11 June, 2016

SECOND EDITION

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016 | Jyoishtha 28, 1423, Ramadan 5, 1437 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 49 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages plus 24-page Euro 2016 special supplement | Price: Tk10

Pabna monastery staff latest victim of militant attack

n Tribune Desk

Emroz Khandakar, Pabna n Md and Monoj Saha, Gopalganj A sexagenarian staff of a Hindu monastery in Pabna was hacked to death in an ongoing militant-style attack early yesterday, amid law enforcers’ crackdown on the Islamic extremists.

The murder took place around 5am in front of the main gate of Pabna Mental Hospital at Hemayetpur. The spot is only 200 yards from the Sri Sri Thakur Anukulchandra

Nityanando Pandey Satsang Ashram where Nityanando Pandey, 62, had been working as an attendant for the past 40 years.

Pabna sadar OC Abdullah AlHasan said that Nityanando was on his daily morning walk in the area when some unidentified assailants hacked him indiscriminately leaving him dead on the spot.

Nityanando used to walk every morning since he had diabetes.

He hailed from Arua Kangsu area under Gopalganj sadar upazila. His family members have urged the prime minister to arrest the killers and ensure security of the religious minorities.

Pabna Hindus staged a protest

Hundreds detained on first day of special drive

Family members of slain Hindu ashram staff Nityanando Pandey wail in grief outside their house in Hemayetpur, Pabna yesterday. Nityanando, hacked to death by unknown assailants, is the latest victim in the series of such killings that has been taking place in Bangladesh for the past few years DHAKA TRIBUNE in the town demanding arrest of the killers within 24 hours and security of over 100 other people involved with the monastery.

Police have formed a five-member committee to look into the murder. The OC said that they were probing the case seriously and conducting drives to arrest the culprits.

The murder took place only three days after a Hindu priest was slaughtered in Jhenaidah allegedly by the members of international militant group Islamic State. IS also threatened additional knife attacks

EURO 2016 SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT

to “cleanse” the country from the “filth of the polytheists and apostates.”

The same group earlier claimed that their members had murdered a Christian grocer in Natore on June 5 and a Buddhist monk in Bandarban on May 14.

The government, however, claims that the killings were orchestrated in a planned manner by the local outlawed militant groups to embarrass the ruling Awami League-led government and destabilise the country.

“Analysing the wounds, it

seems that the killers hit his head and neck from behind with a sharp weapon and then hacked him to death with an aim to severing the head,” Assistant Superintendent of Police (sadar circle) Selim Khan said.

The killers possibly confirmed his death within one and a half minutes, and left the scene immediately without facing any obstacle since there was no people on the street at that time, he added.

High officials of police’s different agencies visited the spot. Police

Law enforcement agencies yesterday detained more than 700 people all over Bangladesh on the first day of their combined countrywide operation.

Since January last year, at least 48 people were killed in 46 militant attacks – 11 in the last two and a half months. Local Islamic extremist groups who claim to be linked to IS and al-Qaeda have claimed responsibility.

The government’s stance has been to say there is no direct link between the local militants and the global terrorists and that the political opposition is involved in the crimes.

The joint drive follows the murder of SP Babul Akhter’s wife Mahmuda Akhter Mitu in Chittagong on June 5.

Since the murder, at least six arrested militant suspects have been killed in ‘gunfights’ with police.

The police headquarters on Thursday declared it would run a joint forces operation against militancy. The operation will continue for another six days.

Police headquarters said they would be able to provide the accurate number of detainees later.

Chittagong

On the first the week-long crack down, police have held 135 persons including a Jamaat-e-Islami activist, Chittagong District Police’s Additional Superintendent of Police (Special Branch) Rezaul Masud told Dhaka Tribune.

The Jamaat activist was detained from Banskhali upazila, he said, adding that no arms or ammunition were recovered during the drives.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

INSIDE Riyadh agrees to invest in Bangladesh

DhakaTribune has brought out a special

supplement on Euro 2016. Please collect your copy today from hawker.

The relationship between Dhaka and Riyadh has reached a new height where for the first time Saudi Arabia has expressed its willingness to channel its public fund for investment in Bangladesh. During the recent visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the kingdom, the issue was discussed with the top Saudi leadership.  PAGE 3

An end to life as they know it

SEHRI & IFTAR

Rui Moun, an 85-year-old living in the remote hills of Bandarban, has known hardship throughout her life.  PAGE 32

Ramadan 05 06 07

June 11 12 13

Sehri – 3:38 3:38

Iftar 6:50 6:50 6:50

Source: Islamic Foundation

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AQIS condemns Mitu murder K Sarker and FM n Probir Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong

Ansar al-Islam, the Bangladesh wing of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), has condemned the murder of police officer Babul Akter’s wife Mahmuda Khanam Mitu in Chittagong as “impermissible under Islam.”

