh celebrations will be over and the summer heat will replace the calming Falgun wind. Arts & Letters wishes its readers a very happy Baishakh in advance and hopes the celebrations this year will he held in high spirits all over the country without any untoward incidents like last year.

Ahead of the official beginning of the sultry summer heat, this issue takes a look at the theme of love, which is so ubiquitous in the arts of this region, through a translated poem and a literary reflection written by a budding author. The poem, written in the 1970s, describes the emotions of a man waiting for his girlfriend.

It’s highly romantic yet modern.

The nonfiction, on the other hand, strikes more with its cer-

INSIDE

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Abul Hasan Spoons like your eyes rest on the placid table and my watch – the star of a blue dial is glowing dimly in my wrist!

I look like a tourist now or like an over-zealous journalist.

At this moment, I have flicked the pains of waiting from the ashes of my cigarette into a black ashtray – those slushy pains, soft like dew!

Won’t you come to the restaurant today, Swati?

ebral touch than its emotions, verging often on the absurd.

There are also a feature on an art exhibition, and a book review.

But most importantly, this issue gives adequate space to a critical piece on the Indiana Jones movie series that offers a different reading of the role the iconic hero plays. In Anvar Alikhan’s reading, the protagonist looks more like a plunderer than an archaeologist. l

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SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016

Elegy for the waiting man

Arts & Letters wishes its readers a very happy Baishakh in advance

Art Review

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Arts & Letters

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The cakes, soft and green as your words, are kept neatly on a saucer.

And some spoons rest like your eyes!

The Chinese curtains are fluttering like your laughter while an impatient butterfly, flying off the decorative patterns of a curtain has made its way right into my head!

Aren’t you coming to the restaurant today, Swati?

Won’t you come to the restaurant today, Swati?

Translated by Rifat Munim

Why archaeologists hate (and love) Indiana Jones

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Reflection on lovers

Send your submissions to: anl@dhakatribune.com

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Arts & Letters

16

SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016

EXHIBITION

The dichotomy of life

Why archaeolo

Arts & Letters wishes to carry critically writt to our readers. As a sample of the kind of w Jones series and brings out the elements th

A

n Anvar Alikhan

Celebration and Frustration

n Nadira Sultana Ava

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t was indeed a rewarding experience to visit the Alliance Francaise de Dhaka that is hosting Rashed Alam’s first solo exhibition “Three Shadows of Art”.

Rashed loves to experiment.

A good number of his paintings verge on the contrarieties of life, the contradictions that constitute a basic theme of art and literature from time immemorial. In this group of paintings that he calls dualist paintings, he captures the dichotomy between pleasure and pain, happiness and melancholy, transience and permanence etc. Life is not only about happy and ecstatic moments, joy and rebirth, but it’s also about pain and frustration, decay and death.

Then there are those miniature sculptures some of which are of great political figures such as Che Guevara. There are also quite a good number of wonderful portraits that would attract anyone with some interest in politics and culture.

His works -- Mystery of Life, Beauty and Dust, Celebration and Frustration -- arrest the viewers’ eyes with a unique shape of the canvas. On the wavy surface, Alam paints in a way that exposes two different perspectives of the subject when seen from opposite angles. In Mystery of Life, Madona, when seen from the left, is a very young looking girl but seen from the right she has grown old.

The artist imbues his paintings with life and feelings with

A miniature sculpture of Che his magical strokes of lines and colours. In another series, named Celebration and Frustration, the joyfully dancing ladies, seen from the left, end in struggle, tension and frustration in the transition of time. One can hardly miss the underlying meaning that humans must enjoy the pleasures of life to their fullest intensity because this pleasure can be over any moment; so one must prepare himself well in advance for the gloomy period of his life as well.

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dreds of his book titles drawn in geometric forms.

Another interesting feature is his experimental miniature portraits of SM Sultan, Zainul Abedin, Da Vinci, Matisse and Picasso, among others, on the wooden handles of small paint brushes.

This is how, through tireless endeavour and dedication, Alam pays his tribute to the time-transcending artworks of those artists.

Alam was born in 1988 in Laxmipur, Bangladesh. He com-

He captures the dichotomy between pleasure and pain, happiness and melancholy, transience and permanence etc. Life is not only about happy and ecstatic moments, joy and rebirth, but it’s also about pain and frustration, decay and death

Illustrious personalities like Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Humayun Ahmed have been embodied in his works. In the portrait of Bangabandhu, one can also spot hundreds of freedom fighters and mass people in the background to imply their contributions to the Liberation War of Bangladesh. Titled The Author, the portrait of Humayan Ahmed is adorned with hun-

pleted his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Dhaka Art College, National University.

The exhibition will run till 15 April and remain open, except on Sundays, from 3:00pm to 9:00pm. However, on Fridays and Saturdays it will remain from 9:00am to 12:00pm and 5:00pm to 8:00pm. l The writer is an art enthusiast and freelance writer.

fter years of rumours, it’s now official! The Disney studio recently announced that the next Indiana Jones film is in the making, and will be released in 2019.

The entire saga began on a beach in Hawaii in 1977 with a conversation between George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Lucas apparently asked Spielberg what he planned to do next. Spielberg replied that what he really wanted to do was to direct a James Bond movie, but that the producers had turned him down, twice.

That conversation eventually ended up with the creation of the bull whip-wielding, leather-jacketed archaeologist Indiana Jones and the film franchise that owes more than a little to James Bond.

In fact, Indiana Jones was listed by the American Film Institute as the second-greatest hero in cinema history (after Atticus Finch, the lawyer hero of To Kill a Mockingbird but, ironically, ahead of Bond himself at #3).

Indiana Jones is a character with whom archaeologists have a love-hate relationship. On the one hand Indy, with his tough-guy persona, exotic adventures and cynical wisecracks, has probably done more to popularise archaeology as a career than any other single factor. In fact, John RhysDavies, one of the regular Indiana Jones crew, claims that he must have met over a hundred young archaeologists who confessed to him that one key reason for their career choice was the fact that they had watched an Indiana Jones movie in their childhood.

On the other hand, archaeologists are embarrassed by Indy’s knuckle-dusting heroics, his lack of scholarship and – most of all – the fact that today he would be described as a “tomb robber” rather than an archaeologist. As an archaeologist once observed about the opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark: There is Indiana Jones, surrounded by all the engineering marvels of an ancient civilisation, and all he can think of is how he

can get his hands on that golden idol. For a proper archaeologist, it would be the least interesting thing around; but for a tomb-robber like him, of course, it was the most important.

So who was the real Indiana Jones? And was he based on any real-life archeologist?

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg say no. According to them, the inspiration for Indy came from a variety of explorers in the action movies of their childhood. But members of their scriptwriting teams have admitted that they researched some real-life personalities and blended their elements into the final Indiana Jones mix – some of the names mentioned being Otto Wilhelm Rahn and paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews.

In fact, these are just two of the dozen-odd historical models who are believed to have been the real-life Indiana Jones.

Otto Wilhelm Rahn was a German medieval scholar of the 1930s who searched for the Holy Grail – the mythical cup that was used to hold Jesus’s blood when he died – based on cues he had discovered in medieval texts. When Heinrich Himmler, the Nazi leader, read about his quest, he funded Rahn’s expeditions to bring back the Holy Grail, with its occult powers for himself (shades of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade).

But Rahn’s quest didn’t lead him anywhere. Persecuted by the vengeful Himmler, he committed suicide.

Roy Chapman Andrews was not an archaeologist, but a paleontologist (or, loosely, a “dinosaur hunter”). He was, like Indiana Jones, not just a college professor, but a rugged, two-fisted adventurer. In the 1930s, he went on expeditions to remote corners of the planet, including Mongolia and the Gobi Desert, where he discovered the first-known fossil dinosaur eggs.

Andrews, like Indiana Jones, habitually carried a gun, which he used to hunt for food as well as to protect his party from bandits.

And, interestingly, like Indy, he also habitually wore a broadbrimmed fedora hat.

While both the men might have

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Arts & Letters

SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016

TA L K I N G F I L M S

ogists hate (and love) Indiana Jones

ten crisp pieces on Bangla, Hindi, English and other foreign-language films that would be of interest write-ups we are expecting, we publish an article that deals briefly with the history of the Indiana hat make the iconic hero a plunderer rather than an archaeologist contributed to the colourful amalgam that is Indiana Jones, a more likely historical model is believed to be the swashbuckling archaeologist Hiram Bingham III. Leading a Yale University expedition to Peru in 1911, Bingham discovered the lost Inca city of Machu Pichu and became an overnight celebrity, returning home with a hoard of 40,000 priceless Inca relics, and writing a best-selling book about his adventures. (And he too, like Indy, habitually wore a broadbrimmed fedora hat.)

The more convincing piece of evidence connecting Bingham with Indiana Jones, however, is the 1954 film Lost City of the Incas, based on Bingham’s adventures and featuring Charlton Heston in the lead role. It’s interesting to note that, when preparing for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Spielberg’s team studied Lost City of the Incas very carefully, and “borrowed” various important elements, including Indy’s costume (down to that hat). But, more than that, they lifted from the Jerry Hopper movie the entire iconic scene of the scale model of the lost city, where Indy uses an ancient reflector to catch the beam of sunlight and thereby reveal the location of the Biblical treasure (the only difference between the two films being that in the 1954 original, the scene is set in South America instead of Egypt).

In recent times, Hiram Bingham III’s reputation has been tarnished: he has been accused by the Peruvian government of looting its treasures, which Peru is trying to recover from the US. And so that is perhaps another similarity between him and Indy: they were both, at the end of the day, just “tomb-robbers”.

So does all this mean that today the romance has gone out of archaeology and that today’s archaeologists are just a bunch of dry-as-dust academics? Not really.

One contemporary archaeologist whose adventures have been in the Indiana Jones tradition (well, almost) is Ivan Sprajc, who has made a career of finding ancient Mayan cities lost in the jungles of Mexico, doing Indy kind of things

(Clockwise) A still from the movie; Otto Wilhelm Rahn; Roy Chap,am Andrews; Hiram Bingham III

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There is Indiana Jones, surrounded by all the engineering marvels of an ancient civilisation, and all he can think of is how he can get his hands on that golden idol

like hacking his way through the dense foliage with a machete and dealing with poisonous snakes, jaguars and local bandits. According to his photographs, he even dresses like Indy, in khaki safari gear, leather boots and, yes, that good old broad-brimmed fedora hat.

Yet, as somebody once succinctly put it, the Indiana Jones theme music gives the game away:

instead of the existing adrenaline-pumping brass-and-percussion march, a slow, introspective cello piece would have been much more appropriate to the world of archaeology. The rule of thumb for an archaeologist, after all, being that for every hour of on-site excavation, you spend four hours in the lab analysing and documenting your finds.

All this brings us back to

the new Indiana Jones movie, tentatively referred to as Indy 5.

All we know for sure about it so far is that Harrison Ford will star, Steven Spielberg will direct, David Koepp will write the script, Janusz Kaminski will be the cinematographer, and the film will be released in July 2019.

But there’s obviously a great deal of speculation. First of all, this will clearly be Ford’s last Indiana

Jones movie (he’ll be 77 when it’s released). So how will the series be kept alive after his departure?

Who knows? Perhaps the film will begin with Ford, and then go into a flashback of a fresh new star who will play a younger version of Indiana Jones for now, and the future.

And if there is to be a new star, who will it be?

The names that are being mentioned are Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper and Robert Pattinson. River Phoenix, Sean Patrick Flanery and Corey Carrier have also played younger versions of Indy in the past.

Well, just as long as it’s not Shia LeBoeuf, who played Indy’s son in the supremely awful Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, it should be okay. l

This piece was first published in Scroll.in

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REFLECTION

BOOK REVIEW

Spider and Other Stories n Sumaiya Tasnim

On lovers n SN Rasul

I

magine this: you’re staring into the eyes of a girl. In the liquid reflection of her eyes, because you’re so close, you can see yourself in all your pathetic glory. Your face betrays a sense of desperation, your eyes echo the infinite number of reflections of two mirrors standing opposite each other, your mouth stays in a half-open, half-closed state of notknowing-what-to-say.

You recall the multiple times you kissed her and how, each time, you saw the entire movie of your lives reel across the floor of your connected timelines. You remember how her neck nestled itself into the groove in your neck, or how the “ground beneath her feet” shook and her voice “could melt mountains.”

