27 May, 2016

SECOND EDITION

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016 | Jyoishtha 13, 1423, Shaban 19, 1437 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 29 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages plus 24-page Weekend supplement | Price: Tk10

Aslam sued for sedition n Arifur Rahman Rabbi BNP Joint Secretary General Aslam Chowdhury was sued for sedition yesterday evening, hours after the police chief claimed that he had confessed plotting to unseat the incumbent government.

“Aslam has confessed that he met Mossad agent Mendi N Safadi, a leader of Israeli’s ruling Likud

Aslam Chowdhury was arrested on May 15 and remanded. He was later shown arrested in two other cases

INSIDE

Party, several times to hatch conspiracy against the government,” Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Haque told reporters after attending a programme at Rajarbagh Police Lines in Dhaka in the afternoon.

Safadi is also the chief of International Diplomacy and Public Relations which has a good relation with Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.

“During interrogation, Aslam told us that he met Safadi and sought their help to conduct subversive activities in Bangladesh with a view to ousting the ruling Awami League government.

Aslam also wanted to give him money for this purpose.

“Details about the monetary issue can only be known once we arrest Aslam’s associates,” he said, adding that the police had already got the government’s permission to file a sedition case against the BNP leader.

DB (north) Deputy Commissioner Sheikh Nazmul Alam confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune that the sedition case had been filed against Aslam with Gulshan police in the evening. DB Inspector Golam Rabbani filed the case.

Aslam was arrested on May 15 and remanded. He was later shown arrested in two other cases.

Convener of the Chittagong divisional (north) unit of the BNP, Aslam is known as a follower of the party’s Senior Vice-President Tarique Rahman. Police say Aslam is an accused in at least three dozens of cases filed for sabotage activities in 2013 and 2014.

The discussion over BNP’s alleged attempt to engage Mossad against the government surfaced after local media published photos and news of Aslam meeting Safadi in Delhi in March.

Monirul Islam, chief of counter-terrorism and transnational crime (CTTC) unit, earlier said that the Delhi meeting and international militant outfit Islamic State claiming responsibility after killings in Bangladesh were interconnected.

The BNP has refuted the allegation of conspiracy against the government saying that the meeting was private. Party’s Secretary General Fakhrul Islam Alamgir earlier said that the BNP does not have any relation with Israel. He said: “The BNP is a democratic and liberal political party. We believe that a government can be changed only through elections.” l

Allegation against Shyamal Kanti ‘false’

The inspiring tale of a blinded woman

The government probe body has found that Narayanganj school headmaster Shyamal Kanti Bhakta was forced to resign from his post based on a false allegation of defaming Islam.  PAGE 3

Back in 2011, DU assistant professor Rumana Monzur, the a student at the University of British Columbia, was visiting family in Bangladesh. Little did she know, her visit would completely alter the way she viewed life.  PAGE 5

Muhith makes his case Ahead of his 10th budget, Finance Minister AMA Muhith acknowledged some of his failures, including revenue shortfalls and district budgets. But the octogenarian policymaker of five decades dodged questions about major mishaps that rocked the banking sector under his watch, during an hour long interview with DhakaTribune’s Asif Shawkat Kallol What is your philosophy for the upcoming budget?

The government cannot provide more service to citizens without a big budget. We started with a budget outlay of Tk94,000 crore and the next budget is Tk340,000 crore.

At the start of our second tenure, I spoke to my friends [his colleagues at the ministry] and our secretaries about where I want to see the Bangladesh economy in 2018-2019 fiscal year when we officially achieve middle income status. The next budget is in line with that goal. At the end of our second tenure, the budget should reach Tk500,000 crore.

Although, according to the latest data, there was an 8% revenue shortfall in the outgoing budget, I believe we have a solid ground in the current fiscal year because of good economic performance. I am confident that our economic targets including GDP growth will be achieved. We know there are deficiencies in budget implementation. We are putting hard work into

KEY POINTS

finding out new avenues of revenue earning.

Tell us about the implementation of the new VAT law.

There has been a lot of confusion with the new VAT law. I cannot op-

£

Focus on digitising land records

£

Reforms in local government finance based on district budget experience

£

State banks may be sent to the capital market to meet deficits

£

Pensions in the private sector in two years

£

More funds to health and education

£

New VAT law needs cooperation from businesses

erate a VAT system unless people are paying up. I hope that local business leaders including the FBCCI will extend their cooperation to the government in implementing the VAT law.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

CID: BB heist a foreign job Rahman Rabbi n Arifur and Kamrul Hasan The Criminal Investigation Department has officially declared that they did not find the evidence of any Bangladeshi national directly involved in the digital heist of $81 million from Bangladesh Bank.

“We have not yet found evidence of anyone from Bangladesh Bank or of Bangladeshi origin involved in the heist. The central bank alone cannot be blamed for this. But it could have been avoided if they

were less negligent,” CID Special Superintendent (organised crime) Mirza Abdullahel Baqui said yesterday.

The investigating agency earlier identified 20 foreigners for their alleged involvement in the muchtalked hacking incident.

In April, the probe body on the reserve heist in its interim report found gross negligence and lack of knowledge at the central bank. The committee recommended that the government undertake massive reform at the central bank, suggesting

massive restructuring in terms of administrative, institutional and technological upgrades.

CID officials said that they would also interview several officials of SWIFT authorities over the heist.

“They agreed to give the interview but sought some time for preparation,” CID Additional Deputy Inspector General Shah Alam told the Dhaka Tribune.

In the meantime, a team of the central bank and CID officials would visit the Philippines to attend a

SWIFT hack probe expands to dozen banks beyond Bangladesh

Nepotism plagues National Life

Investigators examine possible computer breaches at banks linked to SWIFT’s global network that have irregularities similar to the $81m Bangladesh Bank heist.  PAGE 9

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Massive irregularities - including nepotism and fraudulent money withdrawals - by the board of directors at National Life Insurance has come to light after insurance regulators recently carried out an audit of the company.  PAGE 32

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BNP: Dire consequences if Khaleda arrested

n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla The BNP yesterday warned that any attempt to arrest party Chairperson Khaleda Zia would lead to dire consequences.

The party’s standing committee member Mirza Abbas said: “We have learned from some newspaper reports that there is a plan to detain Khaleda Zia. Nothing is impossible for this Awami-League government. It is my belief that such an attempt will not be so easily carried out. I want to be clear that the consequences of arresting her will not be good. The people of this country will not accept it so easily.”

After holding a joint meeting with leaders of the BNP’s Dhaka city unit front and associate bodies at Bhasani auditorium, Abbas announced this warning.

Abbas also said if the AL thinks peace will return to the country if Khaleda is arrested then they live in a fool’s paradise.

He urged the party leaders and activists to be alert of such a conspiracy. l

Members of Bangladesh Diploma Bekar (Unemployed) Nurses’ Association bring out a protest rally in front of National Press Club in Dhaka yesterday demanding the cancellation of Bangladesh Public Service Commission’s current nurse recruitment procedure DHAKA TRIBUNE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

CID: BB heist a foreign job conference from May 30 to June 2 over the heist, organised by Interpol, involving the representatives of countries where the fund was laundered.

Asked about Egypt connection, Shah Alam said that they had not got any update from there.

CID requested Interpol to arrange the conference in Manila so that the investigating body could seek assistance from Singapore, Sri Lanka, China and other countries involved. Police officials from 11 countries are likely to join the con-

ference.

Shah Alam would lead the Bangladesh team which also include three officials of the central bank.

Mirza said: “The delegation will hold a meeting with Interpol and seek their help in tracing the foreigners whose involvement have been found in the case. We think that their names are fake, so they [Interpol] can help us in identifying them.”

About a possible link between Sonali Bank cyber theft and the Bangladesh Bank heist, he said:

“We have heard about it through the media. We will look into the matter.”

The nearly forgotten 2013 cyber heist at the nation’s largest commercial bank came under spotlight recently.

Reuters in their report mentioned that the unsolved theft of $2.5m at Sonali Bank involved fraudulent transfer requests sent over the SWIFT international payments network.

In April, two separate teams of CID went to the Philippines

and Sri Lanka in a bid to investigate the much-talked about digital heist.

On February 5, hackers stole the $81m from Bangladesh Bank’s accounts in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and transferred it to the Philippines’ Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, from where the money was moved to local casinos. Another attempt of transferring and releasing $20m to Sri Lanka was stopped and brought back to the country.

Another $850m was supposed

to be transferred to a personal bank account in the Philippines, but was blocked by the authorities. The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) of the Philippines is also investigating the case.

The Bangladesh Bank authorities filed a case against unidentified people with Motijheel police on February 15 under section 4 of the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012 (amended 2015), section 54 of the Information Technology Act 2006 and section 379 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. l

The attempts to introduce district budget have failed. But my objectives have been achieved; we found out what we are spending and where we are investing at the district level. We will do reforms in district administration based on these findings.

I will focus on digitising land records in this budget. If we do this, revenue earnings will grow several folds from land taxes, collection of land revenue and property transfers. My proposal in the next budget is to transfer land revenue collection to district administrations.

mishaps like Hallmark scam, Basic Bank forgery and the recent central bank reserve fund heist?

Well, but the banking sector expansion has been unprecedented.

More people are now under the banking system than ever before.

The Bangladesh Bank heist has delayed our plans to launch the Banking Commission but we will do it within the next fiscal year.

But I am concerned about the capital deficit at the state banks. We may have to raise their funds from the capital market.

tax, but the climate funds will continue. Development partners highly appreciate our climate change fund.

I was against continuing the fund because the Environment Ministry failed to collect funds from development partners. We have spent $324 million in climate change projects.

Also, more funds will go to health and education as fuel subsidy has dropped.

Muhith makes his case When will Bangladesh become a welfare state?

In two years, we are hoping to formulate some kind of regulation to introduce private sector pensions.

The government will contribute in these pension schemes. And by the end of our tenure, we will introduce universal pension and social safety net for every citizen of Bangladesh.

Are you giving more incentives to new export oriented businesses?

We will have to look at what percentage of the total export volume a business constitutes before handing out incentives. New export industries will get some incentives.

Other existing exporters’ incen-

tives will be slightly adjusted.

What is our progress towards becoming a middle income country?

According to the World Bank Atlas we already are a middle income country. The United Nations will make its review of middle income countries in 2018. I am quite sure about we will make the list. I have told the UN General Assembly that if Bangladesh achieves its economic targets regularly, it will reach the Sustainable Development Goals in 2024, six years before the deadline.

Are there any surprise elements in the next budget like you did with district budgets before?

Is your government facing an image crisis with the banking sector

What is in the budget on environment?

I have failed to introduce the green

Has the investment situation improved in Bangladesh?

Confidence is building up among investors. We are trying to reform policies to increase their confidence. Overall investment situation in the country is quite good. l

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Allegation against Shyamal Kanti 'false' n Ashif Islam Shaon The government investigation committee has found that Narayanganj school headmaster Shyamal Kanti Bhakta was forced to resign from his post based on a false allegation of defaming Islam.

The Education Ministry reinstated him as the suspension order issued on May 17 by the managing committee of Piyar Sattar Latif High School was not lawful, says a report prepared by the ministry's probe body.

The report was submitted to the attorney general’s office yesterday for placing it before a High Court bench on Sunday as per a previous order.

The probe body also found that the student, Rifat Hossain, who had brought the allegation of defaming religion against the teacher came

up with confusing statements. His statements were not considered true as he gave different statements on different occasions.

He talked differently before the school's managing committee, media persons and the probe committee. Moreover, his mother's written statement and the oral statements she made before the school committee and the media also do not match.

The report says that loudspeakers of several local mosques were used to spread hatred against the teacher based on a false allegation.

However, the people behind the propaganda have not been identified yet.

Local sources said that Rifat, who primarily raised no allegation of blasphemy against his teacher, had been forced to say so.

Deputy Attorney General Mot-

ahar Hossain Saju yesterday told reporters that the probe body made four specific recommendations in the report. The report would be placed before the court in affidavit.

On May 13, Shyamal Kanti was assaulted on the school premises by a mob claiming that he had committed blasphemy against Islam. Later, he was also made to do squats holding his ears in presence of local Jatiya Party lawmaker AKM Salim Osman.

The teacher later told media that he had been made a victim of conspiracy by some teachers and members of the managing committee.

The incident created massive outrage across the country with several ministers, civil society members and students asking the lawmaker to apologise. Demon-

strations were held in Dhaka and at different institutions demanding punishment of the lawmaker and the radicals.

Despite this, the school's managing committee on May 17 sacked the teacher with effect from May 13 showing four reasons including allegations of physically assaulting students and making disparaging statements against Islam.

On May 18, a High Court bench issued a suo-moto rule asking why legal proceedings should not be initiated against those, including the MP, who publicly humiliated the teacher.

The court also ordered local administration to submit a report on what lawful measures had been taken after the incident.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid has already said that they dismissed the school’s managing

body and reinstated Shyamal Kanti based on the findings of the probe report.

On the other hand, a Narayanganj court on May 21 approved a police plea to investigate the assault of the teacher. Bandar police sought the court's order to launch an investigation into the incident terming it a “defamatory offence.”

If proved, the lawmaker will have to face maximum two years' jail terms or fine or both.

Meanwhile, the MP's supporters in different political parties and radical Islamist platform Hefazat-e-Islam as well as trade bodies have been demonstrating against the teacher. Moreover, a Facebook-based extremist group named “Salauddiner Ghora” also issued death threats against Shyamal Kanti prompting the police to take strict security measures. l

War crimes charges pressed against Moulvibazar five n Ashif Islam Shaon Prosecutors have pressed charges including murder and torture against five alleged war criminals from Moulvibazar.

Shamsul Hossain Tarafdar, 65, Nesar Ali, 75, Yunus Ahmed, 71, Ujer Ahmed Chowdhury, 63, and Mobarak Mia, 66, have been charged with murder, looting, arson, abduction, confinement and torture during the 1971 Liberation War. Prosecutors said Shamsul was an al-Badr commander and the rest were local collaborators.

Shamsul Hossain Tarafdar, 65, Nesar Ali, 75, Yunus Ahmed, 71, Ujer Ahmed Chowdhury, 63, and Mobarak Mia, 66, have been charged with murder, looting, arson and abduction Yunus and Ujer were arrested in October last year and are currently in jail.

Prosecutors Sultan Mahmud Simon and Abul Kalam submitted the charge sheet at the International Crimes Tribunal’s registrar office yesterday.

The tribunal will hold a hearing on framing charges on June 9.

Investigation against the suspects started on October 12, 2014, and completed on January 20 this year. The prosecution has cited 36 people as their witnesses.

The charges include the killing of Danu Mia, looting and torching of three houses and confinement of three people between November 22 and December 5; the abduction, confinement and torture of three people and looting and torching of the houses of one Harendra Bhattacharya on November 23; and the killing of one Jamini Mohan Dev and abduction, confinement and torture of three people on November 25.

Other charges are: abduction of four people including one Rasraj Bhattacharya on November 27; abduction and torture of four people and killing of two in between November 29 and December 8; and killing of 14 people including one Shushital Dhar on December 29.

In the Liberation War, the Pakistani occupation forces and their local collaborators killed an estimated three million people and forced millions of others to take refuge in India.

Suspected collaborators were put on trial after the International Crimes Tribunal was formed in 2010.

Most of the war criminals convicted so far belong to the Jamaat-e-Islami, a party which openly opposed Bangladesh’s independence. l

An employee in National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation is seen helping an amputee to wear a prosthetic leg yesterday. Jaipur Foot, an Indian organisation that has been providing amputees with free prosthetic legs, is giving the same service in Bangladesh through NITOR until June 5 MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

G7 Summit opens with concerns over emerging economies Hayat Mahmud, from Ise, n Abu Japan The 42nd summit of the Group of Seven (G7) leaders began yesterday in Ise, Japan, with concerns of global emerging economies which were pointed out by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. “The leaders of G7 have voiced the view that emerging economies are in a severe situation, although the current economic situation is not a crisis,” Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroshige Seko told reporters on day one of the Ise-Shima Summit.

Seko said Abe, the premier and host of the two-day talks, presented G7 documents showing Interna-

tional Monetary Fund (IMF) data that prices of global commodities fell 55% from June 2014 to January 2016, the same margin as from July 2008 to February 2009, in the wake of the Lehman collapse.

Lehman had been Wall Street's fourth-largest investment bank when it filed for Chapter 11 protection on September 15, 2008, making its bankruptcy the largest by far in US history. Its failure triggered the global financial crisis.

Earlier, leaders of the G-7 nations arrived at the shrine of Ise Jingu, the most hallowed site for Japan's indigenous Shinto religion.

They pulled up individually in black cars, and shook hands with

Prime Minister Abe who greeted each individual near a tall traditional shrine gate.

Each leader than walked across a famous arched wooden bridge and greeted what appeared to be shrine officials on the other side, before continuing into the sanctuary.