In a statement issued last night, the group also alleged that the Islamic jihadists had been blamed for the June 5 murder as part of a ploy, according to US-based monitoring website SITE Intelligence Group.

Earlier in the day, the law enforcers launched a seven-day countrywide crackdown on militants in the face of series of targeted attacks.

Mitu was stabbed and shot dead in front of her son near GEC intersection of Chittagong around 6:30am on June 5. Three killers left the scene

on a motorcyle – a style seen in the recent killings by militants – prompting the law enforcers to suspect extremists for the murder.

Neither AQIS nor Islamic State claimed responsibility for the murder.

Banned militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team is believed to be operating under the name of Ansar al-Islam. It has claimed 13 attacks since January 2013 in which 11 people – mostly secularist teachers, bloggers, publishers and LGBT rights activists – were killed and five wounded.

On the other hand, IS has claimed 21 attacks since September 2015 that killed 19 people and wounded at least five persons. The targets include foreigners, and non-Muslim and non-Sunni preachers.

The government claims that the attacks are being carried out by banned outfits Ansarullah and

Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh or JMB.

Suspected militant held

Chittagong Kotwali police yesterday detained a suspected militant with two knives from the press club area during a demonstration demanding justice for Mitu murder.

Md Ibrahim, 24, claimed himself as a rickshaw puller, “but we recovered two knives, a burner phone and a pen drive kept inside a bag from his possession,” OC Jasim Uddin told the Dhaka Tribune.

Earlier, police detained an alleged activist of Islami Chhatra Shibir, the owner and driver of a microbus, and owner of a motorcycle in connection with the case filed by the victim’s husband Babul Akter, a superintendent of police, who earned fame for his drives against militants in Chittagong. l

Police wrapping up Tavella and Kunio murder cases n Mohammad Jamil Khan

Investigations in the murder cases of two foreigners are about to close and the police will soon press charges against suspects.

Political activists will be charged in Italian aid worker Cesare Tavella murder while members of banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in Japanese citizen Hoshi Kunio murder.

International terrorist group Islamic State claimed responsibility for both the killings.

Tavella was shot dead in Dhaka’s Gulshan area by unidentified assailants on September 28 last year.

Police arrested four men – Rasel Chowdhury, Tamzid Ahmed Rubel, Minhazul Arefin Rasel and Sakhawat Hossain Sharif – in the case.

Rubel later confessed that the mastermind was a man they only knew as “big brother.” Later MA Matin, the younger brother of BNP leader MA Kaiyum, was arrested On November 4.

Monirul Islam, additional commissioner of the DMP, said that they were yet to recover the murder weapon.

Kunio was killed on October 3 in Rangpur in a similar fashion. Police arrested eight people including local BNP leader Biplab. Detained JMB commander Masud Rana and another gave confessional statements before courts.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said that the police had arrested the criminals behind the murders. “The charges against them, will be pressed soon,” he added. l

Pandey, a retired school teacher, said that Nityanando used to visit his house at Arua Kangsu three to four times a year, especially during the harvesting season and religious functions, and stay for 10-15 days.

He went to Pabna 40 years back and started working at the monastery where his father-in-law was one of the officials. Later he became a senior attendant and used to travel different places of the country to spread the philosophy of Thakur Anukulchandra.

Son Nanda Dulal Pandey and

daughter Sandipa Pandey demanded exemplary punishment to the culprits, and urged the government to stop recurrence of such killings.

Nityanando’s wife Dulu Rani Pandey said: “We had talks over the phone last night [Thursday]. He enquired about us all and also wished to visit the house within four to five days. But in the morning I was informed about his death.”

She demanded intervention of the prime minister to ensure security of the Hindus and justice for her husband’s murder. l

Satkhira

named in different cases, police said.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Pabna monastery staff latest victim suspect that it could be a militant attack considering the style of the recent murders by militants.

Officials of the monastery also think that religious extremists carried out the attack to create panic among the minority communities.

They claimed that Nityanando did not have enmity with anyone.

Superintendent of Police Alamgir Kabir said that they were investigating the case considering the involvement of militants and the dispute over land of the monastery.

The five-strong probe body

formed yesterday is headed by Additional Superintendent of Police Liton Kumar Das. It has been asked to submit report within seven days.

Meanwhile, the assistant deputy high commissioner of India, Abhijit Chatterjee, visited the monastery yesterday afternoon, and assured them of providing all necessary supports.