But mostly, you remember her eyes, with a hunger so strong that “an astronaut could’ve seen it from space.”

That’s how you think, as you live in art. As you turn a love story into a tragedy through the words of movies, music and literature.

Through hedonistic displays of

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affection and an urge so strong you feel you will explode.

But, of course, you won’t.

But that comes later. The not-exploding comes after the sleepless nights pleasing yourself to the muted displays on your computer, desperately trying to divert your attention. It comes after you’ve analysed and overanalysed, and convinced yourself how this person was the very worst thing, the one thing that you thought this person wouldn’t be: normal.

You look into their eyes and this is what you see: a monster.

And how do you normalise them? You make a list of how each lover is the same.

Step 1 : They meet the love of their lives (not you).

Step 2 : They get screwed over (not by you).

Step 3 : Find someone who thinks they are the love of their lives (you).

Step 4 : Screw this person over (you).

Step 5 : Go back and forth in confusion (you and not you).

Step 6 : Eventually settle for this person (you), or: Step 6 : Settle for a nobody they’ve never met (not you).

Step 7 : Get married, have a baby, and make that their life because they’ve lost everything because they had given too much importance to a person they met when they were too young to know better.

Or so you think. These are the patterns you see amongst your lovers. And with your heart still reeling from the blow, you clutch on to the tiniest bit of attention you get. You need to matter. You need to be not-so-small. You need to be significant.

You take someone’s heart in your hands. You feel it beating to the same rhythm as your heart once did. This is a heart that needs love like you did once. This is where you were. For the shortest time, you perhaps fool yourself into thinking this is what you wanted. This is perhaps what you needed, but you can’t decide.

Confusion infiltrates your mind.

How welcome you are as you take her hand in yours, cradling it inside your palm; brushing the sides of her cheeks with the back of your palm, your fingers intertwined in the curls of her hair.

And, imagine this: You’re

You recall the multiple times you kissed her and how, each time, you saw the entire movie of your lives reel across the floor of your connected timelines

staring into the eyes of a girl. In the liquid reflection of her eyes, because you’re so close, you can see yourself in all your pathetic glory. Your face betrays a sense of desperation, desperate to feel what she feels. Your mouth, halfopen, half-closed, says things it wishes to mean, means things it doesn’t wish to say.

And this is what you feel: nothing.

She can’t help but ask: “Is there something wrong with the way I love?”

What do you say to that?

What can you? No, darling, this is exactly how I loved once, but not anymore, not now.

How far you’ve come, what stories you told yourself! How you lived in art, and wished to turn a tragedy into a world of happy endings, of striking the perfect balance, of being the one thing you knew you never would be.

You normalise yourself. And how? You make a list of how you are the same.

Step 1 : You meet someone you think is the love of your life (not her).

Step 2 : You get screwed over (not by her).

Step 3 : Find someone who thinks you’re the love of their lives (her).

Step 4 : Screw them over (her).

Step 5 : Go back and forth, waver (her and pre-her).

Step 6 : Leave (her).

Step 7 : Repeat (not her and not preher).

How far you’ve come, to only end up here, in front of a girl staring at you, ready to traverse the world in your name. How far you’ve fallen to raise yourself up from the depths of an insignificant pseudo-lover who saw you as you see this girl now, with unforced indifference.

And you wonder if you’ve, finally, after all these years, learnt your lesson. You wonder if, as you crush someone inside the palm of your hands, you’ve realised that, at the end of all love stories, there is a disappearance. You wonder if you understand that lovers are either butterflies or caterpillars. Some are beautiful to begin with, and take it for granted. And some, with enough time, become the butterfly it was destined to become. It is perhaps not the end of the world, for the world, as you walk through it, remains so unjust, so all-thesame.

And you wonder, as you look into the reflection in their eyes and you see yourself, if you’ve become what you most feared: a monster. l The writer is a writer and journalist.

Saleha Chowdhury has authored more than 65 books in Bangla in different genres from fiction to nonfiction to translation.

For her illustrious contribution to literature, she has won the prestigious Bangla Academy Probasi Sahitya Purushkar (2012), Ashraf Siddiqui Gold Medal (2008) and the Anannya Sahitya Purushkar (2009).

Spiders and Other Stories is a collection of her translated short stories, which introduces English readers to the sheer range and main tenets of her short stories. The book’s neatness in terms of selection and rendering owes much to Professor Niaz Zaman’s deft editorship.

Author: Saleha Chowdhury, Edited by Niaz Zaman, Publisher: Writers.ink, 2016, Page: Tk 400 The book has fourteen different short stories and all of them deal with different psychological aspects of men and women. It shows how we, as humans, wear masks and become entirely different than what we, in essence, are. Sometimes she uses black humour, the combination of wit and reality, to capture the contradictions present in society and men. “One Kilogram of Holy Meat” and “Mr Brown’s Feeling Of Loneliness” – both of these stories use black humour.

Her narration always compels readers to empathize with the characters in the stories, some of which have melancholic, humorous or sarcastic streaks in them. The most important part of the book, however, is formed by a group of stories that questions the freedom of women and issues of middle class people.

The stories have been translated in English by Niaz Zaman, Sabreena Ahmed, Jackie Kabir, Masrufa Ayesha Nusrat and Shahruk Rahman, among others.

The author herself translated some stories. l *Sumaiya Tasnim is an undergraduate student of the department of English at BRAC University.

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Heritage

SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016

Bangladesh and a world at war The birth of Bangladesh was only possible after a series of battles and the fall of British rule

n Tim Steel

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e often refer to “the course of history,” deriving the word, with a Latin root, and, quite possibly, a Sanskrit origin. Likewise, of course, association with such as the course of rivers, most of which are difficult and expensive for mankind to change, even if they attempt to do so. Human history has its own way of creating its own courses.

The wellspring of modern Bangladesh, arguably, originated in the famous, and, to some, infamous, Battle of Plassey. That battle was fought for control of the freedom for the East India Company to continue to trade in north-east India, and also for its ability to maintain its contracts to supply gunpowder to Britain.

From that wellspring we can readily trace the “course of history” that arrives at the Bangladesh of today. The opening shots in the brief campaign that eventuated in Plassey, and then Buxar, were, of course, fired when the youthful Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Dawlah, captured the constructed centre of Company activities in his realm, Calcutta in June, 1756.

Plassey, it seems, however, fought a year later, in June, 1757, was by way of simply reversing the outcome of what may be considered the real opening battle in what historians are now beginning to describe as the real First World War. Fought across the world, from the Philippines to the Americas, via Europe and Africa, it, arguably, shaped modern history, leading to centuries of almost continuous warfare across the globe. The “Seven Years” is said, by historians, to have commenced in 1756, and ended, temporarily, in 1763.

Is it, we may reasonably ask ourselves, any coincidence that the lands around the Ganges Delta, and the north-east of the Indian sub-continent, should have been the location of these opening shots? Not, if we accept the view that it was these lands that contained, maybe, as much as 75% of the world supply of saltpetre.

The apparent “spat” between the East India Company, which, we need to remind ourselves, was the contracted supplier of Saltpetre and gunpowder to the British government, was not only about securing the Company’s freedom to trade, but it was also a battle between the Company -- together with the British navy and military and local merchant trading allies

-- and the youthful, and somewhat rash, young Nawab of Bengal, and his French “allies.”

Allies who appear to have acted as “agents provocateur,” in the attack on Calcutta. The two great protagonists in this worldwide war were, in fact, Britain and France, each with a regularly changing array of allied, major European nations. Every “theatre” of the war has its own name. In the Indian sub-continent, the struggle between the two “great” powers, Britain and France, to secure control of the declining territories of the Mughal Empire, and defend interests from each other, and the other powerful groupings of the subcontinent, was known as “The Third Carnatic War.” In many ways, however, it was also as much a struggle for sea power, fought out, mostly, in the Indian Ocean. It was, perhaps, not only the freedom to trade in fabrics and fragrances over which they fought, but, rather, a source

There is no doubting that Britain was the ultimate victor in the wars. In India, it had asserted a supremacy that was confirmed in 1764 at the Battle of Buxar, and from which neither the Mughals, or the French recovered

of essential supplies for such warfare -- gunpowder.

There is no doubting that Britain was the ultimate victor in the wars. In India, it had asserted a supremacy that was confirmed in 1764 at the Battle of Buxar, and from which neither the Mughals, or the French recovered. In North America, Britain had, effectively, secured all the previously French controlled territories; in the Caribbean, it had secured new island colonies; likewise, in Africa.

In Europe, the great nations fought each other, almost to a standstill. And Britain had established itself as “rulers of the sea,” a position only, subsequently, and unsuccessfully, really challenged by Napoleon.

Small wonder, perhaps, that the famous anthem penned in 1740, by Tomson and Arne, “Rule Britannia,” became one of the greatest nationalist anthems that has endured for over two-and-ahalf centuries.

The lands around the Ganges

Delta, most of which are now the heartlands of Bangladesh, have experienced invasions and attempted invasions, for nearly two-and-a-half millennia. This may, perhaps, owe something to what the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb described as a “paradise” of wealth and trade.

The first documented of the would-be-invaders was probably Alexander of Macedon. And the last, if you discount the postBritish era success of Pakistan in obtaining over Lordship by treaty in 1947, was the British.

In every case, it is interesting to consider the international context for these invasions and exploitations.

The arrival of the Khilji was almost certainly motivated by the advance across Central Asia by the Mongol hordes, and sought profitable alternative locations, outside the path of the Mongols.

The Mughals were, opportunistically, seeking to emulate the Safavid and Ottoman

“Gunpowder Empires” in the Middle East. They worked, long and hard, to overcome local opposition in the lands that are now Bangladesh.

The British arrived to trade, which for over a century they did, until the 1680s, when they attempted to seize the port of Chittagong. It may well be no coincidence that the cargoes of saltpetre and refined gunpowder, shipped by the East India Company, contracted as suppliers to the British navy, became increasingly important, as European wars developed across the world, fought out by the great European nations.

It may well have been the Seven Years War, often described as the first real world war that was the background to the British seizure of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa.

Who knows, had not the Nawab, under French and Dutch influence, threatened, not only the Company trade, but essential munitions sources for Britain, perhaps the course of history of Bangladesh would have changed!

Fuelled, no doubt, by those ever increasing supplies of gunpowder, especially from the north-east Indian sub-continent, especially the lands in, and around, today’s Bangladesh, warfare increased in Europe throughout the 17th century, especially the famous, “30 Years War” -- and included civil war, such as that in Britain.

It seems to have become a part of the diplomacy of France’s King Louis XIV to continue the largely religious international wars of

the 16th century -- a somewhat aggressive stance continued by his successor, Louis XV. Early in the 18th century, the war of Spanish Succession became a more completely pan European war. In 1756, however, a war that was to spill across the world became a struggle, as much for worldwide, colonial power as for European power.

It seems highly improbable that control of the rich fabrics, dyes, and popular consumer products for which the lands that are now Bangladesh was, justly, famous, would sufficiently distract world powers to embroil these lands and the seas that served them, in a remote corner of the subcontinent, far from major shipping lanes, in a war being played out across the world. It seems likely that the young Nawab of Bengal may have stepped into that conflict by endangering those vital munitions supply to Britain, and offering to Britain’s main adversary, France.

From that error of judgement, we may consider the “course” of history flowed parallel to the ever changing courses of the Ganges, to in 1971, the creation of the nation of Bangladesh.

Plassey and Buxar, it seems, were, in fact, sideshows in international ambitions. But, from their aftermath, and the rise and fall of the two century long British imperial power, came the birth of today’s Bangladesh. l Tim Steel is a communications, marketing and tourism consultant.

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Downtime

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SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Cold dish (5) 5 Sword handle (4) 8 Beginning (6) 9 On the move (5) 10 Corrosion (4) 11 Postpone (5) 12 Conclude (3) 15 Vend (4) 18 Unmusical sound (5) 21 Female deer (3) 22 Identical (4) 24 Male deer (4) 25 Minister’s residence (5) 28 Repeat from memory (6) 29 Relief for the needy (4) 30 Scottish dances (5)

DOWN 1 Pollen-bearing organ (6) 2 Fate (3) 3 Without moisture (4) 4 Dreadful (4) 5 Employs (5) 6 Accustomed (6) 7 Make lace (3) 13 Denial (2) 14 Deprive of weapons (6) 16 Behold! (2) 17 Makes even (6) 19 Wise men (5) 20 Printers measure (20) 23 Eastern ruler (4) 24 Mineral spring (3) 26 Consumed (3) 27 Born (3)

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 10 represents P so fill P every time the figure 10 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

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SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016

INSIDE #PANAMAPAPERS LEAK

Gulf royalities implicated n Tribune International Desk Saudi Arabia’s bitter Lebanese divorce The abrupt Saudi action in February was triggered by Lebanon’s failure to join other Arab governments in condemning attacks three months ago on the Saudi embassy in Tehran.