The leaders of Italy, Germany and France have arrived in Japan for the annual summit meeting of seven major industrial nations.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande landed separately yesterday morning at an airport near the city of Nagoya in central Japan. l

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RAMADAN PRICE

Beef 40 times costlier than paddy n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla The latest price of beef set by Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) for the month of Ramadan has made it about 40 times costlier than paddy.

According to the new price list, one kilogramme of beef is to be sold at Tk420 while a maund (40kg) of paddy costs Tk380-400.

Also, the price of one kilogramme of buffalo meat was set at Tk400, one kilogramme of mutton

at Tk570 and one kilogramme of lamb at Tk470.

The decision on prices was made at a meeting with meat traders in the presence of DSCC Mayor Sayeed Khokon at the DSCC office yesterday.

The mayor said the newly set prices would be in effect from the first day of Ramadan till the 26th day.

He also urged meat traders to maintain standards of red meat.

DSCC Public Relations Officer Uttam Kumar told the Dhaka Tribune the meeting decided that 200 grammes of bone can be included in one kilogramme of meat but the quality of meat should be ensured.

Robiul Alam, secretary general of Bangladesh Meat Merchants Association, told the Dhaka Tribune the new prices would be followed across the country.

“Any trader found guilty of charging consumers higher prices

‘Magic and Literature’ starts at ULAB n Tribune Desk An international conference titled “Magic and Literature” will begin today at Campus A of University of Liberal Arts, Bangladesh’s (ULAB) in Satmasjid Road, Dhaka.

ULAB’s Department of English and Humanities (DEH) is organising the two-day event, which will see 72 academics from both Bangladesh and abroad present their scholarly works.

The highlights of the conference include the keynote speech by Prof Subir Kumar Dhar, who teaches English and at Rabindra Bharati University, plenary speech by Dr Azfar Hussain, associate professor at Grand Valley State University in the US and vicepresident at Global Centre for Advanced Studies.

There will also be a panel discussion on magic in Bangla literature by Dr Azfar Hussain, poets Mohammad Rafiq, Shamim Reza, and Sajjad Sharif, and a plenary discussion on Caribbean, Latin American and Mexican literature by Dr Joshua Yu Burnett, Dr Shamsad Mortuza, Razu Alauddin, Rafiqueum-Munir Chowdhury and Mashrur Shahid Hossain.

In addition, there will be a magic demonstration by Prof Subir Kumar Dhar and a video art installation by renowned artist Laila Sharmin.

The programme also includes an address

by ULAB Vice-Chancellor Prof Imran Rahman and a welcome address by DEH Convener and Adviser Prof Shamsad Mortuza.

The conference will end tomorrow with a vote of thanks from the convener. l

will face punishment to be meted out by mobile courts,” he said.

In 2015, the price of beef was Tk360 per Kg, up from Tk280 a year before, and mutton Tk600 per Kg, up from Tk260 over the same period.

In 2013, beef was sold at Tk275 per Kg and mutton Tk260 per Kg. Prices of daily essentials usually shoot up ahead of Ramadan and various measures are taken by the authorities to check price increases. l

TCB to start OMS Sunday n BSS

Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) is set to start open market sale (OMS) of essential commodities across the country from Sunday ahead of the month of Ramadan.

“A total of 179 trucks, of which 32 trucks in Dhaka, 10 trucks in Chittagong, five trucks each in other divisional cities and two trucks each in district towns would sell the essential commodities,” TCB Public Relations Officer Humayun Kabir said yesterday. l

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IS claims killing of Gaibandha Hindu shoe trader n Reuters Islamic State claimed responsibility for stabbing an elderly Hindu shoe trader to death in Gaibandha, monitoring service SITE said on Wednesday, in what would be the second killing by the militant group in the country in less than a week.

Bangladesh has witnessed a

zammel Haque said.

“The attackers slashed his throat with sharp weapons leaving him dead on the spot,” he said, adding that one person had been picked up for questioning.

Islamic State claimed the killing of a village doctor on Friday.

The government has denied that Islamic State or al-Qaeda groups have a presence in the country of

surge in Islamist violence in the past year in which members of religious minorities, liberal activists, academics and foreign aid workers have been killed.

Debesh Chandra Pramanik, 68, was found hacked to death in his shop on Wednesday in Gaibandha, police said.

Police found his body lying in pool of blood, police official Mo-

160 million and says home-grown Islamists are responsible for the wave of attacks.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam in an interview published earlier on Wednesday that Islamic State was trying to ride a wave of religious radicalisation by falsely claiming killings, adding there was enough evidence implicating domestic militant groups.

Since February last year, at least 27 people, including five secular bloggers, a publisher and two gay right campaigners, have died in attacks linked to militant groups.

Islamic State has claimed 18 of the attacks since its first claim in September last year and al-Qaeda most of the rest, according to SITE. l

‘Energy efficient irrigation can save a lot of power’ n Aminur Rahman Rasel Adopting energy efficient irrigation system can let Bangladesh save a lot of energy, the prime minister’s energy adviser has said.

“It is one of the potential areas where the country can save up a lot of energy,” Tawfique-E-Elahi Chowdhury said while speaking as the chief guest at the second founding anniversary of Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (Sreda) in Dhaka.

The energy adviser said many government agencies and research and development organisations were active in promoting water efficiencies in irrigation, but these programmes largely ignored the energy efficiency dimension.

“Energy efficiency is rarely given priority in the design of water efficient irrigation systems. But studies have shown that energy efficient irrigation system can save up a lot of energy sources for a country, especially for an agricultural country like Bangladesh.”

He said farmers were generally aware of the increased energy consumption associated with water-efficient irrigation, but largely unaware of how this increased energy consumption could be minimised and controlled.

Speaking as a special guest, Nasrul Hamid, the state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, said new measures would be taken to make all offices under his ministry energy efficient.

“We should start setting example by ourselves. We should try to make all our offices energy efficient within the next one year,” he said.

Earlier Siddique Zobair, a member of Sreda, shed light on different activities of Sreda in the last two years. l

Activists of Bangladesh Chhatra Union form a human chain in Dhaka’s Shahbagh yesterday protesting Pakistan and Turkey’s interference in Bangladesh’s domestic affairs

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN FRIDAY, MAY 27

RAJIB DHAR

The inspiring tale of a blinded woman n Tribune Desk Back in 2011, Rumana Monzur, then an assistant professor at the University of Dhaka and a student at the University of British Columbia, was visiting family in her home country of Bangladesh. Little did she know, her visit would completely alter the way she viewed life.

During her visit to Bangladesh, her husband viciously assaulted her, leaving her permanently blind.

She made headlines when she spoke out about the assault from

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her hospital bed.

Rumana, now a graduate of UBC and currently pursuing a degree in law, is an advocate for women’s rights, working tirelessly

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to raise awareness about domestic abuse.

She will be delivering the keynote speech at the 20th annual Big Sisters Spring Lunch on Thursday.

Big Sisters is a non-governmental organisation in Canada that facilitates and inspires young girls to reach their potential as both an individual and a citizen.

In an interview with Canada’s CBC News, she said she had been so busy studying, she has not had time to really adjust to being blind.

“If I want to go somewhere I don’t travel on my own. I am always with someone sighted,” she

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said, adding that she has been too busy to learn Braille.

“I just never felt like I was alone,” she said, “I felt like I have lost two eyes but I have gained thousands of them.”

Rumana also said having the responsibility of being a mother spurred her on.

Her daughter, now 10, was with her during the attack.

“She is doing great. I am glad she was really young so that nothing is there in her memory,” Rumana said, further adding that her daughter has signed up with Big Sisters. l

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Fajr: 4:40am | Jumma: 1:15pm Asr: 5:15pm | Magrib: 6:45pm Esha: 8:30pm Source: Islamic Foundation

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Dying rivers of Panchagarh threaten life, environment Rahman Sazzad, n Sazzadur Panchagarh Jainul and Nur Islam are 60 and 55 years old respectively. Both were fishermen on the Karatoya river for the better part of their lives, but have lost most of their livelihoods in the last few decades.

Jainul, who lives on what was once the banks of Karatoya, in Dhakkamara, Panchagarh, now grows paddy in the riverbed, and pulls a van besides to make a living.

Nur’s family, from Tulardanga Khalpara village, has been in this profession for three generations, although he says he might be the last in this line.

“I have been doing this for almost 35 years. Now there’s no water, and no fish. I do other sorts of work most of the year,” Nur Islam said.

Panchagarh, a district intertwined with 27 rivers, was once known for water based commerce, fishing and boats. In 30-40 years, most of the rivers have died out or lost their flow as India built one dam after another upstream.

The powerful Mahananda and

Karatoya rivers now have many shoals where locals raise crops.

These two, as well as, Dahuk, Chawai, Shenua, Kurum, Ghoramara, Jamuna, Mora Teesta, Talma and Nagar originate in India’s Jalpaiguri and Sikkim and in the Himalayas in Nepal. At the upstream, Indians have built barrages, dams, sluice gates, regulators, reservoirs and feeder canals, impeding the natural flow of water.

The country has also built a 221km circular embankment along the district’s border.

In 1990, India began building the Gajoldoba barrage on Mahananda river in Siliguri. The river used to run along the Bangladesh-India border for about 20km from Banglabandha Zero Point to Tetulia Sadar. The river is now almost dry.

Karatoya originates in Jalpaiguri and enters Bangladesh through Bhadreswar border area in Tetulia.

At Rajganj Madanbari, India has built a dam and barred almost all of its water.

Indians have also built dams, sluice gates and regulators on Dahuk, Chawai, Shenua, Kurum, Ghorama-

Good yield cheers Sunamganj litchi growers n Tribune Desk Bumper production of litchi, especially of the local ‘Manikpuri’ variety, has cast a beam of delight on the faces of the growers of the luscious summer fruit in Sunamganj this season.

Farmers at Manikpur, Godabari, Chandpur, Kochudair, Borogola and Rajargaon villages of Noarai union of the district’s Chhatak upazila, which has a good name for widespread production of the juicy fruit, are now in a jubilant mood for the yield they have got so far.

The fruit bears immense potential to change the farmers’ lot at the villages, where every house has an orchard of 10/12 litchi trees.

Many litchi growers, including Shukkur Ali, Abu Bakkar Siddik, Abdur Rahim, Jamal Uddin, Siddik Miah, Badal Miah, Dolon Miah, Amir Ali, Rostom Ali and Farid Miah, have set example of el-

evating fortune through litchi cultivation.

The ‘Manikchuri’ variety litchi could have already made a good name across the country.

Litchi growers at Manikpur village are now passing busy time for marketing of the fruit.

However, what the growers see as a major setback for marketing of their produce is the backward communication network.

Abdul Khalek, a litchi grower at the village, said they had to use rickshaw van for carrying litchi to the nearest markets as the road beside the village is an uncarpeted one.

Litchi is being cultivated in 10 upazilas of the district commercially.

Litchis of around Tk 6lakh are traded at the village daily.

The size of the litchi of this area is big as well as tasty.

The taste of the litchi here is different for high soil quality, said Fazlu Miah, a litchi cultivator. l

ra, Jamuna and Mora Teesta rivers.

Every year in dry season Indian authorities divert this water through feeder canals to dry areas in West Bengal and Bihar for irrigation. During monsoon on the other hand, all barrages, dams and sluice gates are opened up, causing floods in Panchagarh.

The district’s agriculture, environment and biodiversity have been devastated by the death of its rivers. Navigability has declined drastically. Groundwater levels have dropped to 18-19 feet. Fish fertility has fallen. Birds and animals are losing habitat.

Thousands of fishermen have lost their livelihoods and vast areas of agricultural land has become fallow due to the lack of water.

Panchagarh Livestock Officer Mosharraf Hossain said the dying rivers were causing species extinction in the area.

“Waterbirds, fish, other aquatic animals like snails, turtles, snakes, aquatic plants and insects are dying out because of the drying rivers,” he said.

Rafiqul Islam, deputy director of

Panchagarh Agricultural Extension Department, said farmers were cultivating Boro crops in the riverbeds now.

“But the water tables are down, so they have to irrigate more,” he said.

Local environmentalist Sheikh Sajjad Hossain said farmers were using strong insecticides and chemical fertlisers when farming in the riverbeds, which reduced fish fertility and harmed the local wildlife.

The Joint River Commission (JRC) between Bangladesh and India has failed to take practical action in ensuring the country’s fair share in river resources despite international agreements to treat joint rivers as shared assets.

Panchagarh Environment Council President Topwhidul Bari said under the JRC agreement, India is obligated to consult with Bangladesh before building dams and sluice gates on joint rivers.

“But India did not consult with Bangladesh before building these dams. The dams are threatening our biodiversity and environment and the region faces the risk of desertification,” he said. l

Couple vie for same seat Raihanul Islam Akand, n Md Gazipur A couple are vying for the same seat in upcoming election of Nakai union council under Gobindaganj upazila of the district.

Local sources said Siddiqur Rahman and his wife Esmetara Begum were contesting for the seat of member post in 3 No ward.

The symbol of Siddiqur is tubewell while Esmetara is contesting with the symbol Kite to win the race.

Siddiqur said: “There is no any conflict between us. We have a good relation.”

Esmetara echoed the voice of Siddiqur.

“Both we go to the door to door of the voters in the morning and beg votes for self,” she said.

The sources said the voters expressed that they were in dilemma to elect the candidate as both of them were favorite to them.

Returning officer Abdur Rahim said there were more four candidates who were contesting in the election. The election will be held on May 28. l

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FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

5 pharmacies fined in Chittagong n Tribune Desk

The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority forms a human chain to raise awareness about road accidents in Rajshahi city yesterday

AZAHAR UDDIN

A mobile court in a drive fined five errant pharmacies in Chittagong city with Tk48,000 on charge of selling unauthorised and date-expired medicines.

Assistant Commissioner (AC) and also Executive Magistrate Tahmilur Rahman led the drive in Chittagong city’s Patharghata area while Chittagong’s Drug Administration’s Assistant Director Mahnun Tabassum assisted the mobile court.

Executive Magistrate Tahmilur Rahman said the mobile court fined—Baishakhi pharmacy with Tk20,000, RS Medico with Tk5,000, Janasheba Pharmacy with Tk8,000 Rani Medico with Tk5,000 and United Medico with Tk10,000 as the pharmacy were unapproved Indian medicines and storing date-expired medicine for sale to the customers.

Later, the court destroyed the seized illegal and unapproved medicine, said the executive magistrate. l

3 youths grabbed by ‘DB’, missing for 15 days n Hedait Hossain, Khulna Fathers of three missing youths, who were allegedly picked up by plainclothesmen identifying themselves as police detectives two weeks ago in Khulna city, have pleaded with the law enforcers and the government to find their sons The distressed parents – Md Shahidul Islam, a retired banker, Masudur Rahman, a security guard, and Mawlana Abdus Sattar, imam at a mosque – held a joint press conference at Khulna Press Club yesterday afternoon, said it had been 15 days since their sons

Fraudster held in Chittagong n

Tribune Desk

Members of Detective Branch (DB) yesterday arrested a fraudster in Chittagong city’s Patenga embankment area who allegedly extorted money from people introducing himself as Anti-Corruption Commission official, CID, Police, judge and other professions.

The arrestee was Mostafizur Rahman 29, a bus helper by profession and son of Sirajul Islam, said DB sources. Police said being tipped off a team of DB arrested from his house at the embankment area of Patenga in the early yesterday. l

were taken away by “Detective Branch” members. Since then, they have yet to find any trace of them.

The trio also accused the law enforcers of showing negligence in duty and not taking the incident seriously.

Shahidul, who fought in the Liberation War in 1971, said his son, Md Abdullah Al Sayem Turjo, 25, who is a teacher at Bismillah Nagar Qawmi Madrasa in Khulna’s Harintana area, was taken by a few men, claiming to be officials from the Detective Branch (DB) of police, from Mostar Mor around 6:30pm on May 12.

“His colleague Hafiz Bin Ashraf

witnessed them forcing him into a white microbus. They threatened to take Hafiz too, and then snatched two mobile phones from him,” Shahidul said.

Another colleague of Turjo’s, Showaib Biswas, 26, went missing on the same day. “He left the house in the morning for the madrasa, but never returned home. Our calls to his phone went unanswered,” said his father Mawlana Abdus Sattar, imam at the city’s Baitun Nazat Jame Mosque in Baikali Bazar area.

The third youth, electric technician Monirul Islam, 28, was forcibly taken away from his house on

May 12 by 8-10 men who claimed to be from the DB, said Masud, who is a security guard at a Canteen Stores Department (CSD) storage in Boyra.

The parents believe that these three incidents are connected.

Families of the three missing men filed separate general diaries with Khalishpur and Harintana police stations on May 13.

They also contacted the DB office in Khulna in this regard, but they could not provide any information either, said Shahidul.

“So far we know nothing about what happened to our sons,” he said. “We want them back. If any

law enforcement agency have truly detained them, we want to know that too.