The Indian High Commission officials and several members of India’s ruling BJP-led coalition government earlier visited Jhenaidah and other places where the mem-

bers of the minority communities have been killed at the hands of extremists recently.

Earlier at noon, several organisations including Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Oikya Parishad formed a human chain in front of the Town Hall and issued a 24-hour ultimatum for the arrest of the killers.

They blamed the law enforcers for the series of murders and also demanded removal of the district deputy commissioner and the SP. Murder puzzles family The victim’s brother Satyaranjan

Hundreds detained on first day of special drive Khulna

In the first 16 hours of the drive, police have detained 102 people in Khulna district. But most detainees are wanted criminals, convicts and people accused in various cases. The police have arrested 31 people in the city and 71 from the rest of the district.

A joint force in Satkhira yesterday arrested 35 people from the district including an activist of Jamaat. They were all accused in several cases there.

Natore

Additional Superintendent of Natore Police Munshi Sahabuddin said as part of the joint force drive they had detained 27 accused of several cases and seized some 40 motorcycles.

Dinajpur

Police have detained 100 criminals across the district, Dinajpur Superintendent of Police Ruhul Amin said. Among them 24 are BNP and Jamaat activists, he said.

Rangpur

Rangpur police detained 90 accused in cases of sabotage, theft and robbery. Rangpur acting superintendent of police (SP) Abdullah Al Farooq told reporters that the criminals would be under city police scanner.

Kushtia

At least 57 men accused in various cases including five Jamaat and Shibir activists were detained

by Kushtia police yesterday. They were arrested from different raids

Jhenaidah Police search an intercity bus of Hanif Enterprise in Magura town yesterday while the passengers wait outside. To stop the series of recent killings around the country that Islamic militants have claimed responsibility of, police launched a week-long, countrywide crackdown on militants yesterday. The first day saw a good number of men detained on suspicion of militant involvement DHAKA TRIBUNE conducted between Thursday night and Friday morning, Additional Superintendent of Kushtia Police Zainul Abedin, said.

Kishoreganj

In Kishoreganj, police detained 51 people including district BNP Sen-

ior Joint Secretary General Khaled Saifullah, although he was later released by the court.

Among the arrested 18 people were accused in one case and 34 in other case. Khalid Saifullah, was accused in the both cases. All the accused were released on bail.

Jhenaidah joint force detained 27 people including seven Jamaat activists from different areas of Maheshpur upazila.

Gaibandha

Police have arrested 26, including one Jamaat activist, in various cases on the first day of the drive.

Panchagarh

Panchagarh Additional Superintendent of Police Din Mohammad said 26 people had been arrested in the district yesterday. All of them are

Magura

Magura police detained at least 24 people in several raids. All detainees were accused in several cases, said Magura Superintendent of Police Ehsan Ullah.

Rajshahi

Police have arrested 21 people in the district.

Meherpur

Meherpur Police SP Hamidul Alam said they had arrested 10 accused in the first day of the drive.

Bogra

Police Bureau of Investigation has arrested a JMB member named Sagar Ahmed Roni from Sherpur Baganbari area. He was found to be in possession of 21 books on militancy. A case has been filed against him in the anti-terrorism act.

Also, local correspondents have reported one arrest in Jhalakathi and two Jamaat leaders in Kishoreganj. l

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14-party alliance to hold human chains against secret killings n Abu Hayat Mahmud

Muslim devotees bow to the Almighty during the Jumma prayers on the first Friday of Ramadan yesterday at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in Dhaka

RAJIB DHAR

Riyadh agrees to invest petro-fund in mega projects in Bangladesh n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman The relationship between Dhaka and Riyadh has reached a new height where for the first time Saudi Arabia has expressed its willingness to channel its public fund for investment in Bangladesh.

During the recent visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the kingdom, the issue was discussed with the top Saudi leadership.

“Bangladesh wants Saudi public investment in different development projects in infrastructure, communications and energy, and Saudi Arabia responded positively,” Bangladesh’s deputy chief of mission in Riyadh, Nazrul Islam, told the Dhaka Tribune.

The prime minister in her meeting with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz last week put forward proposals to invest in several mega development projects and the king instructed relevant ministers to visit Dhaka to discuss in details about the projects.

Nazrul said Saudi Arabia has adopted a plan to transfer its billions of dollars of petro-fund from Europe and America to Asian countries like Bangladesh.

The kingdom country also wants to reduce its economic dependency on oil revenue and invest in real

and other sectors to absorb any negative oil shock, he added.

Manpower recruitment

The deputy chief of mission said Riyadh has opened up its labour market but it must be based on market demand.