PAGE 22

Ansaru, the other Nigerian militant group besides Boko Haram Despite hogging the column inches due to its bloodthirsty tactics, Boko Haram is not the only militant jihadist group causing problems in Nigeria.

PAGE 23

Western media is largely ignoring that the US allies Saudi King Salman and UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed are directly implicated in hiding millions of dollars in assets and wealth.

Both those countries are considered key allies of the United States on military and financial levels. Most Western media seems to focus on other figures included in the leaks such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was not directly linked to the corruption scheme, while ignoring key Western allies in the Middle East.

“By December 2015, nearly all the shares in those companies were held by Mossack Fonseca through trust structures, but the true beneficiary remained the Sheikh (UAE), as well as his wife, son and daughter,” the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), an investigative journalism organisation which received some of the leaked documents, said Tuesday in a breakdown of those involved.

In what is described as the biggest documents leak in the history of journalism, an unknown whistleblower exposed more than 11.5m documents belonging

Bernie Sanders’ claim that Hillary Clinton isn’t qualified to be president landed with a boom this week.

The blow was far from the first — and won’t likely be the last — from the candidate who pledged to stay away from negative campaigning.

PAGE 24

UAE’s al-Nahyan family’s complete dominance

Saudi King Salman, left, and UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed to Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca that helped world leaders, celebrities and rich business people hide assets in offshore tax havens around the world.

Saudi king’s luxurious London homes, yacht

In King Salman’s case, the leaks show that he had “an unspecific role” in Verse Development Corporation, incorporated in 1999, and Inrow Corporation, incorporated in 2002, both set up in the British Virgin Islands (BVI).

In 2009, those two companies took at least two mortgages worth more than $34m and the money was used for purchasing luxury homes in central London in con-

REUTERS

nection to the king and his family.

While King Salman’s precise role is not specified, both mortgages are mentioned “in relation to” him and his assets, the ICIJ said.

King Salman was also described as “the principal user” of a motor yacht, Erga, named after the king’s palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and registered in London by a BVI company named Crassus Limited, incorporated in 2004.

Saudi Arabia is the world’s top oil producer with more than 11m barrels per day. Most of the financial benefit from the country’s oil mostly goes to the hands of the ruling al-Saud family. Late Saudi King Abdullah’s fortune was estimated by Forbes magazine at

Sheikh Khalifa, who became the president of the UAE in 2000 after the death of his father, used the services of Mossack Fonseca to establish at least 30 companies in the BVI that owned and operated $1.7bn worth of commercial and residential assets for the Sheikh in high-end neighbourhoods in the UK. The UAE is the seventh oil producer in the world at more than 3m barrels per day, and President Khalifa has a net worth of more than $24bn. The country is made of seven emirates. The richest one is the capital Abu Dhabi as it controls more than 95% of the country’s oil. Khalifa is the emir of Abu Dhabi.

In the UAE, most of the wealth from oil is concentrated within the citizen population of the country which amounts to less than 15%, or less than 1m people, of the country’s 7m total population. l

INSIGHT

Arab politicisation of #PanamaPapers leak n Tribune International Desk

Sanders’ hit on Clinton not the first, or likely the last

$18bn. Meanwhile, current King Salman’s net worth is estimated at $17bn.

However, Saudi Arabia has more than 20% poverty, meaning more than 4m people live on less than $17 a day.

The leak this week of millions of financial documents from a Panama law firm sparked a range of reactions across Arabic media, from calls for legal action against leading figures whose names were implicated to claims that the whole thing was a CIA conspiracy.

A clear distinction between pro-government and more liberal or critical media emerged with some outlets failing to report sensitive names, including royal family members or politicians, while others openly called for prosecution of those involved.

Egyptian news website Masrawy focused on Alaa Mubarak, son of deposed Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak. The website reported that the Panama papers released copies of Alaa’s passports and revealed that his company was fined for violating procedural and regulatory laws.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Mousa, a talk show host on Egypt’s Al Bald

TV claimed that the CIA was behind the leaks. He argued that the fact no American leaders were implicated and that they targeted the families of Mubarak, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Saudi King Salman as well as many others indicated foul play.

In Morocco, independent website albadil.info published an op-ed

by Hamed al-Mahdawi, in which he urged the government to investigate the Panama Papers because King Mohammed VI’s secretary was among those named.

“Silence may harm the reputation of the kingdom and the king,” said Mahdawi, who called on authorities to take prompt action over the documents.

In Tunisia, Mosaique FM Radio reported that the public prosecution office plans to bring legal action against some who appeared in the leaked papers and will sue those who are proven to be involved in money laundering.

The reaction in the Gulf was different. While many officials and

members of ruling families in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries figured in the documents, Gulf media was unsurprisingly selective in their coverage, preferring to focus on other countries and ignoring the names of emirs, princes and key officials that were revealed by ICIJ. A news report by al-Jazeera Arabic chose to focus on the Syrian leadership, where the cousin of the Syrian president, Rami Makhlouf, was named in the documents.

UAE’s popular news website 24.ae published an article headed: “Iran and Hezbollah at the forefront of those involved in the Panama Papers scandal with 33 names and companies”.

The news report added that the Iran-Hezbollah involvement included engaging in the drug trade in Mexico.

The London-based Saudi newspaper, Alsharq Alawsat adopted a similar selective approach by focusing on opponents of the kingdom and GCC countries. The paper ran an article titled: “Panama

Papers stir international controversy…and Putin is the angriest”.

The opposing camp also went on the attack. The Russian Arabic version of Sputnik news agency seized the opportunity to attack the Saudi king, whose name was one of a dozen heads of state to be revealed in the papers, as well as that of the former emir of Qatar.

The pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar seized the opportunity to attack traditional enemies of the Lebanese militia - Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE. Egyptian newspaper Youm7 also cherry-picked from the papers and used them to attack Egypt’s political opponents.

The paper focused on the former emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. It reported on his dealings with legal firm “Mossack Fonseca to hide the money he gained when he was an emir”. l

[This is an excerpt of an Middle East Eye article, which can be found at http://bit.ly/1oIMBwh]

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INSIGHT

Saudi Arabia’s bitter Lebanese divorce n Reuters, Beirut/Riyad The waspish cartoon in a Saudi-owned newspaper summed up the anger behind Riyadh’s decision to cancel billions of dollars in military aid and suspend decades of engagement in Lebanon’s fraught politics. “The State of Lebanon: April Fool”, it read.

Published on the same day that a Saudi-owned television news channel shut down its Lebanese operations, Friday’s cartoon was the latest sign of a falling out which began in January and has become increasingly embittered.

The cartoon’s stinging message, that the Lebanese government is a fictitious joke, reflects Saudi Arabia’s conviction that the Shia group Hezbollah, backed by Riyadh’s regional rival Iran, now pulls the strings in Beirut.

But the Saudi response, cutting $3bn in military aid and another $1bn to the security services, appeared self-defeating to many Lebanese - by weakening the army, a counter-balance to Hezbollah, it leaves the Shia group even stronger.

“By default we’re abandoning Lebanon to Iran,” said a senior European diplomat. “It’s a big blow to Lebanon”.

It would leave Hezbollah, and by extension the group’s backers in Tehran, more dominant than they have ever been in volatile Lebanon, a Middle East banking and trade center that is also home to more than a million Syrian refugees.

An employee walks on newspapers after protesters attacked the office of Saudiowned newspaper Asharq al-Awsat in Beirut last Friday REUTERS

The abrupt Saudi action in February was triggered by Lebanon’s failure to join other Arab governments in condemning attacks three months ago on the Saudi embassy in Tehran.

The early release from a Lebanese jail of a former minister, convicted of smuggling explosives in a plot allegedly supported by the Iranian-allied Syrian authorities, suggested to Riyadh that Lebanon’s judiciary was also now beholden to its enemies.

Saudi Arabia spearheaded efforts to get Gulf Arab states and the Arab League to designate Hezbollah a terrorist organisation, which led to reports of Lebanese nationals being forced to leave Gulf countries because of alleged Hezbollah links.

Lebanon says it is unable to confirm any expulsions, but politicians in Beirut are taking the reports seriously.

What troubles Saudi Arabia is “a militia that is classified as a terrorist group is now hijacking measures in government,” Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said last month.

Beyond that, Saudi Arabia believes Hezbollah also projects power - and Iranian influence - well beyond Lebanon’s borders.

The group has fought for President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s five-year conflict and Riyadh has accused it of intervention as far afield as Yemen on Saudi Arabia’s southern border, accusations Hezbollah denies.

Leaving Lebanon

Saudi Arabia’s shift signaled a retreat from a long history of power-broking in Lebanon.

The kingdom hosted peace talks which ended Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war and, in the post-war years when violence largely subsided but rivalries festered, it supported Sunni Muslims and their Christian allies in the March 14 coalition.

Six years ago, then-king Abdullah of Saudi Arabia visited Beirut to defuse a crisis between March 14 and their March 8 rivals, including Hezbollah, which threatened renewed conflict.

Directly or indirectly, through the billionaire businessman and former prime Minister Saad al-Hariri and his assassinated father Rafik, Riyadh also channeled hundreds of millions of dollars to its allies in Lebanon.

The Hariri family owns a major Saudi construction firm, Saudi Oger.

Viewed from the Gulf, the kingdom’s actions reflect a rational re-evaluation of the diminishing returns on its efforts in Lebanon, frustration with its increasingly impotent Lebanese allies, and strategic priorities which placed the country well below Syria, Yemen and Iraq in a turbulent Middle East.

“The grant (to Lebanon’s army) was based on the assumption that it would strengthen state institutions and allow them to challenge non-state institutions. This was not happening,” said Mustafa Alani, a security analyst with close ties to Riyadh’s Interior Ministry.

“They were convinced Hezbol-

lah hijacked the Lebanese state.”

A Riyadh-based diplomat said Saudi Arabia was also frustrated with Saad Hariri, Lebanon’s main Sunni Muslim politician, who has spent most of the last five years outside the country because of fears for his security. His father was killed in 2005.

Viewed from Beirut, Riyadh’s move appears more emotional than strategic.

“They are actively taking punitive measures,” said a Lebanese analyst with close Saudi contacts, adding that Hariri had no advance warning of the move.

“The Saudis have many fine qualities but statecraft and diplomacy is not one of their skills,” said Rami Khouri, a senior fellow at the American University in Beirut.

“They are really worried, frenzied and flailing around and it’s very dangerous. Right now they are acting in a dangerous and reckless way,” he said.

“What they are doing probably alienates Lebanon more from them... (and) strengthens Iranian links, strengthens Hezbollah. Hezbollah is essential to the defense of the country today.”

The group, which has two ministers in the barely functioning government, fought Israel in an inconclusive war in 2006.

Its leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has mocked Saudi Arabia in recent speeches, saying it spent large sums of money trying to eliminate Hezbollah over the last decade, and was lashing out after setbacks in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain.

“Yes, the Saudis are angry with us,” he said in early March. “I understand the Saudi anger. Why? Because when someone fails, the least he can do is get angry.”

Supporters say Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria has limited the spillover of fighting into Lebanon.

Opponents accuse it of fuelling sectarian violence in the country, violence which led Gulf states to warn their nationals against travel to Lebanon long before the recent campaign against Hezbollah.

The percentage of Gulf visitors to Lebanon has halved since 2009, said Nassib Ghobril, chief economist at Lebanon’s Byblos Bank.

Gulf investment has dropped off and Gulf Arabs have been selling their Beirut homes, he said.

“Obviously Lebanon needs to repair its relationship with the Gulf Cooperation Council - it’s a lifeline of our economy,” Ghobril said.

Khouri, the AUB academic, did not rule out future rapprochement, but that appears distant for now.

Friday’s announcement that the television channel Al Arabiya was closing down in Beirut left 27 employees out of work. And hours after Asharq al-Awsat’s cartoon was published, protesters broke into its Beirut offices.