“None of our sons have any enemies. If they have committed any crime, we want due process to be followed to bring them to book. But it is inhuman and unfair to keep us in the dark about their whereabouts and wellbeing.”

They fathers asked for all-out support of the Police Authorities in finding their sons and requested the prime minister, the home minister and the law enforcement high-up to take this case in consideration. l

‘Bank money swindlers will not be spared’ Mizanur Rahaman, n FM Chittagong

Chairman of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Iqbal Mahmud yesterday said the swindlers, who siphoned off money from the banks, would not be spared.

“Some persons have guzzled people’s money from the banks and looted properties. They will not be spared whoever they are”, said the boss of anti-corruption watchdog in the country while addressing an award giving ceremony at Chittagong Circuit House in the morning.

At the programme, the ACC

chief handed over prizes among best anti-corruption committees in metropolitans, districts and upazilas level under Chittagong division.

Addressing as the chief guest, Iqbal Mahmud said: “The ACC is going to start crash programme under anti-graft drive from July in education, health and banking sectors in a bid to stop corruption in the sectors while they have needed support from all walks of life including media”.

“The quality of education in the country is an alarming level. There were no eligible candidates in BCS examination while examinees would be passed through giving

grace. We are very much ashamed over the situation and that’s why it is essential to stop corruption in education sector to ensure best quality”, said Iqbal Mahmud.

Presided over by Chittagong Deputy Commissioner Mesbah Uddin, the programme was addressed by ACC Director General Md Shamsul Arefin, Chittagong Divisional Commissioner Ruhul Amin, Chittagong Metropolitan Police Commissioner Iqbal Bahar and Chittagong University’s Social Science Faculty’s Dean Mohammed Abul Hossain.

ACC’s Chittagong’s Director Abdul Aziz Bhiyan gave welcome speech at the programme.

Md Shamsul Arefin said the anti-corruption committees had been working against anomalies across the country without any wages and benefits. He also said the anti-corruption campaign should be spread among young generation.

Chittagong Divisional Commissioner Md Ruhul Amin said the level of corruption were different in various sectors while it should be find out in which sector people are being affected very much.

“Through public research it would be find out which one sector is badly affected by the corruption and then action will be taken easy against it”, he added. l

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FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

TOP STORIES

Clinton v Trump on major issues Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are on track to capture their respective parties’ nominations. But a recent poll has suggested that the duo are most unpopular nominees from both the major parties in many years. They both have similarities and differences on major issues. Here are the comparison of some of those--

SWIFT hack probe expands to dozen banks beyond Bangladesh

WANTS TO

Investigators are examining possible computer breaches at as many as 12 banks linked to SWIFT’s global payments network that have irregularities similar to those in the theft of $81m from the Bangladesh central bank, reports Bloomberg on Thursday quoting a person familiar with the probe.

PAGE 9

National security

Immigration

Trade

As EU vote looms, migration to UK nears record high

Defence

Net migration to Britain reached its second highest level on record last year, according to official data on Thursday that fed immediately into the increasingly bitter debate over whether the country should stay in the European Union.

Energy, climate change

PAGE 9

China

North Korea

Living in Germany: A testing time for Angela Merkel’s migrants Germany took in far more migrants than any other EU country. The success or failure of its integration drive could be crucial in dealing with Europe’s biggest migrant crisis since World War Two, which has strained security and social systems and bolstered support for anti-immigration parties.

PAGE 10

Iran

WANTS TO

Ü Maintain current restrictions (under the USA Freedom Act) on NSA surveillance Ü Close the Guantanamo Bay detention centre Ü Prohibit the use of harsh interrogation techniques, like waterboarding, on terrorism suspects Ü Tighten screening of people who have traveled to countries facing “problems with terrorism”

Ü Reinstate the NSA’s bulk surveillance programme Ü Keep the Guantanamo Bay detention centre open Ü Approve the use of harsh interrogation techniques, like waterboarding, on terrorism suspects Ü Ban Muslims from entering the United States

Ü Defend and potentially expand on President Obama’s deportation relief actions Ü Allow a path to citizenship for the undocumented Ü Allow the undocumented to purchase health insurance Ü Focus enforcement on the detention/deportation of violent criminals Ü Promote naturalisation to lawful residents Ü Allow up to 65,000 Syrian refugees per year into the US

Ü Expand fencing and increase aerial surveillance and border patrols Ü Organise a mass deportation of the undocumented Ü Expand e-verify Ü Withhold funding from so-called sanctuary cities Ü End birthright citizenship Ü Ban Muslims from entering the United States

Ü Ensure free trade agreements to create more US jobs Ü Oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP) Ü Support the Export-Import Bank

Ü Ensure free trade agreements to create US jobs Ü Renegotiate or withdraw from North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) Ü Oppose the TTP Ü Designate China as a currency manipulator

Ü Strengthen military alliances

Ü Lift caps on the defence budget Ü Expand the armed services

Ü Ü Ü Ü

Abide by the Paris accord limiting global carbon emissions Expand investment in renewable energy Ban drilling in the US Arctic Block attempts to resurrect construction of the Keystone XL pipeline

Ü Increase production of fossil fuels, including offshore drilling Ü Remove carbon emissions limits on US power plants Ü Finish construction of the Keystone XL pipeline

Ü Increase co-operation with China in areas of common interest Ü Reinforce alliances in the Asia-Pacific, including with Japan and South Ü Increase US military presence in and around the South China Sea Korea Ü Investigate and punish China for unfair trade practices Ü Ratchet up the US deterrent against Chinese cyberattacks Ü Take a stronger stance against China’s human rights record

Ü Increase sanctions on Pyongyang for its January 2016 nuclear test Ü Urge China to pressure North Korea to curtail its nuclear weapons programme. Ü Bolster US ballistic missile shield with allies Japan and South Korea

Ü Urge China to pressure North Korea to curtail its nuclear weapons programme Ü Meet North Korea’s leader to discuss its nuclear programme.

Ü Abide by the multi-national nuclear deal Ü Reimpose sanctions on Iran for any failure to comply Ü Maintain Israel’s military superiority in the region

Ü Abide by the multi-national nuclear deal Ü Re-impose sanctions if Iran does not comply

Ü Ratchet up sanctions against Russia for its intervention in Ukraine Ü Help wean Europe off of Russian energy dependence Ü Expand US missile defences in Eastern Europe

Ü Urge European states to put diplomatic pressure on Russia for its Ukraine intervention

Russia

Islamic State

Ü Ü Ü Ü

Fight the Islamic State with a coalition of Western and Arab states Conduct more US airstrikes Arm and support Kurdish and Sunni Arab fighters Avoid deploying a large US ground force in Iraq and Syria

Ü Fight the Islamic State with a coalition of Western and Arab states Ü Conduct more US airstrikes Ü Increase US ground forces in Iraq and Syria

9

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

SWIFT hack probe expands to dozen banks beyond Bangladesh n Tribune International Desk Investigators are examining possible computer breaches at as many as 12 banks linked to SWIFT’s global payments network that have irregularities similar to those in the theft of $81m from the Bangladesh central bank, reports Bloomberg on Thursday quoting a person familiar with the probe.

FireEye, the security firm hired by the Bangladesh Bank, has been contacted by the other banks, most of which are in Southeast Asia, because of signs that hackers may have breached their networks, the person said. They include banks in the Philippines and New Zealand but not in Western Europe or the United States. There is no indication of whether money was taken.

The expansion of the investigation four months after the discovery of the Bangladesh attack, the biggest known cyber-heist in history, suggests a broad and serious campaign to breach the international financial system.

FireEye declined to comment on the report. A SWIFT spokesman, Natasha de Teran, said: “As we have stated before, we are actively looking into other possible instances of such fraud, but we will not comment on individual entities.”

The Brussels-based interbank cooperative, whose full name is the Society for Worldwide Interbank

to the security surrounding how member banks -- each with their own codes and levels of technology sophistication -- were connecting.

Brokering discussions

REUTERS Financial Telecommunication, has warned that there may have been more breaches than the three already publicly identified, including those in Vietnam and Ecuador.

SWIFT has come under increasing pressure from its bank customers to ratchet up its security measures in order to prevent future cyber robberies. SWIFT has relied on the trust within its network -- if you receive a SWIFT message, you can be sure it is legitimate and move the money as instructed immediately -- to cement its effective dominance of the international payments system over the past four decades.

If that trust erodes, it calls into doubt the foundation upon which the cooperative is built.

‘A big deal’

Hackers may have targeted even more banks, SWIFT’S CEO, Got-

tfried Leibbrandt, said this week in a speech outlining plans to improve network and client defenses. He didn’t provide any details about which banks may have been targeted or whether their defenses had been breached.

“This is a big deal, and it gets to the heart of banking,” he said in the speech, adding: “Banks that are compromised like this can be put out of business.”

Apart from Bangladesh, hackers also stole $12m from an Ecuadorean bank in January 2015, according to documents filed a lawsuit by Banco del Austro against Wells Fargo, its US correspondent bank. They also tried to move about $1.2m in an attack late last year on a Vietnamese lender that was foiled, the lender told its regulators.

While SWIFT has for decades made sure its own network was secured, less attention was paid

Banks in the UK and the US are now pushing for discussions with SWIFT about how it should help member banks better secure their systems, according to people familiar with the separate talks.

BITS, the section of the Financial Services Roundtable aimed at combating cyber fraud and other technological issues, could be selected to broker those discussions in the US, one person said. In the UK, banks are privately lobbying the Bank of England and possibly the British Bankers’ Association to press Swift into adopting new security measures, another person said.

SWIFT, which connects 11,000 financial institutions that send about 25m messages a day, will try to increase information sharing among clients, raise security requirements for the software clients use and help clients conduct security audits, Leibbrandt said in his speech. Swift will also introduce certification requirements for vendors that help some banks connect to the network, and it may help banks use pattern recognition to identify suspicious behaviour, he said. l

As EU vote looms, migration to UK nears record high n Reuters, London Net migration to Britain reached its second highest level on record last year, according to official data on Thursday that fed immediately into the increasingly bitter debate over whether the country should stay in the European Union.

The Office for National Statistics, in its last immigration report before the June 23 vote on continued EU membership, said net migration hit 333,000 in 2015, the second-highest level for a 12-month period since records began in 1975.

Of those, 184,000 net came from the EU, which mandates freedom of movement.

The ONS said that most of the net increase - 20,000 - was due to fewer people leaving the country.

The numbers were seized upon by those campaigning for Britain to leave the EU. They argue that the country would be better able to control migration flows from

outside the bloc.

“We would be able to decide our immigration policy on the needs of the British economy,” Boris Johnson, figurehead of the “Out” camp, told Sky News television.

“Remain” campaigners responded by saying that immigration issues could not be solved by leaving a bloc they believe is a huge boon to Britain’s economy.

In 2010, Prime Minister David Cameron promised to reduce the annual level of net migration -those arriving minus those leaving -- to below 100,000 but has failed to keep his pledge, partly due to net migration from the EU, which accounted for half the yearon-year increase.

Immigration and the economy have consistently ranked as two of the most important issues in the EU referendum, but Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said leaving the bloc was not the solution.

“We need to continue the reforms to reduce net migration from outside of Europe, which still maintains the majority (of

A British government Immigration Enforcement van is seen in London REUTERS new arrivals),” he said.

In February, Cameron negotiated a deal with European partners to curb some welfare payments to new EU migrants which he says addresses public concerns about the level of immigration.

Critics say it will do nothing to reduce the number of people coming to Britain attracted by higher wages than in their home countries, the presence of large communities of migrants, the English language and other factors.

But with four weeks to go before Britons head to the polls, the number of migrants arriving on France’s north coast in Calais has

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grown in recent months according to official figures released on Thursday, with many seeking to reach Britain.

The total number of people in tents, shanties and a new staterun city of converted shipping containers has reached 3,900 compared to 3,500 at the end of March, according to the Pas de Calais region.

The British government has previously warned that refugees could flock to Britain from France if voters back Brexit and France has said it could end border controls and let thousands cross the Channel in the event of an “Out” vote. l

SOUTH ASIA

US Senate okays reimbursement fund for Pakistan The US Senate Armed Services Committee has approved a proposal to set up a new fund to reimburse Pakistan for its efforts in the war against terror. The new fund also delinks the country from Afghanistan. The committee’s chairman, Senator John McCain, introduced the bill, which sets aside up to $800m for reimbursing Pakistan.

-DAWN

INDIA

5 dead, 92 injured in Mumbai factory blast A powerful blast in a chemical factory located near a residential area in a Mumbai suburb killed 5 people and left 92 injured on Thursday, police officials said. The factory building collapsed after the fire and residents living nearby complained of breathing problems from the smell of the gas that was released.

-AFP

CHINA

China to send nucleararmed submarines into Pacific The Chinese military is poised to send submarines armed with nuclear missiles into the Pacific Ocean for the first time, arguing that new US weapons systems have so undermined Beijing’s existing deterrent force that it has been left with no alternative. Chinese military officials are not commenting on the timing of a maiden patrol, but insist the move is inevitable.

-THE GUARDIAN

ASIA PACIFIC

Indonesia introduces death penalty, chemical castration for child rapists Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Wednesday approved a law prescribing the death penalty as the maximum sentence for child rapists, after several brutal gang rapes sparked public outrage. On Wednesday, Widodo said those responsible for sexual abuse of children, as well as repeat sex offenders, could also face chemical castration and be tagged with an electronic chip to track their movements, citing the law he signed.

-REUTERS

MIDDLE EAST

More than 280,000 dead in Syria war Syria’s devastating war has killed more than 280,000 people, a monitoring group said on Thursday in a new toll for the five-year conflict.

The toll of 282,283 includes 81,436 civilians, among them 14,040 children and 9,106 women, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Non-jihadist rebel fighters accounted for 48,568 of those killed, while extremist militants - including non-Syrians - numbered 47,095. -AFP

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USA

Obama: World leaders rattled by Trump US President Barack Obama disparaged Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Thursday, saying the billionaire seeks tweets over solutions and has rattled foreign leaders with his pronouncements.

Obama accused Trump of making cavalier comments for provocative effect, and he urged all candidates to take the high road in a boisterous and harsh campaign.

-REUTERS

THE AMERICAS

Opposition demos draw scant crowds in Venezuela Protesters seeking to oust Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro staged fresh street rallies Wednesday but drew scant turnout, a setback the divided opposition blamed on repressive tactics and a spiraling economic crisis. Some 500 Maduro opponents gathered in eastern Caracas, waving the red, yellow and blue Venezuelan flag and banners denouncing the daily woes a crippling recession has wrought on the country.

-AFP

UK

Skinhead Brexit vote poster criticised for playing on race A poster designed to encourage ethnic minorities to vote in next month’s EU membership referendum sparked fierce criticism on Thursday as figures on both sides of the EU debate objected to the depiction of an aggressive white man berating an elderly Asian woman. The striking tableau is the latest attempt to engage voters in the debate over Britain’s future ahead of the June 23 referendum, -REUTERS

EUROPE

Merkel: G7 has no plans to lift Russia sanctions German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that the Group of Seven has no plan to withdraw sanctions slapped on Russia over its involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Her comments came on the sidelines of G7 summit talks in Japan, ahead of a formal communique from the club of rich nations due Friday.

-AFP

AFRICA

UN court to hear KenyaSomalia border dispute The UN’s top court said Thursday it will hold hearings in September into a maritime border dispute between Somalia and Kenya which may decide the fate of potentially lucrative oil and gas reserves. Kenya will respond to a Somali complaint that Nairobi wrongly claims swathes of seabed that Mogadishu insists are its own during 4 days of hearings at the International Court of Justice from September 19.

-AFP

INSIGHT

Living in Germany: A testing time for Angela Merkel’s migrants n Reuters, Berlin In an east Berlin classroom, a group of migrants is taking a “Living in Germany” practice test.

From a list of holidays that includes Easter, Christmas and Labour Day, they must identify which ones are Christian; they must determine whether foods like white sausage, pizza and doner kebabs are German or foreign; and they must pick out the types of insurance they need here.

For many of Germany’s new arrivals, numbering more than 1m last year, a new law will mean that attendance at such classes will determine whether they get full access to the state benefits they hope will launch them on new lives in the country.

Germany took in far more migrants than any other EU country.

The success or failure of its integration drive could be crucial in dealing with Europe’s biggest migrant crisis since World War Two, which has strained security and social systems and bolstered support for anti-immigration parties.

The German cabinet approved the integration law on Wednesday, with Chancellor Angela Merkel calling it a “milestone”. It will mean adult migrants with no job and a high chance of being able to remain in the country can be required to each attend 600 hours of German-language teaching as well as 100 hours of cultural “orientation” that end with the “Living in Germany” test.

Still, the integration drive faces significant hurdles.

Several education experts, teachers and migrants said there were not enough spaces in the language classes, or teachers. Some schools said the level of German taught fell short of what many employers expected from skilled workers.