“As long as Bangladesh can supply quality human resources, Riyadh has agreed to take them,” he said.

Citing an example, he said a Saudi government recruitment delegation visited Dhaka last month to recruit physicians with five to ten years of experience and their recruitment process has already started.

The monthly salary of the doctors would be around Tk300,000 and all other facilities like lodging and education for their children, he said.

Saudi Arabia is a big country with a huge economy and it needs foreign workers and as long as Bangladesh can provide quality workers with a reasonable migration cost, it will absorb them, Nazrul added.

Around 1.5 million Bangladeshis currently reside in Saudi Arabia and send billions of dollars of remittance back to the country.

Military coalition

Bangladesh has agreed to provide

military assistance to Saudi Arabia in its effort to counter violent extremism and terrorism.

Saudi Arabia last year formed a 34-nation coalition where Bangladesh is a primary member and agreed to provide all sorts of civil and military help to the coalition.

The prime minister in a press briefing on Wednesday said Bangladesh would send military personnel to protect the two holy shrines in Saudi Arabia.

A senior government official said the army chief of Bangladesh visited Saudi Arabia in March to discuss possible military assistance for the coalition.

Another meeting at the foreign minister level would be held in Riyadh soon where Bangladesh high-level representation is expected, he added.

Dhaka has a policy not to send military forces without the approval of the United Nations, but in the case of Saudi Arabia, it would make an exception, the official said.

Anti-Tehran position

Bangladesh gave a patient hearing about the anti-Tehran stance of Saudi Arabia during the visit of the prime minister to Riyadh.

Another senior government of-

ficial said during the visit, Saudi Arabia raised the anti-Tehran issue and Bangladesh listened and took note of it.

Bangladesh has a foreign policy of “friendship to all, malice to none” and it has very friendly relationship with Iran.

“We have an embassy in Tehran where our ambassador is working and in reciprocity, Iran is also operating in Dhaka with a full-fledged embassy and an ambassador,” he said.

After the hajj tragedy where hundreds of pilgrimages from Iran died last year and attack on Saudi mission in Iran put the bilateral relationship in strained position and eventually Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran. l

Leaders and activists of the ruling Awami League-led 14-party alliance are going to hold human chains in Dhaka and the rest of the country demanding to end secret killings.

The event is set to take place on June 19 from 3pm to 4pm.

Besides, leaders of the alliance will visit the family of slain Hindu priest Gopal Ganguli in Jhenaidah on June 14.

The alliance’s spokesperson and Health and Family Welfare Minister Mohammad Nasim made the announcement at a press briefing following a meeting of the alliance leaders at Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina’s office in Dhanmondi, Dhaka yesterday.

Speaking to reporters, Nasim, also a presidium member of the Awami League, alleged that the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami were responsible for the recent killings.

“The 14-party alliance will work to prevent any more killings from happening, just as it did during the political unrest of 2015 to prevent arson attacks and killings by the BNP-Jamaat,” he said.

Earlier, denying BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s allegation that the Awami League was responsible for the spate of killings across the country, Awami League leader HT Imam said Khaleda was trying to hide her own involvement in these heinous crimes.

Speaking with reporters at the press briefing, Imam, who is the chairman of Awami League’s Publicity and Publication Cell, said: “Khaleda is trying to keep the conspiracy she hatched with Jamaat under wraps. But it is crystal clear to the country as to who is committing the murders.”

Imam, also the PM’s political adviser, claimed that various intelligence agencies have found evidence of BNP-Jamaat’s involvement in the killings.

“We have already identified the criminals and their leaders. So none of her [Khaleda’s] techniques can save the criminals,” Imam said.l

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Left, hawkers, who have shops set up in front of Dhaka Trade Centre, hurl bricks at the market during yesterday’s clash with shop owners in Dhaka’s Gulistan. The detainees from the clash sit queued up on the road under watch of policemen MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Gulistan turns into a battlefield again n Mohammad Jamil Khan For two days in a row, hawkers and shop owners of Dhaka Trade Centre have battled it out at Gulistan over setting up of shops on the footpath.

Police say have arrested about 100 men from the scene during yesterday’s clash but are yet to press charges.

After Thursday’s clash, the two groups were trying to settle the issue in the morning to avert tension between them. However, at one point in the meeting, hawkers started to beat up shop owners and the market’s staffs which fueled yesterday’s argument, witnesses said.

Following the scuffle, the own-

ers and staffs took shelter inside the market and started to hurl bricks at the hawkers, who fought back throwing bricks at the market.