On Sunday, a banner was hung from a bridge over a highway near Beirut. A parody of the Saudi national flag’s image of a sword and the Islamic profession of faith, it showed a bloodied sword poised above a captive’s head. “The deadly House of Saud,” it read. l

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INSIGHT

SOUTH ASIA

Ansaru, the other Nigerian militant group besides Boko Haram n Tribune International Desk Despite hogging the column inches due to its bloodthirsty tactics, Boko Haram is not the only militant jihadist group causing problems in Nigeria.

The Vanguard for the Protection of Muslims in Black Africa— known by its abbreviated Arabic name of Ansaru—announced its existence in 2012 and has since carried out a spate of kidnappings, particularly of foreign nationals.

Nigerian authorities claimed a success in their counter-extremism operations, when military spokesman Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar said that the purported leader of Ansaru, Khalid Al-Barnawi, had been arrested on Saturday.

What is Ansaru?

Ansaru announced its existence in January 2012 with a statement in which it claimed it would “encourage what is good and see to its spread and… discourage evil and try to eliminate it.” On other occasions, the group has said it exists to reclaim the “lost dignity of Muslims of black Africa” and wishes to create an Islamic caliphate in Nigeria.

Though it has been relatively quiet in Nigeria in recent years, the group gained infamy for carrying out several high-profile kidnappings—since 2012, Ansaru is believed by the British government to have been responsible for kidnapping at least eight mainly European hostages and killing

Reuters as a “giant stride” in Nigeria’s fight against militancy.

But the Nigerian authorities are yet to release reliable images or footage of Al-Barnawi in captivity and according to Fulan Nasrullah, an independent conflict analyst in Nigeria, Al-Barnawi remains a free man.

According to Nasrullah, Al-Barnawi has been based in Cameroon of late, where he heads up a separate group that is affiliated to Ansaru.

Couple of Ansaru militants were on patrol in southern Nigeria AFRICAEAGLE.COM several of them.

In its first action in March 2012, Ansaru reportedly killed one British and one Italian hostage in Sokoto, northwestern Nigeria, after kidnapping them in May 2011.

In one of its deadliest attacks, Ansaru said it killed seven foreign hostages in March 2013 after kidnapping them from a construction site in the northern state of Bauchi.

What are Ansaru’s links to other groups?

The group emerged as a splinter from Boko Haram in 2012 due to ideological differences, according to Bat-el Ohayon, co-founder of sub-Saharan Africa analysts Afrique Consulting Group. “The leaders of Ansaru, among them Khalid Al-Barnawi, did not agree with the operational methods of Boko Haram, which included killing Muslims,” says Ohayon.

Since splitting from Boko Har-

am, various sources have said that the group’s main allegiance is to the global al-Qaeda jihadi movement. In classifying Ansaru as a terrorist group in November 2012, the British Home Office said that it was “broadly aligned with al-Qaeda” and an unnamed serving officer in the Nigerian Army described Al-Barnawi as “the backbone of all al-Qaeda affiliate groups in West Africa,” according to German publication DW.

Who is Khalid Al-Barnawi?

A mysterious figure subject to a $5m US bounty, Al-Barnawi was allegedly a high-ranking member of Boko Haram before Ansaru broke away from its parent group in 2012. Nigerian authorities claimed that Al-Barnawi had been detained in Lokoja, the capital of the central state of Kogi, on Saturday. Defense spokesman Abubakar described the arrest to

Why is Ansaru a problem for Nigeria?

One of Ansaru’s main achievements has been to broaden the geographical scope of militancy in Nigeria. Boko Haram, led by the better-known Abubakar Shekau— who, along with Al-Barnawi and another militant named Abubakar Adam Kambar, was categorised as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” by the US in June 2012— has focused its activities in northeast Nigeria, with the vast majority of deaths caused by the group coming in Borno state.

Ansaru, meanwhile, has kidnapped foreign nationals in Kebbi, Katsina and Bauchi states, which are in northwestern, northern and northeastern Nigeria respectively.

“Much of Ansaru’s threat comes from its ability to operate in central areas of the country, areas that are closer to the economic heart of Nigeria,” says Ohayon. l

[This is an excerpt of a Newsweek article, which can be found at http:// bit.ly/1WhQKF2]

ADB: TAPI gas pipeline through Afghanistan doable n Reuters, Islamabad The Asian Development Bank hopes to overcome by 2020 the challenges of building a $10bn gas pipeline through Afghanistan’s most violent areas, by making sure it benefits Afghan contractors and communities, a bank official said.

Shareholders of the Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (TAPI) project agreed on Thursday to invest $200m in studies and engineering for the pipeline, looking to link gas-rich Turkmenistan with eager markets in Pakistan and India.

Originating at the giant Galkynysh gas field in Turkmenistan, the TAPI pipeline, which involves the four countries’ own energy companies, would carry 33bn cubic metres (bcm) of gas a year.

But current plans route the

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World

TAPI PIPELINE

underground pipeline through one of Afghanistan’s most violence-wracked provinces, Helmand, where the Taliban insurgents hold sway.

“I agree ... we’re going through some of the toughest territory in

Afghanistan,” said Sean O’Sullivan, the Central and West Asia director general of the ADB, a transaction adviser for the project.

“The challenge is there. There’s no doubt about it, but I am sure it’s doable.”

The ADB would be able to capitalise on lessons it has learnt from other infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, including building power transmission lines from Uzbekistan to Kabul and a setting up a railway in the north, O’Sullivan said.

Turkmenistan, which sits on the world’s fourth-largest gas reserves, started building its section of the 1,814km link, designed to ease its dependence on Russia and China, last December, but the three other countries have yet to begin work.

Turkmen state energy firm Turkmengas is the main shareholder of TAPI Pipeline Company Limited, the joint venture set up to carry out the project. Other investors are Afghan Gas Enterprise, Pakistan’s Inter State Gas Systems Ltd and GAIL (India) Ltd. l

China seals Pakistan ties with $2bn in deals Companies from China’s Xinjiang region signed deals worth about $2bn with Pakistan this week during a visit to Pakistan by Xinjiang’s top official. Pakistan last year agreed energy and infrastructure projects worth $46bn with China to set up a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

In return, China will get a free trade zone in Pakistan’s Gwadar port and access to the Arabian Sea. -REUTERS

INDIA

India in talks to buy US Predator drones India is in talks with the US to purchase 40 Predator surveillance drones, officials said. India is trying to equip the military with more unmanned technologies to gather intelligence as well as boost its firepower along the vast land borders with Pakistan and China.

It also wants a closer eye on the Indian Ocean.

-REUTERS

CHINA

China seeks clarification on #PanamaPapers China needs clarification on a massive leak of documents from a Panamanian law firm that revealed family members of China’s top leaders. Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday. The Foreign Ministry has denounced accusations arising from the release of “Panama Papers” as groundless.

-REUTERS

ASIA PACIFIC

Malaysia extends ban on bauxite mining Malaysia is extending its ban on bauxite mining from mid-April amid concerns over contamination.

The government in mid-January had initially implemented a three-month ban in Pahang over concerns about hazardous dust and pollution. It was earlier reported that on the modern day gold rush of bauxite mining in Pahang and its impact on residents and the environment weeks before authorities announced the January ban.

-AFP

MIDDLE EAST

Turkey believes Ankara, Jerusalem near normal relations Turkey and Israel are on the brink of restoring their ties after a bitter falling-out five years ago after talks in London. Turkey was a key regional ally of Israel until the two countries cut ties in 2010 over the deadly storming by Israeli commandos of a Turkish aid ship bound for Gaza, which left 10 Turkish activists dead. After years of bitter accusations and inflammatory rhetoric the two sides held secret talks to seek a rapprochement.

-AFP

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SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016

USA

Sanders accepts Vatican invitation Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders embraced a kindred spirit in the popular Pope Francis on Friday when he announced a visit to the Vatican next week. Sanders accepted an invitation to Vatican City, where he will give an April 15 speech on how to create a moral economy, a favourite theme of the pontiff, who has chided the world’s wealthy and political economic elite for being deaf to the poor. -REUTERS

THE AMERICAS

Top Brazil prosecutor opposes Lula appointment Brazil’s chief prosecutor dealt a fresh blow Thursday to President Dilma Rousseff and predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, saying his cabinet appointment was an attempt to avoid arrest and disrupt investigations.

Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot, in a report filed with the court, recommended it annul the appointment.

The full court must now rule whether Lula can take up the job.

-AFP

UK

UK PM slips in polls amid #PanamaPapers saga David Cameron’s approval rating has slipped, with the Panama Papers row taking its toll on the prime minister, according to a poll published Friday. The YouGov poll showed Cameron’s approval rating at 34% compared to 39% in a similar poll in February. The same rating for opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn rose to 30% compared to 25%.

-AFP

EUROPE

Paris attacks suspect Abrini arrested Paris attacks suspect Mohamed Abrini was arrested in a Brussels district Friday, a police source confirmed.

The police source gave no details about the location or circumstances of Abrini’s arrest but VRT television said it took place in the Anderlecht district of Brussels. Abrini, a Belgian of Moroccan origin, was seen at a petrol station north of Paris two days before the attacks with key suspect Salah Abdeslam.

-AFP

AFRICA

Saudi to build bridge over Red Sea to connect with Egypt Saudi King Salman on Friday announced plans to build a bridge over the Red Sea to Egypt, in a lavish show of support for the government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

The 80-year-old monarch is on a rare five-day trip to Egypt, a country that Riyadh views as a cornerstone to its ambitions in the changing region. Saudi Arabia has been the key backer of Sisi since 2013.

-AFP

INSIGHT

Sanders’ hit on Clinton not the first, or likely the last n Tribune International Desk Bernie Sanders’ claim that Hillary Clinton isn’t qualified to be president landed with a boom this week. The blow was far from the first — and won’t likely be the last — from the candidate who pledged to stay away from negative campaigning.

The Vermont senator kicked off his insurgent presidential bid last year with a pledge to focus on issues over character attacks and boasted often that he’s never run a negative ad. But for months Sanders has sharply criticised Clinton, slamming her for supporting the war in Iraq, for her record on trade and most aggressively for her lucrative paid speeches before Wall Street bankers.

While his tone has shifted as the race has grown more combative on both sides, Sanders’ campaign argues that he has kept his promise. They say he has focused his fire on policy and is simply fighting back against Clinton’s own attacks.

“They’re going after us very big-time and in a very negative way,” Sanders said Friday in an interview with the Associated Press.

“And I wanted to make very clear that we will not be a doormat, we will not be attacked without re-

US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders talks to reporters in New York City on Friday REUTERS sponding. And my point was to focus on the issues where I thought she was lacking.”

The conflict between the two flared this week ahead of the crucial April 19 New York primary. On Wednesday, Clinton questioned Sanders’ truthfulness and policy know-how, though she avoided direct questions about whether he was qualified to be president.

Still, Sanders seized on the remarks at a rally that night, telling a crowd of thousands that Clinton has been saying that he’s “not qualified to be president.

“I don’t believe that she is qualified; if she is, through her super PAC, taking tens of millions of dollars in special-interest funds,” he said, referring to outside funding groups that can accept unlimited

donations as long as they don’t coordinate with the campaign.

Clinton aides and supporters pushed back aggressively. A fundraising email sent out shortly after from Christina Reynolds, the Clinton campaign’s deputy communications director, said Sanders had “crossed a line,” calling it a “ridiculous and irresponsible attack.”

Sanders said in the interview Friday that “by definition, she has a great deal of experience. No one can debate that. But I think in terms of judgment,” he said, pointing to her vote to authorise the Iraq war, supporting past trade deals and allowing super PACs to support her campaign. “I think those are judgment calls that call into question whether she should be elected president.”

The increased scrapping comes as the surprisingly competitive Democratic race heads into the high-stakes final contests. Sanders has been on a winning streak, but still must take 68% of the remaining delegates and uncommitted superdelegates to win the Democratic nomination. That would require blow-out victories in the upcoming primaries.

Steve McMahon, a Democratic strategist who advised Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign, said Sanders’ comments on Clinton’s qualifications was an “authentic reaction” to the situation, but “it was not accurate.”

“Trying to prosecute an argument that she’s not qualified to be president is ridiculous and it’s a losing argument,” he said.

Sanders has since softened his rhetoric. In an interview Thursday on “CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley” Sanders noted that Clinton “has years of experience. She is extremely intelligent” and said that if Clinton is the party’s nominee, “I will certainly support her.”