Some migrants and teachers also said the orientation courses, while useful in parts, were not enough to bridge cultural divides.

For Germany, the stakes are high. Merkel’s decision last year to open the door to record numbers of refugees could rejuvenate an ageing workforce. But the longer it takes for them to learn the language and gain qualifications, the greater the strain on the economy and society.

Disenchantment with the chancellor’s “Wilkommenskultur” - welcome culture - has helped propel the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany to strong results in regional elec-

Migrants attend a lesson at the Institute for Inter-cultural Communication in Berlin tions this year.

Those migrants who are required to attend the classes but fail to turn up will see their state benefits cut to a minimum level “that ensures their livelihood”, according to the draft law. Labour Minister Andrea Nahles said the amount by which benefits would be cut would depend on the individual case.

Asylum seekers get up to €354 per month during their first 15 months in Germany and up to €404 after that or as soon as they are recognised as being entitled to asylum. They also get their accommodation and heating paid for while they are applying for asylum.

That compares with the average gross monthly salary of full-time workers in Germany of €3,612.

Staff shortage

There is deep agitation among many Germans about the consequences of the influx, which has evoked memories of the arrival of millions of foreign workers, mainly Turks, who helped rebuild the country after World War II. Little effort was made to integrate them, and some ended up in ghettos that some Germans say stoked inter-community tensions.

President Joachim Gauck, who rarely intervenes in politics, has warned of the dangers of the current integration drive failing. “We risk frustration and boredom turning into violence and crime, or political and religious extremism flourishing,” he said last month.

Germany has been running integration courses since 2005 and

until November last year - when asylum seekers from Syria, Iran, Iraq and Eritrea were given the right to take them - many participants were migrants from other EU countries who came in search of work, a spokeswoman for Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) said.

BAMF head Frank-Juergen Weise acknowledges the delays to starting integration courses.

His office receives around 2,500 applications per day from eligible asylum seekers to join courses for which there is currently a waiting list of up to eight weeks. But he said that the BAMF was making more places available for migrants.

Part of the problem is that schools are struggling to find enough staff. Schools represented by the German Adult Education Association (DVV), which provide 40% of integration courses, cannot meet demand due to a shortfall of about 5,000 teachers, spokeswoman Simone Kaucher said.

Even when a refugee has secured a place, the challenges can be huge.

Jens-Uwe Schaefer, headmaster of east Berlin’s Institute for Intercultural Communication (IIK), said migrants might struggle to learn a profession or complete an apprenticeship with the level of German taught in integration classes.

Ludger Woessmann, an education expert at the Ifo institute, said many young adults had missed out on schooling due to spending long periods in refugee camps or travelling.

For some migrants, what they learn in classes also seems far re-

REUTERS

moved from their daily reality of living in mass shelters.

Uphill battle

The orientation course currently runs for 60 hours but will rise to 100 under the new law, which must still be approved by parliament. The classes have highlighted the culture shock facing some migrants.

Ralf Sydlik, a teacher at the IIK, said 60 hours was only enough to brush over topics so the increase would help to explain some aspects of German life in more detail, but it was hard to come up with a duration suitable for all migrants.

“Of course 100 hours is still not enough to teach people everything but it’s a good start,” he said.

His lessons range from topics including public holidays, food and the voting system to Germany’s mostly liberal social norms.

“Can men be in a relationship with men in Germany and women with women?” he asked his students. Out of a class of eight, only one answered “yes”.

The government’s migration office has no illusions that the new arrivals face an uphill battle, with BAMF’s Weise predicting that half would still be out of work in five years’ time.

And every month migrants wait will reduce the chances of them ever integrating successfully, said Herbert Bruecker, a migration expert at the IAB Institute for Employment Research.

“People who are out of work for a long time become fearful, lose motivation and become less attractive in the workplace,” he said.

“That’s true of refugees too.” l

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FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

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FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

TOP STORIES Stocks rally after two days of profitbooking fall Stocks finished higher yesterday after a two-day profit booking fall.

The Dhaka Stock Exchange benchmark index DSEX gained 22 points or 0.5% to close at 4,388. The Shariah index DSES rose 8 points or 0.7% to 1,076. The blue chip comprising index DS30 was up 15 points or 0.9% to 1,707. PAGE 13

China keen to boost industrial sector in Bangladesh China is keen to invest huge sums in Bangladesh for the development of its industrial sector to make it more competitive, Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh Ma Mingqiang said Wednesday. PAGE 13

Draft ETF norms get BSEC nod n Tribune Business Desk Market regulator Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) yesterday came out with draft guidelines on ETFs (exchange traded funds) to attract more investment in the capital market.

According to officials, the ETFs would provide investors with more strategic options to hedge risk and enrich their investment portfolio.

ETF is an open-ended investment funds listed and traded on a stock exchange. It may track an index, a commodity or a sector. The index or unit may be composed of ordinary stocks, bonds, commodities, derivatives or a combination of real assets. An ETF can be a domestic or offshore product.

Under the draft norms, the regulator proposed that the initial

Exchange traded funds will provide investors with more strategic options to hedge risk and enrich their investment portfolio DHAKA TRIBUNE fund size under the ETF will be at least Tk50 crore. However, the fund size will be allowed to change through creation and redemption by the authorised participants like stock dealer or broker.

The fund will be formed through

Indian venture capital Aavishkaar invests $2m in Bangladesh WTO sees Brexit costing UK billions in trade tariffs Leaving the European Union would cost British consumers 9bn pounds ($13.2bn) in annual additional import tariffs, World Trade Organisation chief Roberto Azevedo said in an interview published by the Financial Times on Wednesday. PAGE 14

Capital market snapshot: Thursday DSE Broad Index

4,388.0

0.5% ▲

Index

1,076.6

0.8% ▲

30 Index

1,708.0

0.9% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk

3,499.6

-7.1% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

109.7

1.5% ▲

All Share Index 13,524.4

0.6% ▲

30 Index

0.2% ▲

CSE

Selected Index

12,454.5 8,225.7

0.6% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk

246.8

17.6% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol

9.5

8.1% ▲

n Tribune Business Desk Indian venture capital Aavishkaar Frontier Fund makes its inroads into Bangladesh by investing $2 million in CloudWell Aavishkaar, a payment system firm operating in the country, said the company in a statement yesterday.

The CloudWell provides agentbased last mile payment solutions to a host of service providers such as telecom operators, mobile financial service players and other billers under the brand name ‘PayWell’.

This investment will enable acceleration of CloudWell’s growth and scale up its nationwide network.

Founded in November 2012, PayWell is an organised retail approach by CloudWell, which leverages technology and aims to provide convenient payment solutions to major business-to-consumer organisations in the utility, telecom, financial services, transport, retail and e-commerce sectors in Bangladesh.

By using point-of-sale (POS)/ mobile apps/web apps available in retail outlets of PayWell, customers can avail various payment and transaction services such as airtime top up, utility bill payments, bus/train ticket purchases,

transacting using mobile financial services (MFS) accounts, etc.

CloudWell has already a network of over 5,000 retailers across 34 of 64 districts in the country with a majority from districts outside Dhaka.

PayWell will expand its market across Bangladesh targeting 30,000 agents in two years With a growing retailer network, the company intends to catalyse entrepreneurship and increase economic benefit to PayWell retailers in urban and rural Bangladesh.

CloudWell Chairman and CEO Anisul Islam said: “With this investment from Aavishkaar, PayWell will expand its market across Bangladesh with a targeted network of more than 30,000 agents in two years, retailing various services to consumers and also equipping SMEs and enterprise merchants to accept payments from more than 30 million mobile financial services users.”

The Aavishkaar Frontier Fund is a regional fund which has investment in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Pakistan. l

private placement from eligible investors. If the fund formation remains incomplete even after the private placement, general investors will be allowed to participate for completing fund formation but subject to the regulatory approval.

The regulator will seek public comments on draft ETF Regulations before giving it final shape.

Officials said the introduction of an ETF market would offer investors an alternative option to invest in a pool of securities in a formal securities exchange environment and in addition, ETFs offer a mechanism for reducing exposure risk to significant price fluctuations.

Earlier in 2014, Dhaka Stock Exchange proposed to allow the bourse to launch ETFs. Following the proposal, the regulator formed a three-member committee to prepare the draft ETF norms.

In other decisions, the BSEC has formed a body to streamline guidelines on corporate governance and another body was formed to monitor the CDBL (Central Depository of Bangladesh Limited) activities. l

DSE launches new book building software n Tribune Business Desk The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) yesterday launched its new book building software for institutional investors to facilitate their automated bidding offers in initial public offerings (IPO).

Book building system is a process used by companies raising capital through IPO to aid price and demand discovery. It is a mechanism through which the bids are collected from eligible investors at various prices, which are within the price band specified by the issuer.

The price of an IPO share is determined through automated bidding joined by different institutions. The shares are then opened for the IPO participants at the bidding cut-off price.

Swapan Kumar Bala, commissioner of Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, inaugurated the new software on the DSE.

“The new software will help bring transparency to price discovery of issues,” he said.

In future, the new system will be aligned with the IPO application process, which will make IPO management easier, he added.

Earlier, the bourse successfully conducted the mock automated bidding session to test the system performance.

RAK Ceramics (Bangladesh) was the first company that used the book building system for its IPO in 2010, followed by MJL Bangladesh and MI Cement Factory in 2011.

Following the market crash in January, 2011, the method was suspended for over two years as it was largely blamed for the market debacle. Since then, the method has been struggling to take off.

After modifying the method, the regulator first allowed United Power Generation and Distribution Company. l

Stocks rally after 2 days fall n Tribune Business Desk Stocks finished higher yesterday after a two-day profit booking fall.

The Dhaka Stock Exchange benchmark index DSEX gained 22 points or 0.5% to close at 4,388.

The Shariah index DSES rose 8 points or 0.7% to 1,076.

The blue chip comprising index DS30 was up 15 points or 0.9% to 1,707.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX ended at 8,225, rising about 50 points.

Trading activities declined as the

DSE total turnover was Tk349 crore, which is more than 7% down over the previous session.

Among positive performing sectors, cement sector gained the highest nearly 5%, driven by Lafarge Surma Cement with a rise of over 7%.

Textile sector came second, surging about 2%, followed by food and allied 0.5%, banks 0.4% and pharmaceuticals 0.4%. Telecommunication sector remained unchanged while power sector posted the highest loss of over 1%.

Non-banking financial institutions and engineering ended marginally

lower. Lanka Bangla Securities said Dhaka stock exchange showed notable reversal of losing streaks of the last trading session helped by some early bargain hunting.

However, the low market turnover value implies that investors remained cautious about business activities in economy. Lafarge Surma Cement was the most traded share with a turnover worth Tk23.8 crore.

Other top turnover leaders included United Power Generation and Distribution Company Ltd, Heidelberg Cement and Shahjibazar Power Company Ltd. l

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Business

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

China keen to boost industrial sector in Bangladesh n UNB China is keen to invest huge sums in Bangladesh for the development of its industrial sector to make it more competitive, Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh Ma Mingqiang said Wednesday.

China will relocate factories to Bangladesh and import products manufactured in those factories, the envoy added while holding a meeting with Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu at the Ministry of Industries.

Ma Mingqiang said there is scope to manufacture many products including shirts, jackets, sarees, ties, socks and shoes from the jute sector adding that Chinese investors want to invest in this sector.

The Chinese ambassador assured that his country would provide all-out assistance to Bangladesh to have a strong base in the industrial sector.

During the meeting, Amir Hossain Amu said China can

invest in Bangladesh to modernize its sugar and newspaper mills, apart from the jute sector and Bangladesh is ready to allocate lands as per demand in this regard.

‘There is scope to manufacture many products including shirts, jackets, sarees, ties, socks and shoes from the jute sector’ The minister also said China can invest in heavy industries sector in economic zones apart from investing in light engineering sector.

The ambassador invited the minister to attend the 4th China- South Asia exhibition and 24th China Kunming Import-Export Fair to be held in Kunming of China from June 12-17. l

ILO, IOM ink deal to cement collaboration n Tribune Business Desk The International Labour Organization (ILO) and International Organization for Migration (IOM) have agreed to strengthen their collaboration in Bangladesh around activities of common interest, in particular safe and skilled migration.

A Cooperation Agreement was signed by ILO Bangladesh Country Director Srinivas Reddy and IOM Bangladesh Chief of Mission Sarat Dash at a ceremony in Dhaka on Wednesday.

The signing ceremony was organised on the sidelines of a discussion on “Maximising the Potential of Labour Migration through Skills Development and Accreditation.”

The deal was signed in presence of Begum Shamsun Nahar, secretary of Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment, Md Shahidul Haque, secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UN Resident Coordinator Argentina Matavel Piccin and other development partners.

The discussion, which was jointly organised by ILO and IOM, focused on the increasing priority on skilled workers

by Bangladesh government.

The agreement will guide both agencies to implement their programmes in Bangladesh in the field of migration and labour rights through the formulation of strategic partnerships and joint activities.

Support will also be provided to the government of Bangladesh to achieve its commitments to regional and international forums and frameworks on migration and employment.

Addressing the ceremony, Srinivas Reddy said: “ILO and IOM share a vision and commitment to improving the lives of workers in Bangladesh, especially those who migrate to find a better future for themselves and their families.”

“This partnership will help us to pull together the strength of both agencies to serve our cliental better,” said Sarat Dash. l

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Business

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

WTO sees Brexit costing UK billions in trade tariffs n Reuters Leaving the European Union would cost British consumers 9bn pounds ($13.2bn) in annual additional import tariffs, World Trade Organisation chief Roberto Azevedo said in an interview published by the Financial Times on Wednesday.

Britain’s exports would be also burdened with 5.5bn pounds of new tariffs in overseas markets, the paper said, and leaving the EU would require a full reboot of Britain’s trade relations, akin to joining the WTO from scratch.

That would mean renegotiating the terms of trade with 161 WTO members, and losing the low-tariff or tariff-free access to 58 countries covered by 36 EU trade agreements.

“Pretty much all of the UK’s trade [with the world] would somehow have to be negotiated,” Azevedo said.

“It is extremely difficult and complex to negotiate these trade agreements. And slow as well,” he said. “Even if you are in a position to negotiate quickly with all these other members it doesn’t mean that they will be in a position to negotiate with you because they have their own priorities.

Britain could opt to simply scrap all trade barriers and turn its economy into a duty-free state, but that

World leaders take a ride in the slow lane at G7 meeting n AFP

World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevedo gestures during a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland REUTERS was unlikely, Azevedo said.

Campaigners who want Britain to leave the EU say it would be able to strike its own trade deals more quickly with countries around the world if it was no longer part of the 28-nation bloc.

The Bank of England has also warned that Britain could slide into recession in the aftermath of a vote to leave the EU. Governor Mark Carney also warned Brexit could knock the pound sharply lower, stoke inflation and raise unemployment.

That would leave the Bank with a

CORPORATE NEWS

Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) has recently held a seminar on uses and commercialization of Chitosan, said a press release.

Chairperson of BCIC, Mohammed Iqbal was present on the occasion

Dhaka Bank and HNS Automobiles have recently signed an agreement on providing customers with loan from Dhaka Bank for purchasing reconditioned car at HNS Automobiles, said a press release. The bank’s SVP, Akhlaqur Rahman and Md Iqbal Hossain, CFO of HNS Group have signed the agreement

difficult balancing act as it decides whether to cut, hold or raise interest rates to counter opposing forces, Carney added.

He said there were a range of possible scenarios for the economy in the event of Brexit and these “could possibly include a technical recession” – defined as two consecutive quarters of shrinking GDP. Against the backdrop of tight opinion polls, the Bank described the referendum on EU membership as “the most immediate and significant risk” for the UK’s economic outlook. l

Busy world leaders got a taste of life in the slow lane in between G7 meetings yesterday as they took a very leisurely spin around the block in Japan’s latest fuel-cell cars.

Matteo Renzi of Italy and Canadian leader Justin Trudeau were bundled into eco-friendly sedans for an achingly slow ride around a carpark that ended with the photogenic pair dropped off for the talks, which are being held southwest of Tokyo.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk also got a very uneventful crash course on the cars, which are powered by hydrogen and emit only water from their exhaust pipe.

Juncker emerged from his low-adrenaline ride looking a little underwhelmed and offered what appeared to be a shrug.

Japan is a world leader in the technology which is seen as the Holy Grail for an industry increasingly shifting focus to green solutions, including electric vehicles.

US president Barack Obama and Germany’s Angela Merkel were among the other Group of Seven leaders noticeably absent from the ride along, which was overseen by Japan’s premier Shinzo Abe.

Earlier, Nissan was giving the world’s press a look at vehicles that park themselves -- indispensable for drivers who break into a cold sweat at the thought of parallel parking.