Police came to the scene and lobbed teargas canisters, fired rubber bullets and unleashed water cannons to disperse the two sides,

DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia said the hawkers had been removed from there to ensure hassle-free movement of pedestrians During the two-hour skirmish that started around noon, the two groups chased and counter-chased hurling bricks, disrupting vehicular movement in the area for a second day.

following which the traffic in the area resumed around 2pm.

Deputy Commissioner Anowar Hossain of police’s Motijheel division was hit on his head by a brick.

He was later treated at the Dhaka

Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

Hawker Bilal Hossain and shoe shop owner Nazrul Islam, who were injured in the clash, also received primary treatment at DMCH. “About 100 men have been arrested from the scene and taken to the police station,” Morshed Alam, officer-in-charge of Paltan police station, told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said they would take action against those who were involved in the incident. They would identify the instigators and release the rest, he added.

The OC also said that additional police have been deployed in the area to keep the situation under control.

The shop owners claimed that the hawkers were occupying the road in front of the trade centre, hampering businesses.

On the other hand, the hawkers argue that their “small shops” did not create problems for others.

Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sayeed Khokon conducted an eviction drive in the area on Thursday.

DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia visited the area and said the hawkers had been removed from there to ensure hassle-free movement of pedestrians.

He warned against creating obstacles and said the capital would be made hawker-free in phases. l

Extremist leader killed in Satkhira ‘gunfight’ Correspondent, n Our Satkhira A local leader of an extremist group was killed in a “gunfight” with police at Tala upazila in Satkhira early yesterday.

Purba Bangla Communist Party’s Mozaffar Sana was accused in a dozen cases including murder, robbery, mugging, possession of illegal arms and extortion in Satkhira and Naogaon.

Police said they recovered a gun, several rounds of ammunition and a motorcycle from the spot after the gunbattle in

the early hours yesterday at Magura union.

In a late night statement, police said one of their patrols, led by Tala police OC Chhagir Mia, signalled a motorcycle to stop at Chara Bottola.

But the rider hurled two improvised bombs at police and opened fire, injuring two policemen and forcing the law enforcers to retaliate.

The gunfight left Mozaffar injured.

Police said they had rushed the injured to Tala Upazila Health Complex, where doctors pronounced Mozaffar dead. l

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The budget and outlook for banks, capital markets, and NBFIs A good policy applied for too long is just a bad policy n Sajid Amit The National Budget for FY17 has generated widespread media attention and analysis from leading think-tanks, civil society organisations, and academics. Tax revenue generation, ADP expenditure targets and allocation, prioritisation of sectors, implementation challenges, social and environmental orientation, pro-poor provisions, have all received reasonable coverage, and more will surely follow.

Hence, in the interest of brevity and focus, this article will consider one dimension of the macro economy -- outlook for banks, capital markets, and NBFIs. Our banking sector, for anyone who has paid attention, has seen better days. There are problems with poor asset quality of stateowned banks, and despite falling interest rates, the sector is faced with a slowdown in demand for large industrial loans. While there is sufficient liquidity in the sector, the liquidity is yet to translate into investment in meaningful sectors.

This problem of weak demand is echoed in the capital markets where there is low appetite among retail investors for stocks, compounded by a low supply of high quality stocks. No significant IPOs are confirmed to be in the offing.

Although the Bangladesh Bank has hoped to encourage banks to invest capital in stocks through their subsidiary merchant banks and brokerage firms, it has not yet happened, despite the low returns banks are generating from disbursing loans.

Meanwhile, the mutual funds and insurance sector are both at an embryonic stage. After the shortlived interest in the mutual funds sector in 2010, there has been no notable interest among investors in this sector, of late. With regard to insurance, both life insurance and non-life insurance products have far lower penetration rates in Bangladesh than in regional peers.

So, what guidance can one expect in terms of development of the aforementioned sectors as far as the National Budget is concerned?

With regard to the banking

Where should our government invest?

There needs to be fresh discussion and guidance on the Insurance Corporation Act and the National Insurance Policy 2014. Pension funds and the insurance sector are integral to deepening our financial markets and increasing circulation of money

sources of foreign debt. This will relieve pressure on local banks from the “crowding out” effect and also be less expensive for the government to service, since foreign loan interest rates are 5-6 times lower than local rates.

With regard to the capital markets, DSE and CSE, the two bourses of the country had requested for an extension of tax exemption for another three years and reduction of turnover tax on the bourse’s member houses.

However, point to be noted is that the government had already waived taxes for two years and there has been no fresh tax imposed on the markets, despite the need to widen the tax bracket.