On Friday morning at a Manhattan town hall meeting broadcast on NBC’s “Today Show,” Sanders said “of course,” Clinton was qualified to become president.

“I respect Hillary Clinton, we were colleagues in the Senate, and on her worst day she would be an infinitely better president than either of the Republican candidate,” he said. l

INSIGHT

Offshore trust admission deepens British PM’s problems n Reuters, London David Cameron had hoped to focus on campaigning to keep Britain in the EU before a referendum in June, but questions about his wealth, government spending and a steel crisis have blurred the prime minister’s message.

After four days and four different statements over his late father’s inclusion in the “Panama Papers”, Cameron said on Thursday he once had a stake in his father’s offshore trust and had profited from it, spurring calls for the leader to resign.

It is unlikely Cameron will follow Iceland’s prime minister and leave office over the documents, but the blow to his image could hurt his campaign to persuade Britons to stay in the EU. On Thursday, Cameron used a television interview to admit he

David Camron

REUTERS

had a holding in his late father’s Panamanian trust, Blairmore, but had sold it in 2010 before becoming prime minister.

“Of course I did own stocks and shares in the past - quite naturally because my father was a stockbroker. I sold them all in 2010, because if I was going to become prime minister I didn’t want anyone to say you have other agendas, vested interests,” he told ITV. “We owned 5,000 units in Blairmore Investment Trust, which we

sold in January 2010. That was worth something like £30,000.”

He underlined that he had paid tax on the dividends and on the profits, and said his father had left him £300,000 on his death. He also suggested he had not immediately detailed his affairs because he had struggled with the critical coverage of his father, “a man I love and admire and miss every day”.

Cameron said the unit trust was not set up to avoid tax but to invest in dollar-denominated shares and he also promised to publish his tax returns.

Rich

There is no indication that he or his father had done anything illegal, but by casting a spotlight on the Eton-educated Cameron’s wealth, the admission has fuelled a public perception that his Conservative Party rules to protect the

rich while punishing the poorest with its austerity push.

Opposition politicians said his initial reluctance to describe his financial connections with his late father after the Panama Papers were leaked on Sunday begged more questions of the leader, who has championed policies to reduce tax avoidance.

“Did the prime minister know that this fund was linked to tax avoidance? If so, when, and if not, why not? Given that he claimed that “sunlight is the best disinfectant”, why has it taken six years for this to come to light?” said Tom Watson, deputy leader of the opposition Labour Party.

Calls for Cameron to resign trended on Twitter, with one user saying that if “Iceland can do it, I’m bloody sure the UK can too”. Others accused him of hypocrisy for having used an offshore unit while calling for an end to tax avoidance. l

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INSIDE

Arambagh clinch U-16 Pioneer League Arambagh emerged as the champions of the Dhaka North and South City Corporation Pioneer (Under-16) Football League, beating Gazipur City Football Academy 2-0 in the grand finale at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. PAGE 26

Narine has bowling action cleared West Indies off-spinner Sunil Narine was cleared to resume his career after a suspension for a suspect bowling action ruled him out of his team’s World Twenty20 title-winning campaign. The 27-year-old was suspended last November after being cited during a ODI in Sri Lanka. PAGE 27

Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana (C), Borussia Dortmund midfielder Sven Bender (R) and goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller fight for the ball during their UEFA Europe League quarter-final, first-leg in Dortmund, western Germany on Thursday AFP

Klopp’s Liverpool hold Dortmund, champions Sevilla win in Europa n AFP, Paris

Klopp unable to walk alone in Dortmund Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp received a rapturous, emotional welcome on his return to Borussia Dortmund on Thursday, the occasion marked by a spine-tingling rendition of "You’ll Never Walk Alone". PAGE 28

‘Rambo’ Ibra sees his life on big screen Never one to shun the limelight, Zlatan Ibrahimovic claimed that he could make a film about his life and portray it as a 10-part saga just like Rambo. “There are talks but nothing has been decided,” the PSG star told a Swedish business newspaper. PAGE 29

Liverpool claimed an excellent 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday as Jurgen Klopp made an emotional return to the Westfalenstadion.

The game marked Klopp’s first coming together with his former club since his departure last summer and subsequent appointment

by Liverpool back in October.

He saw Divock Origi put the Premier League side in front in the 36th minute before Mats Hummels equalised for the hosts three minutes into the second half.

However, that away goal means Liverpool have the upper hand ahead of next Thursday’s second leg at Anfield and Klopp will be confident his side can progress to the last four after an encouraging display in Germany.

A rousing rendition of "You’ll Never Walk Alone" - the Liverpool hymn that is also a Dortmund anthem - preceded kick-off as Klopp took in the scene at the stadium where he is still idolised after a highly successful seven years as

coach.

“It was respectful, nice and how it should be,” Klopp said of his welcome.

But perhaps the emotion of the occasion got to the Bundesliga team because they were unable to repeat their superb performance in tearing Tottenham Hotspur apart in the last round.

Their 36-goal leading scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was subdued and they were denied an opener when Mamadou Sakho bravely blocked a Henrikh Mkhitaryan shot.

Dejan Lovren should have done better than head straight at Roman Weidenfeller at the other end but Origi put the visitors in front when he held off his marker and slotted low past the ‘keeper after latching onto a Jordan Henderson flick.

Weidenfeller prevented Origi from scoring again just before the interval and Dortmund drew level shortly after the restart, captain Hummels rising above Adam Lallana to head in a Mkhitaryan cross.

Weidenfeller saved well from

Philippe Coutinho and the final scoreline means the tie remains up for grabs, even if Liverpool have the edge.

Meanwhile, holders Sevilla remain on course to win the trophy for the third season running after coming from behind to win 2-1 away to Spanish rivals Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of their tie.

Sevilla have not won away from home all season in La Liga and, after a goalless first half in which Aritz Aduriz hit the post for the hosts, they went behind in the 48th minute.

Iker Muniain crossed and the evergreen Aduriz headed in his 32nd goal of a remarkable campaign.

But as the rain lashed down in the Basque Country, Sevilla silenced San Mames when Ever Banega pounced on a short headed back-pass by Muniain and set up Timothee Kolodziejczak to score.

Kevin Gameiro then set up substitute Vicente Iborra to give Sevilla the win seven minutes from time and leave Athletic up against it ahead of the return leg.l

MATCH STATS Dortmund

v

Liverpool

59 16 7 2 7 0 5 1 3 0 13 638 578

Possession (%)

41 13 5 3 5 0 1 4 2 0 14 348 287

Total attempts On target Off target Blocked Against woodwork Corners Offsides Yellow cards Red cards Fouls committed Passes Completed

RESULTS Athletic Bilbao

1-2

Aduriz 48

Dortmund

1-1

Hummels 48

Braga

Bakambu 3, 63

Liverpool Origi 36

1-2

Wilson Eduardo 89

Villarreal

Sevilla Kolodziejczak 56, Iborra 83

2-1

Shakhtar Donetsk Rakitskiy 45, Ferreyra 75

Sparta Prague Brabec 45+4

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WI series within two months, says BCB chief n Mazhar Uddin 2016 World Twenty20 champions the West Indies are likely to play a Test series against the Tigers within the next two months, Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan informed the media yesterday.

The BCB boss said the West Indies Cricket Board has expressed their interest to tour Bangladesh and already sent a proposal for a Test series. The BCB though is also considering adding both ODIs and T20Is to the itinerary.

The board is treating the West Indies series with a great deal of significance as it precedes the important tour of India.

“We received a proposal from the WICB and they want to play a Test series with us. We are interested to play the other formats as well along with the Test series,” said Nazmul yesterday.

A final decision regarding the West Indies bilateral series will be finalised in a meeting of the board directors tomorrow.

Meanwhile, BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury has stated that the Sri Lankan team will not be able to contest a series in Bangladesh this month.

“The BCB had invited Sri Lanka for a series in April but the series has been postponed till February 2017,” said Nizamuddin. l

An action of the Dhaka North and South City Corporation Pioneer (Under-16) Football League final between Arambagh and Gazipur City Football Academy at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. Arambagh goalkeeper Mohammad Emon was named the player of the final while Bashundhara Kings' Mehedi Hasan was adjudged the player of the tournament MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Arambagh clinch U-16 Pioneer League n Tribune Report Arambagh Football Academy emerged as the champions of the Dhaka North and South City Corporation Pioneer (Under-16) Football League, beating Gazipur City Football Academy 2-0 in the grand finale at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Arambagh, a stone’s throw away

from the final venue, were unbeaten throughout the entire campaign.

Following a listless first half, Arambagh captain Mithu put his side ahead with just two minutes into the second half. After receiving a through pass from Arif, Mithu unleashed a grounder from the centre of the box which gave the Gazipur City goalkeeper no chance.

presentation ceremony but was absent. In his absence, Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports Arif Khan Joy distributed the prizes among the winners as the chief guest.

Around 2,000 budding footballers from all over the country, split into 60 teams, took part in the league that got underway last February at eight different venues in the capital.l

Fahim doubled the lead, and in the process, completed their victory in the 66th minute, placing home another fine cross from Arif.

Meanwhile in the third-place deciding match yesterday at the same venue, Bashundhara Kings defeated Uttara Recreation Club 4-3.

Bangladesh Football Federation president Kazi Salahuddin was expected to grace his presence in the

Murali made Gilchrist feel like a 10-year-old n cricket.com.au Adam Gilchrist says legendary subcontinent spinners Muttiah Muralidaran and Harbhajan Singh were the bowlers that caused him the most difficulty during his decorated career.

Gilchrist compiled 33 centuries in all formats across his 12 years at international level and enjoyed success around the world, including in the subcontinent.

But the former wicketkeeperbatsman says the bowlers that troubled him the most were two of the greatest off-spinners of the modern game, Sri Lanka’s Muralidaran and India’s Harbhajan.

And he says the rubber-wristed Murali, Test cricket’s most prolific wicket-taker, provided him the biggest challenge.

“It would be a combination of Murali and Bhajji,” Gilchrist was quoted as saying by PTI when asked which bowlers he feared the most.

“I could never read the delivery from Murali’s finger movements. He always made me feel like a 10-year-old.”

Despite being perplexed by Murali’s unique action, Gilchrist did enjoy plenty of success against both the Sri Lankan and Harbhajan during his career.

And statistics show he was far more

effective against Murali than he was against Harbhajan.

One of Gilchrist’s greatest knocks at Test level came against Murali and Sri Lanka in Kandy in 2004, when he hammered a magnificent 144 batting

at No.3 in the second innings to help steer Australia to a tense 27-run win after they’d conceded a lead of 91 on the first innings. The left-hander hit 48 from 68 balls he faced from Murali in that innings, including six fours and a six, although the spinner eventually dismissed him LBW. Murali removed Gilchrist four times in six matches at Test level, with the batsman averaging almost 52 across nine innings against the off-spinner.

And the numbers are firmly in Gilchrist’s favour in one-day cricket; Murali dismissed the Australian just twice in 32 matches at ODI level, the Australian hitting seven centuries against him, including a match-winning performance in the 2007 World Cup final.

However, Gilchrist says the numbers belie the true story, saying he employed a horizontal bat to counter Murali’s vicious and unpredictable turn.

“Whenever I was in doubt, I promptly swept,” Gilchrist said. “There was this Test innings where I had gone out with this mindset to sweep.

“First ball, I swept and the ball went for four. Second ball, I swept again.

This time, it went straight up in the sky and I was caught.

“Next match, again I swept Murali the first ball and was caught plumb in front of the stumps.”

Gilchrist also used the sweep shot with mixed results against Harbhajan, who dismissed him seven times in Test matches and four times in ODIs. Gilchrist famously struck centuries in the opening Tests of Australia’s 2001 and 2004 Tours of India, two rollicking hundreds that propelled the tourists to rare Test victories on Indian soil.

While the Australian got hold of Harbhajan on both of those occasions, the Indian ultimately dismissed him both times and also had the last laugh in those two series.

Harbhajan removed Gilchrist for scores of 0, 1 and 1 in the second and third Tests of the 2001 series and dismissed him for another single score in the fourth Test of the 2004 tour.