A chatty humanoid robot called Pepper, Japan’s world-famous bullet trains, a machine that peps up droopy vegetables, and a parka made from super-strong material that claims to stand up better than carbon fibre were also on display at the venue.

Honda looked to win hearts with its experimental take on hands-free mobility - the cute-as-a-button Uni Cub B. The stool-sized contraption glides in line with users’ movements, a kind of seated-Segue with an R2-D2 charm.

“We wanted to demonstrate Japanese technology to the world,” said Reiko Katsumura, a department manager in Honda’s mobility business, who worked on the project.

Katsumura, however, admitted there was another motive for showing off the little creation to the world’s press - finding a decent use for it.

“Some people say ‘well, you can just walk instead of riding this thing’,” Katsumura said.

“But it’s the same as having a camera in a mobile phone. People used to ask why have a camera in a phone. Now it’s everywhere.” l

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Advertisement

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

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Young Learners

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

app

Brainwars Ever wondered how that top student always stays first on report cards? You can be that person too. All you need to do is practice your brain and keep it sharp. And Brainwars is a really fun way of doing that, with your friends.

The game is simple – beat your friends or random people in super fun brain puzzles. You can challenge your friends, play around normally (the game is that

Things you’ll need fun), and rise in the world ranks!

They even tell you what parts of your brain are strong or needs more training, like maths, how fast you make decisions, reasoning etc.

Brainwars is free on iTunes and for Android devices, so go on!

It’s time to make your brain hit the gym. l

game

Jungle Science/ Ruling the jungle Toy name:

Funskool Mastermind - Animal Friend

“Funskool Mastermind - Animal Friend,” is an animal version of the famous board game -Mastermind. It is a guessing game which involves two players out of which, one does all the guessing.

Firstly, a player will place some animals, hidden from the person guessing. The other person has to guess in which column each of the animals lie,using his/her matching skills. There are 15 white pegs and 15 red pegs to help you guess along with 72 different animals coming in six different colours, hiding in fear from the mastermind

searching for them.

Fill in your boring moments with a fun hike on this adventure mountain. “Funskool Mastermind Animal Friends” is priced roughly around Tk1,000.

Check it out!l

fun science

Move a toothpick without touching it What you will need • • • •

Flat toothpick Clear plastic cup Thumbtack Balloon

What to do

diy

• Set the thumbtack on a flat surface with the point facing up.

• Carefully balance the centre of the toothpick on the point of the thumbtack.

• Place the cup over the thumbtack and the toothpick.

• Blow up the balloon and rub it against your hair to “charge” it up with static electricity.

• Move the balloon close to the plastic cup and slowly around it.

• The toothpick moves without being touched! l

1. Cardboard paper 2. Cute wrapping or printed paper 3. Superglue

How you will do it

1. Cut the cardboard paper and shape it into a hollow bowl 2. Wrap the bowl with the printed colourful paper 3. Hold the bowls side by side, with a clip, to form a flower shape 4. Apply glue towards the side which you want to stick 5. Stick it to the wall with glue or pins l

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FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

art tutorial

meet the artist

Fly me away

Pablo Picasso He is a Spanish painter, sculptor, poet and playwright who won worldwide fame and lots of wealth for his new artistic achievements, and became one of the best-known artists in the 20th-century. His work is often categorised into periods. The new changes that were brought by him in the beginning of the 20th century, is responsible for the important improvements in painting, sculpture, printmaking and ceramics. Some of his famous artworks include Girl Before A Mirror, Blue Nude, Le Rêve (The Dream) and Seated Woman (Marie-Therese). l

trivia

Facts about time • The invention of sundials, water clocks, mechanical clocks, pendulums and hourglasses, have led to the invention of accurate clocks that measure hours, minutes and seconds, all the way to the digital displays and atomic clocks of today.

• A sundial uses the position of the Sun to measure time, usually a shadow is cast across a marked surface.

• Galileo Galilei discovered the pendulum 400 years ago, which was then used, to accurately measure time. A pendulum is a free swinging weight hanging from a pivot.

• Scientists believe the moon was used as a form of calendar as far back as 6,000 years ago.

Calendars have been changing ever since and are very accurate in modern times.

• Different parts of the world are located in different time zones. This means that while you are having breakfast in the morning, someone in another part of the world is having dinner. l

DT

Kids

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18

Feature

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

Author Review

Gabriel Garcia Marquez oppression of women in Latin America (where it was apparently acceptable for women to be shunned and ostracised for losing their “honour” before marriage, whereas it was quite acceptable for men to freely relish in brothels) to the farcicality, denial and endless misfortune of Columbia in the mid-1960s that were caused by dishonest politics and compounded by US imperialism at the time.

Marquez was in fact a masterful artist of words in many senses of the phrase. Although particularly famous for his proficiency in the use of magic realism, his arsenal of literary skills was far more extensive. His work is also famous for his eye for minute details honed during his journalling years at the beginning of his career. It is perhaps his experience in journalling that most likely explains the prevalence of stories and novels based on or inspired by true tragedies (all the recommended books below were either based on or inspired by real stories).

Marquez’s work isn’t all about doom and gloom and you will most certainly not be left depressed after his books. He is sure to quench the thirst of your visual senses with his wonderfully in-depth descriptions that bring scenes and characters to life like a good 4D movie (unlike the latest

n Rainul Islam At the climax of a trying week, I sat down late night to write this article, the deadline fastapproaching and my vision blurry under heavy eye-lids. The brash background noise from the motorbike across the hall and the disorienting effect of the holographic keys on my laptop weren’t helping either. So I called up Marquez for assistance as I always do and he was happy to lend his hand as he always does.

And just like that, you’ve been introduced, albeit with an unflattering example, to the linguistic style known as “magic realism,” the mastery of which brought Gabriel Garcia Marquez to the fore. Not to be confused with fantasy or sci-fi writing, it is a style of writing that blends facts (yes some parts of the introduction were true) and fantasies in a surprisingly mundane “to the

point” tone and unlike fantasy writing, it is not bound by the logic and space-time continuum of any realm or dimension. It is where the distinction between what is real and what is fantasy is erased. Conversely, Marquez also uses this technique to exaggerate uneventful events much to the dismay of readers who ponder on the relevance of exaggerated event plays in light of the overall plot.

Born in Columbia in the first quarter of the 19th century, Marquez’s fiction is heavily influenced by the deeply rooted culture of Columbia, and subversive criticism of politics in Latin America ensuing in the civil war in the mid-1960s that resulted in the deaths of thousands of Columbians. It is through his dexterous use of magic realism that he repeatedly expounds some of the most important and difficult questions of life and history – from the unquestioned

Batman v Superman of course).

In our humble opinion, there is something for almost every type of reader in his books. I personally love his books because they are often based on fact but always from his ever-intriguing ideological perspective that challenge the way I myself view world and politics. But whether you’re a closet philosopher/ politician who likes his intellect tickled, or someone fascinated

by Latin American culture (who isn’t Señor?) or simply looking for books that transport you to a different world of acceptance and wonder, you will certainly enjoy some of our recommended books below.

With all that’s said, it must come as no surprise that Marquez was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1982 for his literary works. He is one of the most famous Latin American writers of all time and his impact goes beyond Latin American life to reveal a universal human experience.

Recommended books:

One Hundred Years of Solitude – sold over 30 million copies, this is arguably his most famous work

and an exemplary novel of Magic Realism that summarises the a 100 years history of Latin America in a wieldy text; Chronicle of a Death Foretold – recreates a real murder that took place in Sucre, Columbia in 1951 in an inverted chronology of events; Love in the Time of Cholera – based on stories of two couples inspired by the love affair of the author’s parents.

If you’re sold on Marquez, we invite you to pick up One Hundred Years of Solitude if you really want to deep-dive into his work. If you’re still on the edge, we’d recommend Chronicles of a Death Foretold which is a very quick and short read. But we hope you will pick up more than one of his books. Each has a different taste to it as he never sticks to a predetermined style template - “I only respond to our way of life, the life of the Caribbean.”

Regardless of which book you pick, we promise you will constantly be kept on your toes with his ability to surprise and delight you with a welcome mix of facts, humour, critique and a whole lot of pixie dust sprinkled over each page. l

| academics |

Inter-University Conference on ‘New Directions in Literary Research’ held at BRACU

The Department of English and Humanities, BRAC University organised a two-day interuniversity conference for students and fresh graduates on May 19-20 at the BRAC University auditorium. ‘New Directions in Literary Research’, as the conference was called, exclusively focused on literature of both English and Bangla on three main streams: Modernism in Literature, Postmodernism in Literature and The Body in Literature.

The conference showcased high quality research papers of students and new graduates of different universities including BRAC University, North South University, ULAB, International Islamic University of Chittagong and East West

University. Professor Dr Farhat Iftekharuddin, the Pro Vice Chancellor of BRAC University, opened the conference, while Professor Afsan Chowdhury of the Department of English and Humanities read the welcome note.

The different panels were chaired by eminent scholar and writer Professor Syed Manzoorul Islam, Professor and poet Kaiser H Haq, Chairperson of BRAC University Department of English and Humanities, Professor Firdous Azim and Professor Dina M Siddiqui of BRACU Department of Economics and Social Sciences.

Dr Afrin Zeenat, Assistant Professor, English Department of Dhaka University was also present as special guest. l

| food |

Tawa’s crowd favourite: chicken garlic mayo roll

Tawa’s Chicken Garlic Mayo Roll never fails to amaze our taste buds. What differentiates Tawa’s Chicken Garlic Mayo Rolls from other eateries is the crisp paratha with very little oil on

the surface, while the well-done chicken coupled with their very own secret recipe mayonnaise and other sauces really gives you that tenderness and flavour. The Chicken Garlic Mayo Rolls are

| conference |

International conference on “Magic and Literature” at ULAB

The Department of English at ULAB is holding an international conference titled “Magic and Literature” on Friday and Saturday, May 27-28, 2016. The highlights of the program include the keynote speech by Professor Subir Kumar Dhar; plenary speech by Dr Azfar Hussain; panel discussion on Magic in Bangla Literature by Dr Azfar Hussain (moderator), Poets Mohammad Rafiq, Shamim Reza, and Sajjad Sharif; and, plenary discussion on Caribbean, Latin American and Mexican literature by Dr Joshua Yu Burnett (moderator), Dr Shamsad Mortuza, Razu Alauddin, Rafique-umMunir Chowdhury, Mashrur Shahid Hossain. In total, seventy-two academics from Bangladesh and abroad will present their scholarly works.

The conference also features magic demonstration by Professor Subir Kumar Dhar and video art installation by renowned artist Laila Sharmin.

The program also includes an address by the Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Imran Rahman, and a welcome address by the Convener and the Advisor of DEH, Professor Shamsad Mortuza. The conference ends on Saturday, May 28, with a vote of thanks form the convener. l

served with Tawa’s “Chutney” which accentuates the taste and brings a spicy tinge to your eating experience. The roll is only Tk 215. Among the various types of rolls that Tawa offers, the Beef Peshawari Roll is also a must try! l Address: house 02, road 08, block D, Banani, Dhaka Hotline Number: 01630-547000

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Biz Info

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

| offer |

Ramadan Reinvigoration at the Westin Dhaka

Relish Ramadan at the Westin Dhaka’s signature buffet venue, Seasonal Tastes, with sumptuous Iftar delicacies followed by a full course dinner. Enjoy assorted kebabs, whole Lamb Ouzi and try out the hot Orange Saffron Jalebis straight from the live stations, along with other traditional delicacies.

You can also break your fast with a delicious Iftar & dinner buffet at the outdoor signature pool venue Splash. Enjoy various refreshing drinks, fresh fruits, juicy kebabs, haleem, nehari and jalebis.

Daily Treats, the ground level

café, will also cater to all the Iftar take-away needs. Special Iftar boxes, Chapli Kebab, Chicken Cutlet, Shammi Kebab, Haleem & the one-of-a-kind Orange Saffron Jalebi can be picked up from here along with all the other Iftar munchies. Guests will also be able to dine at Daily Treats during Iftar & enjoy a satisfying buffet meal at Suhur.

Special arrangements for Iftar & Suhur parties at the Grand Ballroom are also being offered at a special price for corporate and social gatherings. Guests should make prior reservations by calling +88029891988 to avoid missing out. l

| awards |

BUFT holds prize giving ceremony

TBGMEA University of Fashion & Technology (BUFT) celebrated the prize giving ceremony of the Book Reading Competition on May 19 in the BUFT auditorium.

The program was jointly organised by the British Council, Dhaka and the Department of English, BUFT. Prof Dr Syed Masud Husain, vice chancellor, BUFT was present as the chief guest in the

program. Prof Dr Engr Ayub Nabi Khan, pro-vice chancellor and Sarwat Reza, library manager of British Council attended the program as special guests.

In total 120 students were awarded with certificates by the British Council. All heads of the academic & administrative departments, faculty members, officials and students were present at the event. l

DT

20 Editorial

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

TODAY

Hey MPs, leave them teachers alone Many teachers are being terminated simply because they didn’t want to run the schools as per the directions of MPs. Many of these teachers are actually founders of their respective schools, or have been teaching there for 15 to 20 years PAGE 21

Russia’s role in Rooppur Russia is a reliable partner for Bangladesh in the creation of its high-tech nuclear industry and implementation of a large-scale nuclear power program, with the construction of the Rooppur NPP (which is the first nuclear power plant in the country) being its key element PAGE 22

The opposite of addiction is not sobriety, the opposite of addiction is connection PAGE 23

Write to Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Send us your Op-Ed articles: opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com www.dhakatribune.com Join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/ DhakaTribune.

The views expressed in Opinion articles are those of the authors alone. They do not purport to be the official view of Dhaka Tribune or its publisher.

Punish reckless drivers to curb road accidents

T

The opposite of addiction

Be heard

RAJIB DHAR

he Road Transport and Bridges Minister is right to highlight lack of awareness and reckless driving as the main cause of road accidents in the country.

BUET studies indicate fatality rates from road accidents in Bangladesh are over 85 deaths per 10,000 vehicles, one of the highest in the world.

With more and more vehicles coming on the roads each year, the government has to start doing more to raise driving standards and reduce tolerance of dangerous and unsafe driving practices.

It is not enough to simply improve the condition of the country’s roads. Effective enforcement of traffic laws is key to improving driving standards and stopping preventable accidents on our roads.

This needs to start by revamping licensing procedures to ensure all drivers are comprehensively trained and assessed before they start driving. Truck and bus operators should be required to hold regular inspections and safety training for all their drivers and a publicity campaign should be conducted through schools and the media to raise safety awareness among the general public.

Measures proposed by the Bangladesh Road Transport Act, 2016 such as a points system to penalise drives for offences, should be backed by increased resources to ensure effective enforcement.

The government should apply lessons learned in countries, where better civic education and use of technology such as speed cameras have been highly successful in cutting accident rates and improving driving standards.

Appropriate use of technology has been proven to go a long way in deterring bad habits by making it easier for police to record evidence of speeding, not wearing a seat belt, and other common offences, and allowing fines to be automatically sent to car owners and drivers.

Car owners must be held more accountable for dangerous and reckless driving to help save lives and prevent accidents.

Effective enforcement of traffic laws is key to improving driving standards and stopping preventable accidents

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Opinion

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

Hey MPs, leave them teachers alone Our schools are not safe in the clutches of MPs

n Mushfique Wadud

T

he public humiliation of a school headmaster, allegedly by a member of parliament in Narayanganj, drew attention throughout the country thanks to social media.

There were criticisms pouring in on social networks from all sorts of people, symbolic social media events and discussions were held, all of which demanded swift punishment of the local MP and the people involved in the entire mess.

Once again, we have witnessed the power of social media. The education ministry was even forced to reinstate the headmaster, who had been terminated by the school managing committee.

While we should welcome such a reaction from the masses who gave a hapless teacher moral support, unfortunately, like always, we have failed to dig into the root of the problem.

In an interview, the victim Shyamal Kanti Bhakta, head teacher of Piyar Sattar Latif High School in Bandar Upazila, said that the managing committee and the local MP had been trying to force him to run the school according to their directions.

Since the headmaster felt

A teacher is the measure of an educational institution

Many teachers are being terminated simply because they didn’t want to run the schools as per the directions of MPs. Many of these teachers are actually founders of their respective schools, or have been teaching there for 15 to 20 years hesitant in following every one of their directions -- some of which, allegedly, were not going to spell good for the school -- the school management committee members and the local MP got angry and wanted to take him out of the equation.

This is not something new. In my experience as an education reporter for six years, I have seen many teachers humiliated as they refused to be a puppet of their school management committee or the local MP. Many teachers are being terminated simply because they didn’t want to run the schools as per the directions of MPs. Many of these teachers are actually founders of their respective schools, or have been teaching there for 15 to 20 years, but they

have to leave the school because MPs don’t want them there anymore.

As per the law, an MP can chair the managing committee of four educational institutions of his or her constituency, but apparently they are the sole decision-makers in all educational institutions of his or her constituency, as the chairman of the managing committees of other institutions are mainly his or her representatives, or nominated by him or her.