Whether the final version of the

sector, the budget has allocated Tk2,000 crore for investment for recapitalisation of state banks. This is a lower number than the allocation in the previous year’s budget, which is a good sign. While it is debatable whether this is a high enough or too high an amount, the fact remains that low quality assets in some of the country’s largest banks is worrisome for any central bank and by extension, the state.

Then there is the matter of reliance on borrowing from domestic sources to finance the budget deficit. Although government borrowing is not expected to increase significantly in FY17, estimates suggest that it may go up in FY1819. Therefore, as posited by CPD, it would be important to tap into

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budget reconsiders the bourses’ request remains to be seen.

Among the reform measures indicated in the Budget FY17, the implementation of a Pension Fund Management Authority is highlighted as ongoing and this needs to be enacted soon. The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority has already been implemented.

However, there needs to be fresh discussion and guidance on the Insurance Corporation Act and the National Insurance Policy 2014.

Pension funds and the insurance sector are integral to deepening our financial markets and increasing circulation of money.

It is also important that capital markets stake-holders recommend Khulna

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TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:10AM

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23.3ºC Tetulia

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meaningful policies to the finance minister to develop the bond market and mutual funds sector. In fact, mutual funds can contribute to bond market development given the former’s long-term investment strategies.

Interestingly, if bond markets are underdeveloped, both pension funds and insurance companies are forced to hold short-term securities, which do not correspond to the liability side of their balance sheet, in turn, exposing them to maturity mismatches. Therefore, developing the bond market has the impact of developing the pension funds sector and the insurance sector.

The policy experiences of Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore may be relevant for Bangladesh. All three countries have highly developed financial markets, large bond markets, and high saving rates.

Although liquidity is not currently a problem in the banking sector, banking sector penetration and savings rates are still low in Bangladesh and among the lowest regionally.

Mobile banking can and will help in increasing banking sector penetration, but it is also important to encourage thrift and savings in a growth economy. Singapore, some 60 years ago, had employed direct measures to enforce thrift, via the establishment of a mandatory savings scheme through the Central Provident Fund. The point to be noted is that a culture of savings is also important to communicate to citizens while other policies for financial sector development are enacted.

It is possible that the revised final budget for FY17 will encompass more guidance for the financial sector at large, considering its importance to private investments, business growth, job creation, poverty alleviation, and the economy. Agility in policy-making is important in order to actualise our growth aspirations. In a growing economy, it must be remembered that a bad policy is often a good policy applied for too long. l Sajid Amit is Director, Center for Enterprise & Society, ULAB Sylhet

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Fajr: 3:49am | Zohr: 1:15pm Asr: 5:15pm | Magrib: 6:59pm Esha: 8:45pm Source: Islamic Foundation

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Illegal battery-run vehicles plying in Kushtia defying ban n Kudrote Khuda Sobuj, Kushtia Hundreds of unauthorised battery-run three wheeled vehicles have flooded the district town and adjoining areas of Kushtia.

These vehicles are of two types – motor rickshaws and easy bikes.

The motor-rickshaws are similar to ordinary paddle rickshaws, but it is powered by four rechargeable batteries. The easy-bikes, however, look like CNG-run auto-rickshaws but are powered by five rechargeable batteries.

Sources at the Local Power Development Board said that each

of the auto-bikes, which needs to be charged eight hours daily, consumes 7-8 units of electricity whereas a motor-rickshaw consumes around 2-3 units daily.

The cost of charging 500 such vehicles with more than 2,400 units of electricity daily amounts to Tk10,000 per day.

According to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority rules and regulations, all motor vehicles need six different types of documents to ply on the roads.

These motor-rickshaws and easy-bikes appear to have none of the necessary documents but

around 300 easy-bikes and 200 motor-rickshaws are regularly seen on the roads.

The owners’ association for the motor-rickshaws allegedly have to bribe the police to run the vehicles without legal repercussions.

Sources said that a motor-rickshaw owner has to pay police Tk300 per month.

These vehicles are cheap and are turning a fast profit because a trip to Mazampur gate from Chorhas, a rickshaw charges Tk20 while an easy-bike takes only Tk5 and a motor-rickshaw takes around Tk15.

A cottage industry of servicing

these vehicles and charging stations have emerged in the locality although residents complain that they use the electricity connections illegally.

The local BRTA has not conducted a single drive against the vehicles even though it is their responsibility.

Meanwhile, the PDB officials here admitted that they incur losses from the illegal consumption of electricity by these vehicles.

Police, however, denied taking bribes from the illegal vehicles but admitted that some vehicles are plying on the town roads without a license. l

Jubo League man stabbed to death in Pabna n UNB, Pabna

An activist of local unit Jubo League was stabbed to death by unidentified miscreants at Library Bazar on Thursday night.