Overall, Gilchrist wasn’t at his best in matches in which Harbhajan played; he averaged 25 from 10 Tests in matches against the spinner and 31 from 25 ODIs against him.l

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Stokes ready for more ‘death’ duty despite World T20 final hurt

QUICK BYTES Delegates nominations’ submission deadline expires today As announced earlier, the upcoming Bangladesh Football Federation election is scheduled to be held on April 30 and today is the deadline by which the respective football associations and clubs must submit the names of the delegates to football’s governing body in the country. The draft list of the delegates and the voters will be revealed tomorrow while any objections must be filed by this Monday. The final voter list will be given out at the BFF House this Wednesday. The election will be conducted in the capital’s Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel.

In that regard, a 3-member election board has been formed with BFF disciplinary committee chairman Mezbahuddin Ahmed as the head.

Mahfizur Rahman and Atiqur Rahman vwill assist Mesbahuddin.

n AFP, London

–TRIBUNE REPORT

Nagatomo commits to Inter until 2019 Japan defender Yuto Nagatomo has extended his contract with Inter Milan until 2019, the Italian club said on their website (www.inter. it) yesterday. “I’ve never thought about leaving,” Nagatomo, whose contract was due to expire at the end of the season, told reporters.

“As I’ve said before, I love Inter and want to give my all for the club.” The 29-year-old has scored 11 goals in 172 matches for Inter since joining from Cesena in 2011.

–REUTERS

Ranieri, Kane pick up monthly EPL awards Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has been named the Premier League manager of the month for March, while Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane has won the players’ award. Ranieri guided his team to three wins and a draw during the month to consolidate their position at the top of the table, where they currently sit seven points clear of Tottenham with six games to play.

–REUTERS

Swindon trio suspended over laughing gas video A trio of Swindon players have been suspended amid reports they inhaled nitrous oxide on a live social media video. The images appeared to show Drissa Traore, Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill and Jeremy Balmy taking the legal high commonly known as laughing gas or hippy crack, via balloons.

–AFP

Rising Pune Supergiants captain MS Dhoni bats in the nets during a practice session in Mumbai yesterday AP

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has insisted he is willing to bowl at the “death” again despite being struck for four sixes in the last over of the World Twenty20 final defeat by the West Indies.

With the West Indies needing 19 off the final six balls of last Sunday’s tournament climax in Kolkata, England were strong favourites for victory.

But powerful batsman Carlos Brathwaite made a mockery of the match position by sending four successive Stokes deliveries soaring into the stands, a total of 24 runs, as West Indies won with two balls to spare.

It was a chastening experience for Stokes and one which the Durham fast-medium bowler said had left him feeling “completely devastated”.

Nevertheless, asked if he would bowl at the “death” again in a major match, Stokes told Friday’s Daily Telegraph: “A hundred percent.

Definitely. It is something I work at a lot. Some days they go well. Some

days they don’t. That was a bad day but I won’t be shying away from it.”

Nor did he hide from the emotions he felt at the end of an extraordinary see-saw match.

“I thought, ‘I’ve just lost the World Cup’. I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I didn’t know what to do.

It took me so long to get back on my feet. I didn’t want to get back up.

“It was like the whole world had come down on me. There weren’t any good things going through my mind. It was just complete devastation. Setbacks make you want to be better again,” he said. “This will be in my mind for quite a long time and I will reflect on it for a long time,” the 24-year-old added.

“It will be a little bit of motivation to make sure this does not ever happen again. So train 10 minutes longer every now and again to get better.”

Meanwhile Stokes also paid tribute to Brathwaite’s remarkable ball-striking, insisting he had no regrets about his decision to bowl yorkers despite being way off target with his first ball of the last over, which went down the legside.l

Indian Premier League set to ease T20 heartache n AFP, New Delhi The glitzy Indian Premier League (IPL) starts today, helping to ease the heartache of millions of fans following India’s failure to win the World Twenty20 on home soil this month.

India’s short-form extravaganza, famous for its fireworks and dancing cheerleaders as well as unwanted corruption scandals, gets under way with the Mumbai Indians taking on the Rising Pune Supergiants.

Fans hope the cash-rich league, featuring blockbuster stars including Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli, will soothe the pain of India’s shock semi-final defeat to eventual World T20 champions West Indies.

India went into the tournament as favourites but seriously under-performed, losing to New Zealand and only beating Bangladesh on the last ball before prevailing over Australia to scrape into the final four.

“It was a below par performance

by Dhoni and company. I hope IPL helps us overcome the pain of the

semis loss,” Kolkata Knight Riders supporter Nehal Ahmed told AFP. The ninth-edition of the franchise-based competition, which has revolutionised world cricket, will see eight teams clash in 60 matches at 10 different venues across India.

The IPL is the most popular domestic league in the world but has been plagued by controversies since its inception in 2008, with corruption and match-fixing cases often taking centre-stage.

A spot-fixing scandal in 2013 led to two teams - Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals - being suspended last year for two seasons.

They have been replaced by Pune and Rajkot-based Gujarat Lions, who will be making their IPL debut in this edition, which runs until 29 May, when the final is in Mumbai.

The IPL, which has spawned a host of similar leagues around the world, was the brainchild of cricket administrator Lalit Modi, who is refusing to return from Britain to India to face corruption charges.

Despite the controversies, the

IPL has attracted a host of foreign players who have shaped or resurrected their careers and in turn have become household names in India.

Ace India batsman Kohli will be looking to carry on from his scintillating form at the World T20, which saw three ice-cool half-centuries, when he leads Royal Challengers Bangalore. Bangalore boast one of the tournament’s most formidable batting line-ups. In addition to Kohli, they have West Indies star Gayle and South African master shotmaker AB de Villiers.

Australian all-rounder Shane Watson will line-up alongside them after Bangalore pocketed him for a whopping $1.98 million during the auction in February.

West Indies’ man-of-the-moment Carlos Brathwaite was a fairly unknown entity when Delhi Daredevils bagged him for $640,000 at the bid. But it looks like money well spent after the all-rounder smashed four consecutive sixes in the final over of the World T20 final to snatch an unlikely victory from England. l

Narine has bowling action cleared n AFP, Dubai West Indies off-spinner Sunil Narine was Thursday cleared to resume his career after a suspension for a suspect bowling action ruled him out of his team’s World Twenty20 title-winning campaign.

The 27-year-old Trinidadian was suspended in November last year after being cited during a one-day match in Sri Lanka. He had also been reported for a similar problem at the 2014 Champions League T20 tournament.

“Sunil Narine’s action found to be legal, can now resume bowling in international cricket and domestic cricket events worldwide,” the International Cricket Council tweeted.

Narine has played six Tests in his stop-start career, taking 21 wickets.

He also has 77 wickets in 55 ODIs and 40 victims in Twenty20.l

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Klopp unable to walk alone on Dortmund return n AFP, Dortmund Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp received a rapturous, emotional welcome on his return to Borussia Dortmund on Thursday, the occasion marked by a spine-tingling rendition of "You’ll Never Walk Alone".

Around 65,000 fans of both teams filled the air in the Westfalenstadion with the stirring hymn marking a fitting return for Klopp who spent seven seasons at the Bundesliga club before leaving for Anfield last year.

A smiling Klopp warmly greeted his former players as they prepared for the Europa League quarter-final, first leg clash.

"Kloppo" also smilingly saluted the Yellow Wall of Dortmund fans, banked high behind the goal on the famous south terrace.

“It’s a very special moment.

I can’t be unmoved by it,” the 48-year-old coach told Sky of a club where he was in charge from 2008 to 2015.

However, he admitted it was strange walking into the visitors dressing room rather than the home side’s.

“I didn’t know what they looked like,” he smiled although he had been there before - back in his days as coach of fellow Bundesliga team Mainz, where he worked between 2001 and 2008.

“I only had to remind myself when I came in right, instead of left for the dressing room,” he told BT Sport.

Once "You’ll Never Walk Alone" - performed movingly inside the

cavernous arena - was completed, the track-suited Klopp embraced his successor Thomas Tuchel as a huge group of photographers camped in front of the dug-out.

The return of Klopp to Dortmund for the first time has dominated sports news in Germany all week.

It even rivalled Wolfsburg’s stunning 2-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday on television bulletins and websites.

“All the stories around, maybe the media created it a little bit but not a Dortmund player or manager or Liverpool player or manager,”

Klopp added to BT Sport.

“For the team it is not a big difference, the team only has to think about what it has to do in the game. Dortmund are pretty good, that’s the truth, but they are beatable. The most difficult thing is they are full, full, full of confidence.” l

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp (2L) hugs Borussia Dortmund skipper Mats Hummels after their Uefa Europa League quarter-final first-leg at Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany on Thursday REUTERS

Borussia boss warns Bayern ahead of Stuttgart derby n AFP, Berlin Borussia Dortmund’s CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has warned Bayern Munich that his team is ready to pounce in the Bundesliga title race should Pep Guardiola’s leaders slip up at Stuttgart today.

With only six games left, the Bavarian giants are five points clear of second-placed Dortmund but face a tricky tie at Stuttgart in the south Germany derby.

Guardiola’s side has shown signs of fatigue in recent weeks.

They laboured to a 1-0 win over Benfica in the Champions League on Tuesday on the back of a workmanlike 1-0 victory over relegation-threatened Eintracht Frankfurt in the league.

Likewise, Dortmund must keep winning to stand any chance of a first league title since 2012 and they are at arch-rivals Schalke tomorrow in the Ruhr Valley derby.

Bayern are bidding to come the first German club to win four straight Bundesliga titles, having won the league at a canter for the last three seasons.

But Watzke is pleased that Dortmund still have even a remote chance of breaking the Bavarians’ monopoly.

In Stuttgart, Bayern will be without Dutch winger Arjen Robben, who has not played since midMarch because of a groin injury.l

10 THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN EPL WEEK 33 Can the Hammers end Gunners’ title dream?

Mitrovic to fire Newcastle to safety?

will begin as to what has gone so drastically wrong at Villa Park.

The Gunners were vastly improved in last weekend’s win over Watford, but the real test will be in today’s early kick-off, with the Hammers holding Champions League aspirations of their own.

Victory at Upton Park will send a real statement while defeat could effectively end their season. It seems the only way Arsene Wenger will silence those vociferous voices around the Emirates is to somehow mastermind a late title tilt, and to do that, the Gunners will almost certainly have to earn maximum points from their final matches.

Southampton have suffered from inconsistency of late, and should Aleksandar Mitrovic carry on finding the net at a similar rate, the Magpies could start their climb up the table sooner rather than later.

Swans to break League duck?

Can Canaries build on last-gasp success?

Is this the day the giant falls?

Alex Neil’s Norwich would be much deeper in the relegation mire had they not snatched a dramatic victory against Newcastle last weekend while Palace are in freefall, and have not earned three points since December 19.

Is Martinez one more defeat away from pressure?

With such a talented squad at his disposal, it is no wonder Roberto Martinez is under pressure to turn things around at Everton, with the Toffees in 12th position. Watford though represent perfect opposition in Everton’s quest for a first win in four.

This day has been looming large in England’s second city for some time, but if Norwich better Villa’s result against Bournemouth, then the Midland club will have their relegation confirmed. It is only a matter of time, but when confirmed the real inquest

There may not be a better time for the Swans to make sure of their top-flight safety and earn that elusive three points over the Blues, given all the Antonio Conte commotion in midweek.

It has been a tumultuous week at Chelsea, with Conte announced as Jose Mourinho’s long-term successor - enough to cause much distraction ahead of a weekend fixture.

Can De Bruyne continue to revitalise City?

City look a force once again with Kevin De Bruyne back in it. They put in arguably their best display of the season in the Belgian’s comeback game last weekend at Bournemouth, before earning the advantage over Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League after a 2-2 draw in Paris. West Brom beware!

Will Leicester slip up?

Many of us refuse to believe they can do it even now, with Sunderland’s quest for survival a potential stumbling block in the Leicester fairytale. However, the Foxes have shown a lot of resilience and travel to Stadium of Light full of confidence. Slipping up is looking less and less likely, and if they continue to get the points they need to seal a remarkable title success, Claudio Ranieri will rely on the same players once more. Why change a winning formula?

ignore the history books in doing so.

United to continue run at White Hart Lane?

Aston Villa Crystal Palace Manchester City Southampton Swansea Watford West Ham

Louis van Gaal’s men are producing something resembling decent form after registering back-to-back wins, but they cannot afford any further slip-ups in their pursuit of a top-four finish against a resurgent Tottenham. Spurs have arguably more at stake, though, as they trail leaders Leicester by seven points, and with the Foxes showing no sign of relenting, Mauricio Pochettino’s men have to keep pace - and must

1-0 to the visitors?