This provision is largely affecting the quality of education in these educational institutions.

The MPs in school management committees are mainly affecting two sectors in any educational institution. First, schools are not getting quality teachers as MPs

have considerable influence in the recruitment process.

There are hundreds of allegations against MPs that claim they order school management committees to recruit someone in exchange of bribes -- the rate of the bribes varies from Tk2 lakh to Tk10 lakh depending on the location and number of students of the school.

You also hear every now and then that every newly-recruited teacher has to give Tk10 lakh for employment at a school in Dhaka’s Mirpur area.

Another place where MPs have had their bad influence felt in educational institutions is the construction of schools -such public work in educational institutions are mainly issued to construction conductors who are

BIGSTOCK

very close to MPs. There are also allegations that MPs are accepting bribes from construction contractors, and, as such, the public-works are not quite up to the mark.

Most importantly, due to this provision, school-teachers who are not in line with the political views of any given MP cannot continue his or her job. There are many incidents in which qualified teachers have had to quit their teaching jobs, despite protests from students and their guardians, only because the local MP did not want the teacher sowing the seeds of dissent in their “territory.”

Seeing how this recent incident of humiliation of a headmaster has garnered a lot of public attention and outcry, it is high time we the public raised our collective voice against the provision of having an MP in school management committees.

Otherwise, our entire educational system is bound to be held back in class for the foreseeable future. l Mushfique Wadud is a journalist currently working in the development field.

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Opinion

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

Russia’s role in Rooppur Is the Rooppur power plant safe and economically efficient?

n Nina Dementsova

R

eliable power supply is the most important factor in ensuring political stability and sustainable economic development of the world.

In the next 25 or 30 years, the need for energy will increase to provide for sustainable development, with hydrocarbon fuel reserves gradually decreasing, and the growing concern over the impact of large-scale power industry on climate and environment.

Like many countries, Russia has also taken this position, and has a clear understanding of the fact that large-scale global nuclear power industry development is inextricably linked with the access of an increasing number of countries to nuclear technologies.

This is why Russia supports the policy of the government of Bangladesh on implementing a large-scale nuclear power program, including the construction of the Rooppur NPP, allowing Bangladesh to become one of the “privileged” countries that have nuclear technologies.

The Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation (ROSATOM) has all necessary competences and expertise to assist Bangladesh in achieving its ambitious goals in terms of implementing the national NPP construction project and developing the high-tech industry which will promote social and economic growth.

Russia is a reliable partner for Bangladesh in the creation of its high-tech nuclear industry and implementation of a large-scale nuclear power program, with the construction of the Rooppur NPP

units in Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific Region, and nine power units in Russia.

The VVER-1200 project offered

by ROSATOM for Bangladesh is a modern generation 3+ project which meets all postFukushima safety standards and international rules. The VVER1200 project provides protection against earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and aircraft crashes.

The intergovernmental agreement on co-operation in the field of peaceful use of nuclear power signed by Russia and Bangladesh in 2010 has been a reliable basis for co-operation between the countries in the sphere of nuclear power.

Russian and Bangladeshi professionals have co-operated and worked hard during the last six years to create a reliable and safe source of energy in Bangladesh. Due to this, the countries are now about to start the construction of the Rooppur NPP. December 25, 2015 marked the key event of the year by witnessing the signing of the General Contract for construction of the Rooppur NPP between Atomstroyexport as part of ASE Group of Companies, representing the engineering division of ROSATOM and the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission.

This event opened the way for the start-up of full-scale works on the construction of site facilities and the construction of the Rooppur NPP. JSC Atomstroyexport is assigned as a contractor on the part of Russia. JSC ASE is carrying out the work in full compliance with the schedule, terms, and conditions of the existing

At present, JSC ASE’s work on the Rooppur NPP project include primary preparatory work at the site, while design engineers in Russia have begun to develop the detailed design of the power plant. By the beginning of 2016, Atomstroyexport had already carried out construction and installation work to build the socalled pioneer base and primary objects of the erection base at the Rooppur NPP site. Therefore, 100% of the plans for 2015 were implemented.

It should be noted that JSC ASE engages relevant Russian organisations and sub-contractors from third-party countries as part of a transparent procurement procedure to carry out preparatory work on the construction site.

Thus, in December 2014, JSC ASE engaged LLC Goldenberg to partially carry out the work by means of a tender. At present, co-operation between JSC ASE and LLC Goldenberg as part of the Rooppur NPP project is over. The work for construction and mounting base design were carried out in accordance with the schedule and the quality of this work was good.

To carry out other types of work, on December 17, 2015, JSC ASE signed a contract with a wellknown Russian company Inter RAO - Engineering (Inter RAO’s subsidiary).

As part of this contract, the company is carrying out a full range of activities related to construction and commissioning of the construction and erection base of the Rooppur NPP. The construction and erection base is to be completed by December this year.

To carry out the work, Inter RAO - Engineering may

Russia is a reliable partner for Bangladesh in the creation of its high-tech nuclear industry and implementation of a large-scale nuclear power program, with the construction of the Rooppur NPP (which is the first nuclear power plant in the country) being its key element The start of a beautiful partnership? (which is the first nuclear power plant in the country) being its key element.

Today, ROSATOM is an indisputable leader in the international market of NPP construction. It is the only company worldwide which is currently simultaneously implementing at various stages of the projects to construct 34 power

contracts and the customer’s requirements (Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission). JSC ASE always works in strict compliance with the legislation of Russia and partner countries.

Additionally, like all of ROSATOM’s companies, JSC ASE always adheres to the principles of openness and transparency in its operations.

engage local or national Russian companies, as well as foreign companies which must be approved by ASE with required notification of the customer.

At the same time, Inter RAO Engineering is totally responsible for the timeframe and quality of work of the engaged subcontractor, while ASE, in its turn, shall be responsible to

the customer for the schedule and quality of all work being performed.

The Russian nuclear industry is generally open to co-operation with foreign partners in different formats based on the requests and needs of clients.

Today, ROSATOM has considerable competitive advantages: Safe and reference

BIGSTOCK

technologies, availability of facilities and financial resources due to the state support, and, finally, 70 years of experience which the leading Russian state corporation known worldwide is ready to share with its partners. l Nina Dementsova is Head of the Department of Communications of SE Group of Companies, Russia.

DT

23

Opinion

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

The opposite of addiction Let’s not ostracise addicts, but work on connecting with them

You can break free from this

n Touhid Kamal

O

ne of my earliest memories about addiction was my father holding a red-tipped

cigarette.

I have seen many addictions.

I observe how addicts, which include some friends, behave, and how society perceives them. We punish addicts because we believe it incentivises them to stop. But that never works.

I was looking at addicts whom I loved, figuring out ways to help, and I realised there were questions I couldn’t answer.

What causes addiction? Why do we use approaches to tackle addiction that don’t work? Are there better ways?

I read writing and research on drug addiction, observed and talked to addicts, and inspected popular, local areas.

I realised that almost everything we knew about addiction was wrong.

Imagine using heroin for 30

BIGSTOCK

days, three times a day. We assume that because there are chemical hooks in heroin, the body will physically crave heroin and become addicted. But I was not convinced with this story.

If I get hit by a car and break some bones, I will be given loads of diamorphin to recover.

Diamorphin is higher-grade heroin than what you buy from drug dealers.

Because what doctors give you is medically pure. And it will be given to you for a longer duration.

Do people who receive diamporhin this way become heroin addicts?

This has been studied carefully, and the answer is no. Everything I learned earlier seemed contradictory.

An experiment was conducted by a Canadian psychologist. A rat in a cage was exposed to two bottles of water, where one bottle contained heroin. It was observed that the rat almost always preferred drugged water, killing itself quickly.

The professor thought about

soldiers were going to come back as junkies.

Soldiers who used heroin were followed home. Psychologists found that they didn’t go to rehab or withdrawal. 95% of them stopped.

If you believe in chemical hooks, this makes no sense. The Canadian professor thought: “What if addiction is not about chemical hooks? What if addiction is about your cage or an adaptation to your environment?”

A Dutch professor thought addiction should be called bonding instead.

Human beings have a natural and innate way to bond. When we are happy and healthy, we bond and connect.

But if you can’t do that, when traumatised and isolated, or beaten down by life, you will almost always try to bond with something that will give you a sense of relief.

That sense of relief might be gambling, pornography, cannabis, or cocaine.

Chances are, whoever is reading this article is financially capable of buying drugs. But you don’t, not because someone is stopping you, but because you have people and/ or a job you love.

A core part of addiction, as evidence suggests, is not being able to be present in life.

In society, we put barriers between us and drug addicts.

In 2000, Portugal had 1% of its

spent on disbarring addicts to reconnecting them with society.

In the US and the UK, there are psychological therapy and rehabilitation centres that do have some value.

But the Portuguese did quite the contrary. They created a massive program of job creation and micro-loans for addicts to set up small businesses.

The government of Portugal wanted to make sure that every addict in the country had something to get up for every day in the morning.

It is 16 years since the experiment began, and drug usage has significantly reduced.

We live in a culture where people are increasingly vulnerable to different kinds of addictions -smartphones, shopping, or eating.

Think about when in a meeting you are told to keep your phone off, you make a face like you will have no contact with your dealers for the next couple of hours.

You may say social networking has connected us more. But this seems to be a parody of human connection. If you have a major accident, your Facebook followers won’t visit, it will be your flesh and blood friends.

A recent study shows that the number of average people you can call during a crisis has declined since the 2000s. The amount of floor space everybody has in their homes has been steadily increasing.

I will come to you and sit with you whenever you need me, because I don’t want you to feel alone. Because the opposite of addiction is not sobriety, the opposite of addiction is connection

changing the environment. He built a rat park, containing cheese, coloured balls, tunnels, other rats.

And two choices of water: Normal and drugged.

Fascinatingly, in “rat park,” they didn’t like drugged water.

They almost never used it and certainly never overdosed on it.

They went from 100% overdose when isolated to never being overdosed in the fun environment.

The same experiment was conducted on humans. It was called the Vietnam War. In Vietnam, 20% of all American troops were using loads of heroin.

If you look at news reports from that time, they thought American

population addicted to heroin.

Over the years, they tried the usual way increasingly, punishing and shaming people, putting them in prison, and barring them from the legal economy. The problem worsened.

One day, the prime minister and the opposition leader sat together and said: “We can’t go on with a country where everywhere we look, people are heroin addicts.

Let us put up a panel of scientists and doctors to figure out how to get ourselves out of this problem.”

The panel recommended decriminalisation of all drugs, from cannabis to crack, but to transfer all the money from being

We have traded floor space for friends, we have traded stuff for human connection. Society is now at its loneliest.

In addiction, we talk about individual recovery, but what about social recovery? We have created a society where life looks more like that cage and less like the “rat park.”

Now, I tell the addicts in my life: I will come to you and sit with you whenever you need me, because I don’t want you to feel alone.

Because the opposite of addiction is not sobriety, the opposite of addiction is connection. l Touhid Kamal is a freelance contributor.

DT

24 Sport

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

Fizz in focus

TOP STORIES

n Tribune Report Mustafizur Rahman will be the focal point of the Sunrisers Hyderabad attack when they take on Gujarat Lions in the Indian Premier League Qualifier 2 in Delhi today.

Mustafiz has enjoyed a stellar campaign in his maiden IPL season, scalping 16 wickets in 15 matches at an economy rate of 6.73, and has come to his side’s rescue on many an occasion.

And on the eve of the crucial clash against Gujarat, Hyderabad captain David Warner said he will expect more of the same from the Satkhira lad against a formidable batting line-up comprising the hard-hitting Brendon McCullum, captain Suresh Raina and West Indies’ Dwayne Smith.

The left-arm paceman is coming to the game on the back of a fine display in the previous match against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Although he went wicketless, he conceded only 28 runs in his four overs as Hyderabad registered a 22-run win and sealed a place in Qualifier 2.

“I like him a lot and always give him the field he wants. He has some trouble with communication but I try my best to make things easy for him. Sunrisers Hyderabad is like a family and Mustafiz is an important part of it,” Warner was quoted as saying in the daily

Jamal jump from eighth to fourth Mahmudullah’s century yesterday against Brothers Union guided Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club to their fifth win in DPL matches.

Courtesy the 11-run win, Sk Jamal jumped to fourth position in the points table. PAGE 25

LeBron, Love power Cavaliers to romp LeBron James scored 23 points then sat the fourth quarter, Kevin Love scored 25, and Cleveland unleashed tenacious defense on Toronto to regain control of the Eastern Conference finals with a 116-78 rout of the Raptors. PAGE 26

Benitez to lead Newcastle’s EPL bid Rafael Benitez confirmed Wednesday he would stay on as Newcastle manager in a bid to lead the north-east club’s bid for promotion back to the Premier League. The Spaniard has agreed a new three-year deal. PAGE 27

Murray survives fresh five-set battle Second seed Andy Murray survived his second successive five-set French Open battle to reach the third round Wednesday, avoiding what would have been his worst Grand Slam loss in eight years. Murray wore down France’s Mathias Bourgue. PAGE 28

Anandabazar yesterday.

“Mustafiz is a big talent and I am trying to use him cautiously. I try to keep him away during power plays and avoid from getting hit badly,” he added.

Besides Mustafiz, the Hyderabad attack can also count on the likes of right-arm paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Australian all-rounder Moises Henriques.

Even though Hyderabad have lost

QUALIFIER 2

V At Delhi, 8:30PM BD Time a bit of an edge through the injury absence of veteran pace bowler Ashish Nehra, Mustafizur and Bhuvneshwar more than made it up for it with their consistent performances.

Hyderabad, also containing some in-form batsmen in Warner and Indian opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan, will be confident of their chances against Gujarat.

Hyderabad won both of their league matches against today’s opposition, successfully chasing their target twice.l

Streak won’t stay as bowling coach n Minhaz Uddin Khan Bangladesh national bowling coach Heath Streak said yesterday he is not going to continue in the post.

“I have decided that I shall leave my role as national bowling coach when my contract expires at the end of the month. I would like to thank the BCB for opportunity afforded to me in 2014,” Streak said in a statement.

“It has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience and I will continue to follow Bangladesh’s progress closely. I feel now is the right time for me and my family to make this decision and I look forward to the future as I look to continue my coaching career,” he added.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board cricket operations committee chairman Akram Khan also confirmed the media that the former Zimbabwe captain informed the BCB. Streak’s decision came at the back of his application to join India’s National Cricket Academy.

“He has submitted the resignation letter. This is his personal decision and we have nothing to do but look for other options,” said Akram to Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Currently in India for a stint with the Indian Premier League franchise Gujarat Lions, Streak

with former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed, former Sri Lanka pacers Champaka Ramanayake and Chaminda Vaas. It is understood that the BCB is also in talks with former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad.

Aaqib is currently working with Pakistan Super League side La-

I will continue to follow Bangladesh’s progress closely was contracted by the BCB to work for 450 days over two years from June 2014, which runs out in next month.

He was part of the coaching staff that took Bangladesh to some brilliant performances during this period. Bangladesh, who used to rely on their spin attack, had a drastic change as the pacers stepped up and took charge.

The board has already started searching for options to fill the vacancy. According to Akram, the board is currently in discussions

hore Qalandar while Chamapaka is the bowling coach of Sri Lanka.

Vaas is operating a cricket academy based in Sharjah.

Meanwhile, the BCB working committee in a meeting yesterday approved the proposed draft of the new selection policy for the national cricket team. The effort is to resolve any kind of dispute, according to a BCB high-up.

The working committee approved the selection policy which will comprise seven to eight individuals including the new four-mem-

ber selection panel. From now the four-member selection panel will form the squad and later submit it to BCB’s cricket operations committee chairman for approval.

The BCB cricket operations committee chairman will then provide the team to the head coach and national team manager, who is also a BCB director, and the captain (if selected).

“The new selection policy will help us to resist any kind of dispute within the team management,” said BCB working committee head Enayet Hossain.

“In recent past we had seen some kind of problem within the team management regarding the selection policy. So we decided to introduce the new selection policy,” he added.

The working committee meeting also approved the structure of the nine member review committee for bowlers with suspect bowling action though they are yet to form the panel.l

25

DT

Sport

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

Jamal jump from 8th to 4th Kalabagan edge Victoria in thriller n Mazhar Uddin Mahmudullah’s century yesterday against Brothers Union guided Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club to their fifth win in Dhaka Premier League matches. Courtesy the 11run win, Sheikh Jamal jumped to fourth position in the points table, and in the process brought themselves back to Super League reckoning.

Elsewhere, third-placed Legends of Rupganj registered a six-wicket win over Cricket Coaching School while Kalabagan Krira Chakra pipped Victoria Sporting Club to a eight-run win.