Locals said Rajib Chowdhury, had an altercation with some youths in the area over a trifling matter around 8:30pm.

Being informed, Rajib’s elder brother Munna Chowdhury, 31, went to the spot and tried to settle the matter. At one stage, the youths stabbed Munna indiscriminately, leaving him critically injured.

Later, he was rushed to Pabna General Hospital where the doctors declared him dead. l

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School still honouring Pakistani ex-premier Islam Swapan, n Saiful Lakshmipur Forty-five years since the independence of Bangladesh, there is still a school in Lakshmipur’s Raipur upazila that is named after former Pakistani prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan – who was one of the main proponents against Bangla as a state language for the then undivided Pakistan.

The LM – or Liaquat Memorial – Pilot Model High School in Keroa village, near the Raipur-Chandpur Road, was named after the first Pakistani premier in 1947.

Over the following 69 years, the

name has not been changed, despite protests from freedom fighters and other locals. School authorities, however, claim that the Liaquat mentioned in the school name is not the Pakistani ex-premier but the name of a local zamindar.

According to locals, the school was originally set up in 1903.

Mosammat Zebunnesa Chowdhurani, the wife of zamindar Munsi Mohammad Monohar Mia, established the school in her own house to bring literacy to the area.

The school was then moved to different locations before Zebunnesa’s son Emdad Ali Chowdhury brought to it to its current location

in 1911 and renamed it as George Coronation High School – in honour of the then British king George V. Following Emdad’s death, his son zamindar Gaznafar Ali Chowdhury in 1947 renamed school after the erstwhile Pakistani premier Liaquat Ali Khan.

Over the years, the school grew in size and was declared a pilot school during former president Ziaur Rahman’s rule in 1977; it was declared a model school in 2008 during the tenure of the previous caretaker government.

Through all the changes, one thing remained constant – the name that honoured Liaquat Ali Khan.

Freedom fighter Nizam Uddin Pathan said that Liaquat Ali had acted against the public demand for the status of Bangla as a state language. The agitations finally led to the Language Movement of 1952.

Naming an educational institution after him in an independent Bangladesh cannot be acceptable at all, he said, adding that all local freedom fighters demand that the school’s name be changed immediately.

However, the school’s governing body’s president, Mohammad Shahjahan, claimed that the school was actually not named after the Pakistani leader, but in memory of

a local zamindar named Liakat Ali who had donated the school’s land.

But Shahjahan’s claim was disputed by upazila Awami League President Mamunur Rashid, who said the school was indeed named after the Pakistani politician.

Saying Raipur never had any zamindar called Liakat Ali, Mamunur said it was zamindar Gaznafar Ali Chowdhury who donated the land for the school.

Asked for clarification about the school’s naming, Upazila Secondary Education Officer Kamal Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune that he was new to his post and did not know about the origin of the name. l

‘BNP tarnishes country’s image’ n Ahad Chowdhury Tuhin, Bhola Awami League Presidium Member and Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday said BNP-Jamaat alliance would like to tarnish our country’s image through target killing abroad.

He made this at a discussion as the chief guest with Awami Legue activists at his residence at Gazipur road in Bhola with Upazila AL President and Upazila Chairman Mosharraf Hossain in the chair.

Members of CHT Writers and Activists Forum form a human chain in front of National Museum in Shahbagh, Dhaka yesterday demanding justice for Kalpana Chakma, the CHT rights activist who was abducted 20 years ago RAJIB DHAR

Fear of losing dwellings ignites Khasia people Correspondent, n Our Moulvibazar

People living in Khasia Palli in Moulvibazar are fearing eviction as district administration has recently asked them to leave their ancestral dwellings by 12 June.

A notice signed by Additional Deputy Commissioner (revenue) Prokash Kanti Chowdhury said people of the Naharpunji 1 and Naharpunji 2 had been illegally living on government’s land as well as producing betel leaf there.

The notice issued on May 30 said the district administration had taken a decision to free government from illegal occupation following two reports prepared by Srimngal upzila nirbahi officer and assistant commissioner (land).

The reports said the total amount of land is 150 acres.

The notice also warned

people of the two villages of eviction in presence of executive magistrate if they do not leave their dwellings by June 12.

Dibarmin Potam, a resident of Naharpunjo 1 said: “We have been in panic of eviction since we got the notice. A large number of people do not know where they will go. We do not know what to do to face the upcoming uncertainty.

“The notice said about betel leaf cultivation, but we have been farming the leaf on the last for last 50 years.” Is betel leaf cultivation is illegal in the country?”