After Liverpool’s embarrassing 6-1 defeat at the Britannia Stadium on the final day of last season, each of the three meetings between Liverpool and Stoke this campaign have ended 1-0 to the away side. Will recent history repeat itself?l

FIXTURES TODAY v v v v v v v

Bournemouth Norwich West Brom Newcastle Chelsea Everton Arsenal

TOMORROW Liverpool v Stoke Sunderland v Leicester Tottenham v Man United

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SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016

Kerber advances as Venus ousted in Charleston n AFP, Los Angeles

DAY’S WATCH CRICKET SONY SIX 8:30 PM Indian Premier League Mumbai v Pune

FOOTBALL STAR SPORTS 2 5:35 PM Barclays Premier League West Ham United v Arsenal 7:50 PM Swansea City v Chelsea 10:20 PM Manchester City v West Brom

STAR SPORTS 4 7:30 PM Bundesliga 2015/16 VfB Stuttgart v FC Bayern Munich 10:15 PM VfL Wolfsburg v FSV Mainz 05

TEN 1 5:30 PM Sky Bet Championship Burnley v Leeds United 8:00 PM Middlesbrough v Preston North

TEN 1 HD 3:30 PM A-League 2015/16 Melbourne Victory v Brisbane Roar 8:50 PM French Ligue 1 2015/16 Guingamp v Paris Saint-Germain

SONY SIX 12:40 AM Serie A TIM 2015/16 AC Milan v Juventus

SONY ESPN 12:30 AM Real Sociedad v FC Barcleona

TENNIS TEN 2 12:00 AM ATP World Tour 250 2016 Houston Open: SFs

TEN 3 11:00 PM WTA Tour 2016 Family Circle Cup: SF1 1:00 AM Family Circle Cup: SF2

HOCKEY STAR SPORTS 1 2:00 PM Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2016 Japan v Canada 4:00 PM New Zealand v Pakistan 6:30 PM Australia v Malaysia

BADMINTON STAR SPORTS 2 11:00 PM BWF Badminton World Superseries Malaysia Open

Bolivia's Bolivar midfielder Walter Flores (R) and Argentina's Boca Juniors forward Carlos Tevez vie for the ball during their Copa Libertadores Group 3 match at the 'Bombonera' stadium in Buenos Aires on Thursday. Boca won 3-1 AFP

Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams will have to wait for a 50th career WTA title after bowing out in the third round of the claycourt tournament in Charleston on Thursday.

Williams, the third seed, had put together back-to-back wins for the first time since lifting her 49th title in Taiwan in February, but was toppled 7-6 (7/5), 2-6, 6-4 by Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva. The 35-yearold American joined second-seeded Swiss Belinda Bencic, fourth-seeded Lucie Safarova and sixth-seeded Andrea Petkovic out of the tournament. But top-seeded Angelique Kerber, the reigning Australian Open champion, powered into the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over qualifier Kristina Kucova.

Kerber fired 35 winners and converted seven of her 10 break point chances, staying steady in difficult, windy conditions.l

Barca seek response to Clasico defeat n Reuters, Barcelona Barcelona must overcome a dismal record at Real Sociedad today to reinforce the club’s title credentials after their 39-game unbeaten run in all competitions ended with defeat by Real Madrid last week.

La Liga leaders Barca were lifted by a 2-1 victory over Spanish rivals Atletico Madrid in a Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday but they have failed to win at Sociedad since the Basque side returned to the top flight in 2011. Four of the Catalan team’s

last five visits there have ended in defeat.

“We have beaten Barcelona a lot in the last few years and [today] we can beat them again,” Sociedad midfielder Illarramendi told.

Barca are without suspended top scorer Luis Suarez, who scored both goals in the comeback win over Atletico, while Aleix Vidal, Jeremy Mathieu and Sandro Ramirez are injured. Their last victory in San Sebastian came under former coach Frank Rijkaard in May 2007 and neither Pep Guardiola, Gerardo Martino, Tito Vilanova nor Luis Enrique

have managed to win at Sociedad.

Real Madrid host ninth-placed Eibar today hoping to capitalise on their win at the Nou Camp last week. Zinedine Zidane’s men will also look to put added pressure on the teams above them and bounce back from their shock Champions League defeat at VfL Wolfsburg in midweek.

Real could be without Karim Benzema after the France striker went off in the first half of the 2-0 reverse at Wolfsburg due to a suspected knee injury.

Captain Sergio Ramos is sus-

Napoli eyes on Juve trip to San Siro n AFP, Milan The fall-out from Gonzalo Higuain’s four-match ban will overshadow Serie A this weekend, when the Argentine striker and his Napoli team-mates will be glued to a crucial San Siro clash between AC Milan and Juventus.

Sitting three points behind Juventus before last week’s games, Napoli’s bid for a first Serie A title in 26 years looks to be in tatters following a shock 3-1 defeat at Udinese that saw Higuain lose the plot after being shown a red card.

Although Napoli are set to appeal what they regard as an “unfair sanction”, their best hopes now lie with Juventus slipping up along the way as they look to secure a fifth consecutive title.

But the champions are on an unbeaten run of 21 games, and defender Andrea Barzagli believes Juve’s strength and belief will prevail. A win would allow coach Massimilano Allegri to walk away victorious from the club that sacked him in January 2014.

SERIE A FIXTURES Frosinone Chievo Sassuolo AC Milan

v v v v

Inter Milan Carpi Genoa Juventus

A 21st win in 22 games would take Juve’s lead over Napoli to a morale-sapping nine points a day before Maurizio Sarri’s men host basement side Verona at the San Paolo.

But Milan haven’t surrendered yet, and Napoli’s players will be praying the Rossoneri cause an upset with a home win that would reignite the title race and boost Milan’s Europa League hopes.

Milan are currently 24 points behind Juventus, 14 off the last Champions League spot and six behind Inter Milan, who occupy the last Europa League spot.

The pressure on coach Sinisa Mihajlovic increased after last week’s 2-1 defeat at Atalanta, meaning Milan have taken only two points from their last four games.

It is hardly what you expect from a club that have been European champions seven times, but struggling to qualify for the Champions League is now the reality for Rossoneri fans.l

pended after being sent off for two bookings against Barcelona.

Atletico travel to Espanyol, where they have not won since September 2012, today knowing that a victory and another slip

by Barca would leave them three points off the top. l

LA LIGA FIXTURES Real Madrid Espanyol Real Sociedad Real Betis

v v v v

Eibar Atletico Madrid Barcelona Levante

‘Rambo’ Ibra sees his life on big screen n AFP, Stockholm Never one to shun the limelight, Zlatan Ibrahimovic claimed Thursday that he could make a film about his life and portray it as a 10-part saga - just like Rambo.

“There are talks but nothing has been decided,” the Paris Saint Germain star told Swedish business newspaper Dagens Industri.

“Lots of other people do films about me, my life and make money but it’s obvious that if the subject of a movie is me then I should have control. There are talks in progress.

We can make a lot of films about me.

It would be like Rambo I to Rambo V - we could do Ibracadabra 1 to 10.” l

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Celebs implicated in Panama leak n Promiti Prova Chowdhury Unless you’ve been living under a rock (and probably even then), you must have heard by now of the infamous “Panama Papers leak,” where some 11 million documents held by the Panamian firm, Mossack Fonseca became available to the press, laying bare details of offshore accounts containing the ill-gotten gains of some of the world’s wealthiest people. The publication of the documents has already causing governments to topple, and now it appears that not even celebs were able to resist the lucrative system that allowed them to launder money, dodge sanctions, and avoid taxes.

The Panama Papers reveal the names of these wealthy, well-known faces, however, that does not imply that they have done anything wrong as there is nothing illegal about moving money offshore. In fact, during the 1970s, it was a way of moving cash around at a time of widespread currency controls across Europe.

In the current political climate however, questions are raised about the legitimacy and fairness of such accounts. Showtime sheds light on some of the celebrities named in leak.

companies were never used for anything at all. I can also confirm on behalf of my client that he has not used any offshore companies for any purpose whatsoever.”

Cowell said that he paid tax all over the world, adding, “Whenever I got knocked for what I do, I always say ‘well I do pay my taxes, it helps, and I’m quite proud of that, here and all over the world.’”

Willian, 27, footballer

The Chelsea footballer was the sole shareholder of BVI company called Saxon Sponsoring Limited, which was set up in September 2013.

His address in the UK was given as Chelsea’s training ground in Cobham, Surrey.

A spokesman for the midfielder, whose full name is Willian Borges da Silva, said the company had lain dormant long before it was closed down the previous year.

Heather Mills, 48, entrepreneur and former wife of Sir Paul McCartney Mills, who was awarded £24.3M in her divorce from the former Beatles member, was a shareholder of Water 4 Investment Ltd, which was originally set up to create health food.

However, Mills said the investment ended in a long legal battle, in which she lost a sevenfigure sum.

A spokesman said Mills invested a million pounds in a company which intended to utilise algae to harvest Omega 3 oils, and “thus presere the marine ecosystem.”

“I can say hand-on-heart that I am a straight taxpayer, and you will never find anything on me if you investigate thoroughly,” she replied in an emailed statement to the Guardian.

Jackie Chan, 61, actor

Simon Cowell, 56, music tycoon Cowell is said to have two companies on the British Virgin Islands called Southstreet Limited, set up in February 2007, and Eaststreet Limited, set up in October 2007. The companies were set up at a time when Cowell was planning to purchase two plots of land in Barbados, where he spends his holidays almost every year.

His spokesman said, “The companies were not set up by my client, but by accountants acting for him as a common means for an overseas investor to purchase property in Barbados. Neither of Cowell’s companies were ever used, and both are dormant.”

“My client, however, preferred to purchase them transparently in his own name. Therefore, the

Chan owned at least six offshore companies, which were even based in the British Virgin Islands.

The holdings included companies called Jumbo Jaz Investment, Jackie Chan Ltd and Dragon Stream Ltd. Chan did not respond when approached regarding this matter.

Stanley Kubrick (deceased), director The semi-recluse spent the last decades of his life in a grand 18thcentury manor in Hertfordshire which was transferred to offshore companies controlled by his daughters.

After Kubrick died in 1999, the ownership of the property passed to three companies registered in the British Virgin Islands; a move that may have saved the family hundreds of thousands of pounds in inheritance tax.

The house is now owned by Anya K Holdings Ltd, Vivian K Holdings Ltd and Katharina K Holdings Ltd. The companies’ names refer to his daughters Anya, who died in 2009, Vivian, and his stepdaughter Katharina.

Pedro Almodóvar, 66, filmdirector Pedro was connected to a company called the Glen Valley Corporation, which operated from 1991 to 1994. The Oscar-winning film-maker was given power of attorney over the company, which allowed him to control it, while two Mossack Fonseca employees acted as the company’s directors.

Almodóvar is best known for films including All About My Mother and Talk to Her. The director cancelled a press junket on Wednesday for his newest film Julieta after facing scrutiny over his financial arrangements. He declined to comment on the matter, but his brother, who also had power of attorney over the company, told Spanish media that he had closed down the company because “it did not fit with the way we worked.”

Sir Nick Faldo, 58, golfer Faldo was the sole shareholder of a British Virgin Islands company called Blenhim Road Ltd, which was set up in 1995, two years after the six-time majors winner turned professional.

The company was reportedly shut down in 2009, about the time his sporting career began to wind down. Faldo declined to comment.

Roksanda Ilincic, fashion designer The Serbian fashion designer Roksanda Ilincic, whose clothes have been worn by the Duchess of Cambridge and Samantha Cameron, is the shareholder of a company called Greenland Property Limited. The designer, who lives in North London, coowns the BVI company with her husband Philip Bueno de Mesquita.

According to her financial advisers who manage the firm from Switzerland, the company’s “region of activity” is Slovenia.

A representative for the designer said that Greenland was a dormant company with no assets.

“Roksanda does not avoid tax or obscure ownership of her assets. Indeed, she is taxed in the UK on her worldwide income and is subject to any double taxation treaties in place with the UK revenue,” said the representative. l Sources: The Guardian, The Telegraph

World Theatre Day’s main event held in China

n Showtime Desk The central event of the World Theatre Day was observed in Gouangzhou, China on March 27 with the initiative of Chinese Centre of the International Theatre Institute (ITI) and ITI General Secretariat. President of ITI worldwide, Ramendu Majumdar, and Bangladesh ITI vice-president, Prof Abdus Selim joined the celebrations as well.