Sheikh Jamal v Brothers Union

Asked to bat first in Savar, Sheikh Jamal posted 252/8 in 50 overs, riding on captain Mahmudullah’s second hundred of the tournament.

Mahmudullah, along with Marshall Ayub (54), added 119 runs for the third wicket to give their side every chance of putting up a challenging total.

Following Marshall’s dismissal, Mahmudullah went on to blast 107 off 114 balls with five fours and three sixes but none of the other batsmen were able to score significantly.

Young Under-19 off-spinner Sanjit Saha picked up three wickets while medium pacer Nur Alam took two for the bowling side.

Brothers Union replied well initially but soon saw opening batsman Shahriar Nafees depart for 20.

However, Imrul Kayes (70) and skipper Tushar Imran (55) added exactly 100 runs for the second

wicket to bring Brothers Union back to contention.

Mahmudullah though came back to haunt the opposition with the ball as well, as he, along with paceman Shafiul Islam, bagged three wickets each to restrict Brothers Union to 241/8 in 50 overs.

BRIEF SCORES KALABAGAN KC 213 (Mehrab Jr 86*, Mahbubul 3/54, Al Amin 2/19) beat VICTORIA SC 205 (Al Amin 67, Sharifullah 3/32, Mashrafe 2/24) by eight runs SHEIKH JAMAL DC 252/8 (Mahmudullah 107, Marshal 54, Sanjit 3/69) beat BROTHERS UNION 241/8 (Kayes 70, Tushar 55, Mahmudullah 3/29) by 11 runs CCS 242/7 (Rajin 106*, Amit 56, Mosharraf 3/32) lost to RUPGANJ 243/4 (Mithun 90, Asif 72, Saif 3/38) by six wickets

POINTS TABLE Teams

M

W

L

T

Pts

MSC

8

6

2

0

12

Doleshwar SC 8

6

2

0

12

Rupganj

8

5

2

1

11

Sk Jamal DC

8

5

3

0

10

Victoria SC

8

4

3

1

9

Gazi Group

8

4

4

0

8

Abahani Ltd

8

4

4

0

8

Prime Bank CC 8

4

4

0

8

Brothers Union 8

4

4

0

8

Kalabagan KC

8

3

5

0

6

CCS

8

1

7

0

2

Kalabagan CA 8

1

7

0

2

Rupganj v CCS

At the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah, CCS captain Rajin Saleh carried the bat and struck an unbeaten hundred as they scored 242/7 in 50 overs after being asked to take first guard. The 32-year former Bangladesh captain hammered eight fours and a six in his 138-ball 106 while Amit Majumder chipped in with 56.

Left-arm spinners Mosharraf Hossain and Taijul Islam shared five wickets between themselves.

In reply, Rupganj reached their destination with 10 balls and six wickets to spare with Mohammad Mithun top-scoring 90 off 114 deliveries, featuring two sixes and four boundaries, while Asif Ahmed remained not out on 72 off 75 balls.

Kalabagan KC v Victoria SC

In a low-scoring affair at the Sher-eBangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Kalabagan KC clinched an exciting eight-run win as Victoria, in pursuit of 214, were skittled out for 205.

Victoria never looked comfortable, losing wickets at regular intervals, and only Al Amin (67) and Jubair Ahmed (35*) offered any sort of resistance.

Off-spinner Sharifullah picked up three wickets while captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza and veteran left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak took two.

Earlier, Kalabagan, who batted first, were bundled out for 213 with Mehrab Hossain Jr scoring the highest undefeated 86.

Pacer Mahbubul Alam bagged three wickets while Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Chaturanga de Silva and Al Amin notched two apiece. l

CAPTAIN COOL

Kalabagan KC skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza sports shades while bowling against Victoria SC yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Domingo backs ‘champion’ Steyn n AP, Johannesburg

Gujarat Lions' Dale Steyn (R) chats with Royal Challengers Bangalore coach Allan Donald (C) and player David Wiese during their IPL 2016 Qualifier 1 on Tuesday

South Africa coach Russell Domingo called Dale Steyn a “champion” bowler on Wednesday and backed the pacer to return to top form.

Domingo was speaking as South Africa’s squad prepared to depart for a triangular limited-overs series in the Caribbean without their No. 1 quick bowler.

Steyn struggled with a series of injuries over the last 12 months and was rested for the tour by South Africa. Instead, he will get some match practice with Twenty20 stints for Glamorgan and in the Caribbean Premier League.

Steyn’s fitness struggles raised concerns last season in South Africa that, at 32, he might be approaching the end of his career.

He’ll turn 33 next month.

“Dale Steyn is a champion bowl-

er, he just hasn’t played too much recently,” Domingo said. “Often with players like Dale, when you write them off, that’s when they become the most dangerous.”

Steyn’s latest injury, a right shoulder problem, forced him to miss most of the home Test series loss to England at the start of the year. He played only two games in the World T20, when he appeared to be missing his usual menace and hadn’t fully recovered from the injury to his bowling arm.

South Africa’s decision to rest Steyn for the triangular series against West Indies and Australia is part of a plan to keep him fresh for the upcoming Test season. South Africa hosts New Zealand in August and then tours Australia for three Tests in November. Steyn has 406 Test wickets and is closing in on Shaun Pollock’s South African record of 421.

He could pass the mark this season.

South Africa also has a new fast-bowling star to fall back on. Domingo said there would now be a temptation to play 21-year-old speedster Kagiso Rabada in every game and every series the Proteas play.

“We need to be very careful about that,” Domingo said.

The coach also had an interesting take on the importance of being the top-ranked Test team after South Africa was knocked off No. 1 with that defeat to England.

“When you’re number one, it’s important. When you’re not, it’s not,” Domingo said.

South Africa won’t have Steyn in the Caribbean but will have captain AB de Villiers following some sensational batting performances in the IPL. De Villiers is expected to join the South African squad after Sunday’s IPL final. l

DT

26

Sport

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS GAME 5, CAVALIERS LEAD 3-2

RAPTORS

78-116 CAVALIERS

56-26, 24-17 Away

TOR CLE

57-25, 33-8 Home 1 19 37

2 15 28

3 26 35

4 18 16

T 78 116

TORONTO RAPTORS STARTERS L. Scola D. Carroll B. Biyombo K. Lowry D. DeRozan

MIN 15 27 21 29 31

FG 3-4 2-7 2-3 5-12 2-8

3PT FT REB AST PTS 1-2 0-0 1 3 7 0-4 1-1 2 2 5 0-0 3-3 4 0 7 1-4 2-6 3 6 13 0-0 10-12 3 3 14

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS STARTERS K. Love L. James T. Thompson K. Irving J.R. Smith

MIN 24 32 29 27 29

FG 3PT 8-10 3-4 10-17 2-4 2-2 0-0 9-17 1-2 3-5 1-3

FT REB AST PTS 6-6 2 2 25 1-3 6 8 23 5-8 10 0 9 4-5 3 3 23 0-0 6 0 7

Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James (R) shoots against Toronto Raptors' James Johnson during the first half of Game 5 in the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals in Cleveland on Wednesday AP

LeBron, Love power Cavaliers to 116-78 romp n AP, Cleveland LeBron James scored 23 points then sat the fourth quarter, Kevin Love scored 25, and Cleveland unleashed tenacious defense on Toronto to regain control of the Eastern Conference finals with a 116-78 rout of the Raptors in Game 5 on Wednesday night.

On their court in front of 20,000plus screaming, towel-waving fans following two straight losses in Canada, the Cavaliers opened a 34-point lead in the first half, pushed it to 43 in the second and took a 3-2 series lead.

They can clinch their second straight conference title and trip to the NBA Finals with a win in Game 6 tonight in Toronto.

It’s hard to imagine the Cavs being more in sync. They clicked at both ends in Game 5, handing the Raptors a beating that could linger into the offseason. After coming in with momentum and confidence, Toronto’s players left Quicken Loans Arena shaken and one loss from having their deepest playoff run stopped.

James had eight assists and six rebounds in 31 minutes before checking out late in the third quar-

ter with the Cavs up 37. He spent the fourth quarter resting on the bench while Cleveland’s reserves finished the romp.

At halftime, James, Irving and Love had outscored the Raptors 43-34. Cleveland has won its three games in the series by a combined 88 points, and won its last four over Toronto at home by 110.

DeMar DeRozan scored 14 and Kyle Lowry 13 for the Raptors, who were overwhelmed from the start. Bismack Biyombo had just four rebounds after getting 40 the past two games. The only positive for Toronto was center Jonas

Valanciunas, who returned after missing eight straight games with a sprained right ankle. He scored nine points in 18 minutes.

Playing defense as if every possession was the game’s last, Cleveland held Toronto to 34 points in the opening half while building a 31-point halftime lead — the largest in conference finals history. Since their expansion arrival in 1993, the Raptors had never been down by 30 before in any game — regular or postseason — at halftime but they have rarely seen a defense like this either.

The Cavs were all over the court,

Ronaldo wants Real to renew his contract n Reuters

Real Madrid's Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo kicks a ball during a training session in Madrid AFP

Cristiano Ronaldo has urged Real Madrid to renew his contract and said he wanted to see out his career in the Spanish capital.

Ronaldo’s immediate future at Real has been in doubt all season, with speculation growing throughout the year that he was plotting a move to Paris Saint-Germain but the prolific Portuguese has now made it clear he wants to stay at the club.

“Real Madrid would be making a smart decision if they offered me a new contract,” Ronaldo told Spanish television programme La Sexta on Wednesday.

“I want to stay here, there have been good moments and bad moments. Four years ago I wasn’t happy here but now I am and I can’t think of a better club to be at than

Real Madrid, there’s no team like it.

The other clubs can forget it.”

Ronaldo overtook Raul Gonzalez as Real’s all-time top scorer earlier this season and on Saturday will be hoping to inspire the team to their 11th European Cup success when they take on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final in Milan.

Ronaldo signed a contract extension with Real in 2013 keeping him at the club until 2018.

A year before penning the new deal Ronaldo declared in a postmatch interview that he was “sad” at Real Madrid and he recalled that moment on Wednesday, while reiterating he wanted to stay.

“I’ve had good moments, and bad ones. That’s life. Four years ago I wasn’t happy because I didn’t like certain things that were happening,” he said.l

swarming and stifling DeRozan and Lowry, who combined for 67 points in Game 4.

Love found his shooting touch after it went missing during the lost weekend in Toronto, where he went just 5 of 23 and was benched for the fourth quarter of Game 4. He finished 8 of 10 from the field, a confidence-boosting performance that should temporarily quiet his critics.

The Cavs made a point of getting Love the ball right away and he responded by making all four field goal attempts, dropping a 3 late in the first quarter that pushed the Cavs to a 37-19 lead.l

Gullit: Van Gaal got what he deserved at Utd n Reuters Manchester United were right to sack Louis van Gaal after the club failed to qualify for next season’s Champions League, according to his fellow Dutchman Ruud Gullit.

Van Gaal, who guided his side to a fifth-place finish in the Premier League this season, lost his job two days after United ended a three-year trophy drought by beating Crystal Palace 2-1 in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday.

“A lot of things were his own fault,” former Chelsea and Newcastle United manager Gullit told British media.

“Man United have a certain status ... no Champions League and that’s very important for them.

“Football is hard and football is not fair. So you know the rules if you go to big clubs and you don’t produce, you’re out,” added Gullit.l

27

DT

Sport

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

Hamilton and Rosberg clear the air

QUICK BYTES Goetze not first choice under Ancelotti Bayern Munich yesterday suggested attacking midfielder Mario Goetze’s playing future at the German champions may remain on the bench, even though he showed his desire to earn a starting spot after turning down a possible move away. The Germany international, who scored the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final, has failed to carve out a starting spot since joining Bayern from rivals Borussia Dortmund in 2013 and had been linked with a possible move to Liverpool.

–REUTERS

Benfica extend Julio Cesar contract Portuguese champions Benfica have secured the services of Brazilian international goalkeeper Julio Cesar for a further two seasons, the club said on Wednesday. The 36-year-old stopper joined Benfica in 2014 in the wake of a 7-1 World Cup semi-final humiliation at the hands of eventual champions Germany. And after a poor stay at Queens Park Rangers Julio Cesar, who won the Champions League, Serie A and Italian Cup with Inter Milan in 2010, now has two Portuguese titles and two League Cups to his name.

–AFP

Benitez to lead Newcastle’s promotion bid Rafael Benitez confirmed Wednesday he would stay on as Newcastle United manager in a bid to lead the north-east club’s bid for promotion back to the Premier League. The 56-year-old Spaniard has agreed a new threeyear deal after opting against exercising a release clause open to him in the event of relegation that was in his initial contract signed in March. “I am extremely pleased to be staying at Newcastle United,” said Benitez.

–AFP

Kramaric moves permanently to Hoffenheim Andrej Kramaric, who joined Leicester City for a club-record fee last year, has signed for German side Hoffenheim on a permanent deal, the Premier League champions said on Twitter on Wednesday. The 24-year-old Croatia striker joined Leicester in January 2015 and made two Premier League appearances this season before being loaned to the Bundesliga side in January. Kramaric, who signed for Leicester for 9 million pounds ($13.22 million), scored five goals in 15 league appearances to help Hoffenheim avoid facing a relegation playoff by a single point and finish 15th in the Bundesliga.

–REUTERS

Lukaku eyes move away to ‘win titles’ Belgium forward Romelu Lukaku said he is looking for a move away from Everton to increase his chances of winning trophies. Speaking to Britain’s Daily Star newspaper, Lukaku did not rule out remaining with the Toffees but said “I want to win titles” in a hint that he sees his future away from Goodison Park. Having joined Chelsea from Anderlecht in 2011, he never managed to win a regular starting spot and moved to Everton, initially on loan, in 2013.

–AFP

DAY’S WATCH FOOTBALL SONY ESPN 12:30AM International Friendly England v Australia

CRICKET STAR SPORTS 1 4:00PM Sri Lanka Tour of England 2nd Test, Day 1

STAR SPORTS 2

12:00AM Natwest T20 Blast 2016 Birmingham v Worcestershire

SONY SIX 8:30PM Indian Premier League QF 2: Gujarat v Hyderabad

BASKETBALL SONY SIX 7:00AM NBA season 2015/16 Golden State v Oklahoma City

n Reuters, Monaco Triple Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton expressed "pure respect" for Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg on Wednesday after the pair cleared the air following their Spanish Grand Prix collision.

“We stood and spoke to each other

today, and no problem,” the Briton told reporters after arriving in the Monaco paddock 10 days on from the opening lap incident that dumped both out of the race.

“In the past there would have been tension of some sort but now it was just pure respect: I said ‘I still have all the respect for you’ and he said the

same so let’s just keep racing.”

Championship leader Rosberg, 43 points clear of Hamilton after five of 21 races, remained cagey about what was said.

“That needs to be kept internally,” said the German, whose run of seven wins in a row ended in the Circuit de Catalunya gravel trap.l

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Sport

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

Murray survives fresh five-set Paris battle n AFP, Paris Second seed Andy Murray survived his second successive fiveset French Open battle to reach the third round Wednesday, avoiding what would have been his worst Grand Slam loss in eight years.

Murray, three times a semi-finalist, wore down France’s world number 164 Mathias Bourgue, who had never won a tour-level match before this week, 6-2, 2-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 and goes on to face 37-year-old Ivo Karlovic for a place in the last 16.

After coming back from two sets to love down to beat Radek Stepanek, also 37, in the first round in a tie played over two days, the British star had looked down and out once again on Wednesday.

After pocketing the third set, 22-year-old Bourgue, reduced to tears by the end, had break points for a 1-0 lead in the fourth.

But once they were squandered, the Frenchman’s challenge quickly wilted as the physically stronger Murray raced away with 12 of the last 15 games.

Wednesday was the first time since the US Open in 2005 that Murray had played two successive five-set matches at the Slams.

Bourgue was seen nibbling a Twix chocolate bar during the match to boost his energy - having asked originally for a Mars.

Karlovic, the 27th seed, defeated Australian wildcard Jordan Thompson 6-7 (2/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (4/7), 12-10, unleashing 41 aces and 102 winners.

Karlovic is the oldest man in the French Open third round since 38-year-old Jimmy Connors in 1991.

Defending champion and third seed Stan Wawrinka defeated New York-born Taro Daniel of Japan 7-6 (9/7), 6-3, 6-4 and goes on to face France’s Jeremy Chardy.

Japan’s fifth seed Kei Nishikori, a quarter-finalist in 2015, coasted into the last 32 with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Russia’s Andrey Kuznetsov.

Nishikori, the 2014 US Open runner-up, goes on to face former world number seven Fernando Verdasco of Spain.

Eighth-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic had few problems with Adrian Mannarino of France, winning 6-1, 7-6 (7/0), 6-1.

Australian 17th seed Kyrgios needed just 70 minutes to beat Dutch lucky loser Sijsling 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.

He will now meet French ninth

seed Richard Gasquet who defeated fellow former boys champion Bjorn Fratangelo of the United States 6-1, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.