Anatoly Vasiliev, renowned Russian director, read out his world theatre day message at the event while Ramendu Majumdar and seven other dignitaries opened the celebrations by playing the traditional Chinese drum.

Delegates from 17 Asian countries elaborated on the status of traditional theatres of their respective countries.

In his presentation, Ramendu Majumdar illustrated some examples of the theatres in Bangladesh and highlighted the need to provide a livelihood for the traditional theatre practitioners.

A meeting with the representatives of AsiaPacific Regional Council of ITI was held the next day. ITI president of China Dr Ji Gouping, ITI director general Tobias Biancone and Ramendu Majumdar addressed the meeting. It was decided to reorganise the regional centre during the next ITI Congress, which is to be held from May 30 to June 5 in Manaus, Brazil. l

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Dilwale receives Kela Award

n Showtime Desk The magic of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol seemed to be below par this time around. Their film Diwale ended up in the Kela Awards 2016, winning the Worst Film Award at the eighth edition of the Golden Kela Awards. It is being said that the superstar will collect the trophy personally.

“Shah Rukh has never shied off laughing at himself.

Even during the promotion of Dilwale, he did spoofs on his own film,” elaborated his friend.

Dilwale was declared the winner over other Bollywood disappointments, including Bombay Velvet, Shaandaar, Tevar and Akshay Kumar’s Singh is Bliing, at the 8th Golden Kela Awards. The event annually recognises the worst in Hindi cinemas.

Although Dilwale was declared the worst film, Salman

Khan’s Prem Ratan Dhan Payo earned Sonam Kapoor the Worst Actress Award. Moreover, the film’s director, Sooraj Barjatya, took home the Worst Director Award as well as the “Bas Kijiye Bahut Ho Gaya Award.”

Actor Sooraj Pancholi might have bagged debut awards at various other award functions for his film Hero, but the Golden Kela Awards recognised him as the worst actor of the year. The 25-year-old stood behind actors like Arjun Rampal (Roy), Arjun Kapoor (Tevar) and Imran Khan (Katti Batti).

The award for the most pointless sequel or remake went to MSG 2 for including “overthe-top acting” and “irritating melodrama.” The “Baawra Ho Gaya Hai Ke Award” was earned by director Vikas Behl for his box-office dud Shaandaar.

Voters chose Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’s title track, which even brewed public rage on

social media, as the most irritating song of the year, while “Birthday Bash” from Dilliwaali Zaalim Girlfriend received the most Atrocious Lyrics Award.

In addition, actor Imran Khan won the Why Are You Still Trying Award for his Kangana Ranaut starrer Katti Batti.

Like every year, there were some special awards given out by the Golden Kela team as well.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s national award winning film Bajirao Mastani won Manoj Kumar Award for historical accuracy. Worst Accent Award was given to Randeep Hooda for Main Aur Charles. The “Sangh Parivaar Award” went to the song “Gerua” from Dilwale, while the Shakti Kapoor Award for misogyny was bagged by Pyaar Ka Panchnama 2. Lastly, Sonakshi Sinha received What The Hell award for her single “Ishqholic.” l

Mizan leaves Warfaze n Hasan Mansoor Chatak Mizan Rahman, the lead vocal of hard rock band Warfaze, has left the pack. Fans were left in awe after the announcement came out yesterday via the band’s official page on Facebook.

The post stated: “Warfaze

regrets to announce the departure of lead voice Mizan from April 7th 2016 on the grounds of ideological and philosophical differences.”

It is still unclear on how the decision came about, but the post suggested that it was taken through a “mutually agreed conversation.” l

WHAT TO WATCH

Prometheus Star Moves 8: 50pm A group of explorers, including some archaeologists, are on an “undisclosed” mission. They arrive at a planet millions of miles away from Earth. The team spot what they believe to be signs of civilization. They go to investigate and find more than just signs, they find conclusive evidence.

But some of them have an ulterior motive for being there, including the Weyland Corporation. They believe that this is where the human race actually came from.

Cast: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce

Shoot ’Em Up WB 11:25pm Smith prefers to be left alone and lead his own life. But all that changes when he gets embroiled in a political conspiracy after he helps a pregnant woman who is going into labour while chased by a hit-man. The woman is killed and Smith runs away with the baby and a prostitute named Donna. Smith gets to understand that a US Senator had been breeding babies for their marrow to treat his cancer. and that he has contracted Hertz to kill the babies.

Cast: Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, Monica Bellucci, Stephen McHattie, Greg Bryk

The Incredibles Zee Studio 1:15pm Bob and Helen used to be Mr Incredible and Elastigirl fifteen years ago. The crime-fighting duo adapt to a civilian life when they retire from their activities. Their children Violet, Dash and JackJack were born with superpowers that they are not aware of. Bob is thrilled when he gets a message summoning him to a remote island for a top secret assignment. When he gets there, he realises that solving the problem will need the efforts of a super family.

Cast: Craig T Nelson, Holly Hunter, Jason Lee, Samuel L Jackson, Dominique Louis

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans Zee Studio 3:35pm The bloody feud between the aristocratic vampires and their slaves, the Lycans, continues.

This war has been running for centuries. Lucian becomes a powerful leader of the Lycans.

He brings together a number of werewolves to fight Viktor, the wicked vampire king who has enslaved the Lycans. Sonja, the queen, joins Lucian in his war. Will the Lycans gain their freedom in the end?

Cast: Bill Nighy, Michael Sheen, Rhona Mitra, Kevin Grevioux, Steven Mackintosh

300 HBO 4:40pm In 480 BC a state of war exists between Persia, led by King Xerxes, and Greece. At the Battle of Thermopylae, Leonidas, king of the Greek city state of Sparta, leads his badly outnumbered warriors against the massive Persian army. Though certain death awaits the Spartans, their sacrifice inspires all of Greece to unite against their common enemy.

Cast: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, David Wenham, Dominic West, Vincent Regan, Rodrigo Santoro

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BANGLADESH AND A WORLD AT WAR PAGE 19

MURALI MADE GILCHRIST FEEL LIKE A 10-YEAR-OLD PAGE 26

MIZAN LEAVES WARFAZE PAGE 31

India’s Ganges waterways project raises hopes and fears n Tribune Desk A noted Indian river expert Dinesh Mishra recalls the fate of two large barrages built in the Bihar state in the early 60’s and mid 70’s. The purpose of the first, Kosi barrage completed in 1962, was to control the Kosi River, called “the sorrow of Bihar” due to the fluctuations of its course and the floods it caused on a regular basis. In 1975, the Farakka barrage was constructed to help maintain navigability of Kolkata port. Both failed miserably in their purpose. While the Kosi continues to create immense flood damage most years, the Kolkata port is choked with silt. Not only that, the Farakka barrage is often cited by Bangladesh as a reason for lack of water in its rivers and progressive increase in salinity.

It is this context which explains why the Bihar representatives are up in arms against a plan by the Indian central government to build 15 small barrages on the Ganges as part of an ambitious waterway project. Just a few days before the Indian Parliament passed the National Waterway Act, ministers from Bihar decided to protest. The water resource minister from Bihar, Rajiv Ranjan Singh, addressing the state assembly, said the plan not only ignores environmental norms but also adds one more major flood threat to the state.

The project

The bill converts 111 rivers into a national waterway to develop India’s mostly-untapped potential of using rivers for transport. It will create nearly 14,500km of navigable waterways at an estimated cost of Rs700bn.

The Indian minister for road transport, highways and shipping, Nitin Gadkari, informed Lok Sabha that only 3.5% of trade within India is carried via waterways. Comparatively, in China 47% of trade, in Europe 40%, in Japan 44%, and in Korea and Bangladesh 35% of trade happens through waterways.

The project will develop six national waterways. The longest, National Waterway (NW) 1 will be on the Ganges from West Bengal’s Haldia to Allahabad stretching 1,620km. It will serve the states of

would be constructed on Ganges.

But then nothing is clear at present,” he said. Thakkar feels that the government will adopt the method of dredging to ensure navigability. “But the silt that comes out of dredging needs to go somewhere.

I think a detailed technical part of the project will resolve this mystery.”

PROPOSED INDIAN NATIONAL WATERWAYS 1 PROJECT Tanda

Uttar Pradesh Jam u

na ri Allahabad ver

NORTH

Ghazipur Varamasi

Ganges river

Ballia

Chapra Patna

Bihar

Kosir Ganges river Munger

Ma

River distances Haldia (sagar)-Farakka Farakka-Patna Patna-Length Total Length

Farakka Pakur

dhy aP

Legend: Declared waterway Terminal

Bhagalpur

rad e

560km 460km 600km 1620km

sh

Berhampur

Jharkhand

Orissa

West Bengal Haldia

Kolkata

‘The Farakka barrage destroyed the Hilsa fish population. And the waterway project will wipe out the Gangetic dolphins. The entire waterway runs through the dolphin habitat of the Ganges’ Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. NW 2 to 6 will be built on the Brahmaputra, West Coast Canal, Godavari, Krishna, Brahamani and Barak rivers respectively.

A detailed project report has already been prepared for the Rs42bn NW 1 project, and it is to be funded by the World Bank. This aims to develop the stretch from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Haldia in West Bengal for water traffic, crossing through the entire state of Bihar. This is the project that is worrying the politicians of Bihar.

The fears

The waterway project plans construction of dams and barrages every 100km on the 1,600km stretch of the Ganges covered by NW 1. “There is no blueprint on how this will affect silt deposition in the river. Silt will raise the water table, leading to floods,” Bihar Water Resource Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh added.

According to the Bihar State Disaster Management Authority, nearly 74% of the state’s area is prone to flooding. Twenty-eight out of the state’s 38 districts are affected by floods almost every year.

Nupur Bose, a member of the Indian State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority, pointed out that the hydrology of the Ganges in Bihar is very different from rivers in Europe.

“A major stretch of the river lies in the seismic zone and construction of 15 dams and barrages is a huge risk,” she said. She added that a proper environment assessment of the project is needed. Bose claimed that the barrage-and-dam component of the waterway project has a striking similarity with that of the Farakka barrage.

“The Farakka barrage destroyed the Hilsa fish population. And the waterway project will wipe out the Gangetic dolphins. The entire waterway runs through the dolphin habitat of the Ganges,” she said.

This is not to dismiss the potential of the project. She believes, like Gadkari, that the waterway project could be a game changing idea for the country’s transport sector. “But such a mammoth project needs a detailed study before implementation,” she said.

Highlighting the project may need constant dredging of the waterway, Ashok Ghosh, a member of the regional empowerment committee of the central ministry of environment, forests and climate change, said: “Silt deposition is a major concern and the project should try to resolve this issue.”

A lack of clarity on the technical aspects of the project further baffles experts. Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, pointed out that the bill does not mention any technical or environment assessment of the proposed waterway.

“I think it’s highly unlikely that such a large number of barrages

History of bad engineering

Dinesh Mishra pointed out that in 1952 there was only 60km of embankments in the state. Today the embankment length is more than 3,700km. “Improper maintenance of these barrages and embankments is a major cause of floods,” he said. In 2008, a crack in an embankment led to the Kosi floods that displaced nearly 3.5m people in Bihar.

Almost every year relief camps are set up and villagers evacuated in seven districts on the banks of the Kosi during the monsoon.

It is not only about the Kosi, embankments have increased frequency and magnitude of floods in Bihar districts like Muzaffarpur and Sitamarhi in the last 30 years.

“The badly conceptualised concrete structures are ruining rivers and the people whose livelihoods are dependent on river are suffering the most,” claimed Nupur Bose.

She again pointed out that the Farakka barrage was conceptualised to transfer 40,000 cusecs of water to Hooghly River to wash away silt and keep the Kolkata port navigable. “The barrage has failed to serve the purpose and become a tomb of engineering failure.” In 2012, a group of lawmakers had demanded decommissioning of Farakka barrage. “We could well imagine what will happen when 15 barrages are constructed on the Ganges,” Bose warned.

Unsure of how this will all play out, ministers in Bihar are still trying to figure out how to deal with the plan. It is not easy to protest against a bill passed in Lok Sabha, but the scale of threat is too high to ignore. “We will take legal opinion to stop this devastating project,” Rajiv Ranjan said. l [The article was first published in The Third Pole, which can be found at http:// bit.ly/1MUYrPy]

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