In the women’s event, second seed Agnieszka Radwanska, a quarter-finalist in 2013, beat Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia, the Strasbourg champion last weekend, 6-2, 6-4. Spanish fourth seed Garbine Muguruza defeated French wildcard Myrtille Georges 6-2, 6-0 and next tackles Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer.

Sixth seed Simona Halep, the losing finalist to Maria Sharapova in 2014, came back from 4-1 down in the first set to beat Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan 7-6 (7/5), 6-2.

Petra Kvitova, the 10th seed, saw off Taiwan’s Su-Wei Hsieh 6-4, 6-1 in a much more comfortable outing than her opener against Danka Kovinic where she had been just two points away from defeat.

Russian 13th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2009 champion, was too strong for Britain’s Heather Watson winning 6-1, 6-3. Kuznetsova will now face Fed Cup teammate Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova who saw off Cagla Buyukakcay, the first Turkish woman to win a match at a Grand Slam, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.l

Andy Murray of Great Britain returns the ball to Frenchman Mathias Bourgue during their second round match of the French Open in Paris on Wednesday AFP

Broad warning for Sri Lanka as England eye series win n AFP, Chester-le-Street England may come into the second Test against Sri Lanka in Durham on the back of a crushing win in the series opener, but according to Stuart Broad the hosts have still to hit top form.

Propelled by a hundred from Jonny Bairstow and match figures of 10 for 45 from James Anderson,

Clint Dempsey (L) of the United States takes a shot against Frickson Erazo of Ecuador during their international friendly match at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas on Wednesday.

USA won 1-0 AFP

England thrashed Sri Lanka by an innings and 88 runs in the first Test at Headingley last week to go 1-0 up in the three-match series.

But Broad, still the world’s number one ranked Test bowler, said there was no danger of England letting up when the second Test starts at north-east county Durham’s Riverside headquarters today.

“Obviously the series is still

up for grabs and I think one thing we’ve probably been average at is in the last Test of the series when we’ve won, I’m thinking Centurion and the Oval,” he added of a defeat by South Africa earlier this year and last year’s Ashes-ending reverse against Australia.

“With a Test series up for grabs we’re on it and our aim is to have all nine Test trophies and we can

make it eight this week,” he added.

“I think Australia and South Africa have done it before. It is not something that has been done a huge amount, so it would be a huge achievement and we’re desperate to do that." England will have to make at least one change after Durham all-rounder Ben Stokes was ruled out of playing on his home ground with a knee injury suffered at Headingley.

Warwickshire’s Chris Woakes, a like for like replacement, was called into the England squad on Monday and promptly took a career-best nine for 36 against Durham at Edgbaston. England also have the option of giving a debut to Broad’s uncapped Nottinghamshire team-mate Jake Ball, with the paceman having also been in the squad at Headingley. l

Injury-free Starc gunning to fire again n AFP, Sydney Australian pace spearhead Mitchell Starc yesterday said he was raring to go after six months on the sidelines, declaring himself “fit, strong and ready”.

Starc, 26, is set to make his long-waited comeback in Guyana on June 6 against South Africa during a one-day tri-series that also features the West Indies.

“It’s been a long time coming.

The foot has been great, there’s no pain in the ankle or the foot,” Starc

told reporters in Sydney ahead of the team’s departure for the Caribbean.

“I’ve been really happy with it, it’s come along really well. I’ve had a good three or four months in gym to get a bit of size back on, and I’m feeling really good; fit, strong and ready to play some cricket.”

His fitness boosts Australia’s pace attack which also features Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Scott Boland for a series where each team play three matches against the other, with the top two making the final on June 26.l

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Urge onwards (6) 5 Corded fabric (3) 7 Musical note (5) 8 Quickness of perception (6) 10 Play on words (3) 12 Fasting period (4) 13 As well (3) 14 Support (4) 16 Country (4) 17 Bishop’s territory (3) 18 Narrate (4) 20 Favourite (3) 23 Whole (6) 24 Blooms (5) 25 Attempt (3) 26 Cure (6)

DOWN 1 Scheme (4) 2 Of the eye (6) 3 Free from errors (5) 4 Wound dressing (4) 5 Tear (3) 6 Flightless bird (3) 9 Bill of fare (4) 11 Pinch (3) 14 Raw hide (4) 15 Have reference to (6) 16 Mild explosion (3) 17 Sanity (5) 18 Rank (4) 19 Remain (4) 21 Do wrong (3) 22 Plaything

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29

Downtime

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 2 represents T so fill T every time the figure 2 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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Showtime

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

Celebration of the national poet’s birth anniversary n Showtime Desk Marking the birth anniversary

of Bangladesh’s National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC) has

Tom Cruise ‘cheated death’ again n SK Farhan Rahman Tom Cruise could have died if he went aboard the Columbia Space Shuttle mission. According to multiple reports, the actor was secretly training to become an astronaut back in 2003. According to reports, the Hollywood actor had top secret space training to prep him for the grueling mission, but plans were halted following the incident.

Cruise was planning to be a part of the fatal Columbia Space Shuttle mission which tragically blew up on its return. The space craft exploded when it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, instantly killing all seven crew members who were on board.

In preparation for the mission, the Mission Impossible star allegedly took part in a NASA induction course in Florida, the same place where the Kennedy Space Center is based. The ‘space nut’ reportedly even convinced NASA to redesign their entire website during the early

2000s.

The Space Station 3D director, Toni Myers revealed that the actor was ‘desperate’ to become a space traveller. He told The Sun, “Tom was very enthusiastic about doing Space Station 3D but the deal was he also wanted to fly in the shuttle.” Myers continued, “Tom had a very good chance of getting his wish fulfilled, but then the accident happened, and that was the end of that.”

After shooting the movie Oblivion, in which Cruise played an astronaut, he confessed that he would be more than happy to pay £130,000 for a ticket on Virgin’s space venture.

A believer in the Church of Scientology, the actor has previously admitted to believe in alien life forms.

He said, “It might be a little arrogant to think that we were the only ones in all the galaxies throughout the universe.

By the way, I haven’t met one yet.” l

organised an evening of recitation and songs performed by Khilkhil Kazi and Salauddin Ahmed today at the IGCC. Khilkhil Kazi, the daughter of Kazi Sabyasachi and granddaughter of Kazi Nazrul Islam, has started learning music under her father’s guidence in her childhood. After the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, upon the invitation of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Khilkhil Kazi came with her parents to Bangladesh and settled here. Her first teacher in music in Bangladesh was Bedher Hussain. She also learned music from Salauddin Ahmed. She has performed with eminent singers

Monica Dogra’s Madonna, Ricky Martin connection n Showtime Desk American singer and actress of Indian origin Monica Dogra is going to collaborate with Reshma Gajjar, who has worked with international pop stars Madonna and Ricky Martin for her upcoming album.

The Dhobi Ghat actress has already shot for the song “Shiver,” which is about women’s empowerment.

Monica has roped in Reshma to play the protagonist as well as choreographing the video.

In a interview with a daily newspaper, Monica revealed, “Reshma is my long-time friend and collaborator.

I reached out to her, and she recommended Jasmine Albuquerque from an inspiration dance performance trio. Jasmine and I had a couple of Skype chats, and I decided to hire her to choreograph the video. Then, because of budgetary constraints, she taught Reshma the choreography, and I flew Reshma down as my principle choreographer and dancer.” l

of Bangladesh such as Ferdousi Rahman, Bedher Uddin Ahmed, Sourav Hussain and Khaled Hussain. Khilkhil Kazi has received several accolades namely Crest of Honour from the Indian Parliament in 2003, Nazrul Award from Nazrul Academy in 2014 and Nazrul Award from Nazrul Institute and Ministry of Culture in 2014.

Salahuddin Ahmed, a veteran music exponent of Bangladesh, learned music from his father in his early years and later trained under stalwarts like Nirmalendu Biswas, Ustad A Daud and Pandit Sukumar Mitra. Ahmed teaches at the Nazrul Institute and the Bangladesh Academy of Fine Arts. He also worked as a part-

time teacher at the Jatiyo Kobi Kazi Nazrul Islam University in Mymemsingh and in Bulbul Lalitakala Academy, and Nazrul Academy as a senior teacher in Nazrul Sangeet. In addition, he also established a music institution named TAALIM. Ahmed is a special grade artist of both classical music and Nazrul Sangeet and a music director for Bangladesh TV and radio. He also performs in major TV channels of Kolkata, including Tara TV. He has released several popular music albums, and published two books aimed at restoring the original notations of Nazrul Geeti, approved by the Nazrul Institute of Bangladesh. l

DiCaprio is ‘disrespecting’ Rihanna other.

Rihanna has also been spotted with Drake in the past couple of months, fuelling rumours of them dating again. The pair briefly dated in 2009, and were linked to be dating again back in 2014 for a brief period until the rumours gained momentum again this May. As of now, who Rihanna is or isn’t dating is anyone’s guess.

All three celebrities are keeping their lips sealed about their relationship status. l Source: IBTimes, HollywoodLife

n SK Farhan Rahman According to new reports, Drake feels that Leonardo Dicaprio is disrespecting Rihanna when he’s out with her and then abruptly starts hanging out with other girls. Rumour has it that both men are caught up in a love triangle, with Rihanna caught in between.

According to HollywoodLife, Drake is unhappy with the way the The Revenant star has been treating Rihanna. A source said, “Drake thinks Leo’s pretty dumb for having both Rihanna and his other girl at the club. That’s not a

good look. Every man knows that is a cardinal sin, because it’s a recipe for disaster.”

The source continued, “Rihanna is the type of woman who deserves one-on-one attention when she’s out. Leo should have known that. It’s a sign of blatant disrespect on Leo’s part, and something that Drake would never have done in a million years.”

Rumours about Leo and Rihanna dating kicked off in early 2016 when they were spotted in Paris, partying. A few weeks ago after that, the two were photographed cosying up to each

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Showtime

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

X-Men: Apocalypse opens today in Dhaka theatres

n Showtime Desk X-Men: Apocalypse, the sixth instalment in the X-Men franchise since 2000, arrives in theatres in Dhaka on Friday, featuring the titular mutant Apocalypse trying to destroy the world (as one could imagine from his name). Coinciding with the North America releases, the film will be shown in two multiplex in Dhaka, Star Cineplex and Blockbuster Cinemas.

The superhero film, based on the X-Men that appear in Marvel Comics, is directed by Bryan Singer, with a screenplay by Simon Kinberg from a story conceived

by Singer, Kinberg, Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris.

The film features an ensemble cast starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer

Lawrence, Oscar Isaac, Nicholas Hoult, Rose Byrne, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Olivia Munn, Evan Peters and Lucas Till.

The series has jumped around in time, and Apocalypse takes us back to the 1980s, with Fassbender and McAvoy returning as young Magneto and Xavier. Ancient cyber-mutant Apocalypse awakens and plans to take over the world and destroy the human race, so the X-Men need to stop him and defeat his team, the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse.

Unfortunately, six movies into the franchise, critics appear to be getting tired of it though it gets positive review so far as Empire magazine reviewd “Messier and heavier than Days Of Future Past, this is not so much the next step in the X-Men’s evolution as a failed callback to past glories.” l

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FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

DRAFT ETF NORMS GET BSEC NOD PAGE 12

STREAK WON’T STAY AS BOWLING COACH PAGE 24

X-MEN: APOCALYPSE OPENS IN DHAKA THEATRES PAGE 31

Nepotism plagues National Life Corruption has long been endemic in the insurance sector of Bangladesh, and the lax enforcement of the new insurance act of 2010 has not helped. Shocking levels of irregularity were revealed recently when regulators audited several leading insurers. In the third of a series, Dhaka Tribune's Jebun Nesa Alo looks into what auditors found Massive irregularities by the board of directors at National Life Insurance (NLI) has come to light following a recent audit of the company.

Fake agents, nepotism, and fraudulent money withdrawals by board members were some of the many allegations brought forward by the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), which hired auditor Howladar Yunus and Co to go through NLI accounts.

The IDRA recently issued a show-cause notice to the insurance company, asking why legal action should not be taken against it.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Jamal Mohammed Abu Naser, CEO of NLI, admitted that the insurance company had some lacking. ‘’We are trying to comply with new Insurance Act 2010, but it will take

little more time,’’ he said.

But his claim of compliance contradicted what auditors found to be repeated violation of the law by the insurance company.

The auditor found NLI had violated the insurance law by providing a loan to Bengal Concept and Holdings Limited, where the son of NLI Chairman Morshed Alam was the managing director.

According to the report, no insurer can grant loan or temporary advance to any family member of company officers – other than it is a loan on life insurance policy issued within surrender value.

But NLI entered into an agreement with Bengal Concept to purchase floor space of 4,000 square feet in Noakhali valued at around Tk10 crore. The whole amount was paid on September 19, 2013 and

was kept under advance against land purchase and building construction up to 2014.

A clause was included in the agreement that the full amount would be refunded if Bengal Concept and Holdings failed to handover the flat. From the deed, it was clear that this capital expenditure was not intended for the purchase of floor space rather to provide an unsecured loan to Bengal Concept and Holdings, the audit found.

The insurance company also violated section 41(1) of Insurance Act 2010 by investing Tk5 crore in private placement share of Bengal Poly and Paper Sack Limited, where the NLI chairman has a vested interest.

Even though National Life has a finance and investment committee, it did not hold a single meeting

in 2014. The company made investments without the decision of the committee, which went against corporate governance, the audit report read.

Despite not being a member of the board, an invited guest was paid fees of Tk125,000 in the year 2014 for attending board meetings – in a violation of insurance law.

Even some board members took air fares of Tk102,000 despite being absent in board meetings.

The board members took remuneration of Tk6,126,452 between 2012 and 2014 – even though the insurance act does not allow board members to take any remuneration except board meeting fees.

NLI Chairman Morshed Alam took remuneration of around Tk40 lakh during the three years while Vice-Chairman Abdul Monem took

Tk16.35 lakh and two independent Directors M Haider Chowdhury and Alamgir Kabir took total Tk66.21 lakh, according to the audit report.

National Life Insurance also did not follow the public procurement rule in case of selling cars as the buyers were directors of the same company.

The audit report found that the financial facilities to the AVP and above senior officials were paid in cash instead of check, which also accounted for high management costs.

The company experienced negative growth in income in recent years due to the unusual management cost. The income growth was surplus 36.31% in the year 2010, which became negative 60.94% in 2015, according to the company data. l

Report of 40k maids deported ‘not true’ n Tribune Desk

Cabinet members and government high-ups see off Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport as she leaves Dhaka to attend G7 Outreach Conference in Japan yesterday BSS

PM to attend G7 outreach meeting Hayat Mahmud, from n Abu Nagoya, Japan

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday reached Japan on a four-day visit to attend the G7 Outreach Meeting scheduled to be held at the city of Ise today.

She reached Chubu Centrair

International Airport in Nagoya around 7pm (local time).

Bangladesh Ambassador to Japan Rabab Fatima and Japan’s Parliamentary Vice-minister for Foreign Affairs Miki Yamada received the prime minister at the airport.

The premier left Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka yesterday morning. She was accompanied by her sister Sheikh Rehana and Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali.

Hasina will attend the G7 Outreach Meeting at Shima Kanko Hotel where she will deliver a speech.

She will deliver another speech at the working lunch with the G7 outreach leaders.

The prime minister will also hold a meeting with her British counterpart David Cameron.

Later on that day, Hasina will leave for Tokyo by train to inaugurate the new Bangladesh Chancery Complex.l

Bangladesh’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia yesterday confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune over the telephone that a report that 40,000 Bangladeshi domestics were being deported was “not true.”

Arab News reported yesterday on its website that recruiting offices in Saudi Arabia had sent back about 50% of Bangladeshi domestic workers.

Ambassador Golam Masih told the Dhaka Tribune that a rejoinder had been sent to Arab News over the report, which he described as “baseless.”

The report quoted recruitment office owner Hussein al-Harthi as saying that the reasons for deportation were numerous, including refusal to work, lack of training, the language barrier and a failure to adapt to local culture.

It quoted him as saying that as many as 40,000 housemaids had been deported. “The Bangladeshi housemaids were being unpro-

fessional and refused to do their work,” Saudi Gazette quoted alHarthi telling al-Madina.

“In addition to the differences in culture and traditions between the two societies, these maids were not properly equipped to work in the Kingdom,” al-Harthi was quoted as saying.

Saudi recruiters said customers are given a three-month trial period.

If the maid is found to be inefficient during this period, the client informs the office, returns the maid along with a notice received by the embassy that includes the reasons for disqualification.

The recruitment office then hands the maid over to the embassy to send her back home.

Bangladesh’s ambassador said a maximum of between 250 and 300 workers had been sent home in the last six months.

An estimated 1.28 million Bangladeshis work in Saudi Arabia, making it the largest destination for labour exports from Bangladesh. l

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