Forty families have been paying tax to local union parishad since 1982. Livelihood of 250 people of the locality depends on betel leaf cultivation. People who have been living on the land for long filed a case in 2012 claiming

ownership of it, but verdict of the case is yet to come.

He said: “The case is under trail, but there was no mention about the case in the notice which the district administration has issued recently.”

Perli Surang, a resident of Naharpunji 2, said: “We have been going through uncertainty since we got the notice.

We have been living in the locality for decades. How the district admiistration served such notice when a case over the ownership of the two villages is still under trail?”

Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) (revenue) Prokash Kanti Chowdhury said he had issued notice following the UNO and assistant commissioner’s reports and he was not aware of any case.

“If there any case remains pending at court, we will take measures according to the existing law. l

“BNP Chief Begum Khaleda Zia is suffering from severe depression as she has become isolated by not participating in the last general election. For her uncertain future and isolation, she has broken down to such an extent that his mental condition is now unstable, so the party wants to tarnish the country’s image abroad”, he also said.

Even, in Union Parisad poll, BNP could not nominate its good candidates. So the party’s leaders and workers have lost interest, he continued. l

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SOUTH ASIA

Obama approves more aggressive Taliban fight President Barack Obama has ordered the US military to take on the resurgent Taliban more directly -- in tandem with Afghan allies. A US official, who asked not to be named, sketched plans to provide more close air support and to accompany Afghan forces on the battlefield.

-AFP

INDIA

5 Indian men given life for gang-rape of Danish tourist

Five Indian men were sentenced to life in prison on Friday for raping a Danish tourist in the heart of New Delhi’s tourist district in 2014. The men, all in their twenties, were found guilty by a Delhi court on Monday for robbing and raping the 52-year old Dane at a secluded spot close to New Delhi railway station.

-REUTERS

CHINA

Protesters deliver big petition against China dog-meat festival

Animal rights activists calling for an end to the slaughter and eating of dogs at a Chinese festival delivered a petition with 11m signatures to authorities in Beijing on Friday.

The two dozen activists were accompanied by dogs and unveiled banners with pictures of the animals above the message “I’m not your dinner” as they presented the petition at the representative office of Yulin city, where the festival is held. The annual festival is set to begin on June 21.

-REUTERS

ASIA PACIFIC

S Korea, UN join patrols to halt illegal Chinese fishing South Korea and the UN Command, which overseas the Korean War armistice, said on Friday they had begun a joint operation to keep Chinese fishing vessels from operating illegally off the west coast. The move comes after South Korean fishermen used rope to impound two Chinese trawlers this month and handed them over to authorities.

-REUTERS

MIDDLE EAST

Baghdad bombings kill 25 Kurdish rebel group TAK claims Istanbul bombing

Militant Kurdish group the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) on Friday claimed a car bombing in the centre of Istanbul that killed 11 people. The TAK said Tuesday’s attack was revenge for operations by the Turkish army in the Kurdish-dominated southeast.

-AFP

Pakistani family seeks justice for US drone strike victim Cabbie Mohammed Azam was a collateral victim of a US drone strike, when his taxicab was hit by a Hellfire missile with deceased Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour on board

n Tribune International Desk Pakistan's government met senior US officials Friday to discuss the fallout from a May 21 drone attack that killed Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour, while the family of the taxi driver who died alongside Mansour demanded justice.

Peter Lavoy, head of Washington's South Asia desk at the National Security Council and Richard Olson, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, met with Pakistani civilian and military leaders in the first high level exchange since the drone strike, according to Pakistan's Foreign Ministry.

In a statement following their meeting, Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan's special adviser on foreign affairs, said the discussions were candid.

According to the statement, the two sides restated their positions.

Pakistan affirmed that the drone strike breached its sovereignty and compromised an already stalled Afghan peace process; and the United States reiterated its accusation that Pakistan is providing safe havens for the Taliban in Pakistan.

At the time of the drone attack, Mansour was travelling with a Pakistani passport and identity card, infuriating the US and Afghanistan who said this was proof of the ease with which Taliban fighters are travelling throughout Pakistan.

Mansour's taxi driver, Mohammed Azam, was also killed in the

DRONE STRIKE IN PAKISTAN SINCE 2004 Total strikes

424

Strike during Obama regime

373

Total killed

2,499-4,001

Civilians killed

425-967

Children killed

172-207

Injured

1,161-1,744

A taxicab is seen on fire at the site of a drone strike that killed Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar, 25km east of Pakistan’s Quetta on May 21 REUTERS attack. His family said they were outraged that they have not yet received an apology from the US or recognition of Azam's innocence.

As a result, they have gone to the police, demanding justice.

In the police report, his elder brother Qasim said Mohammad Azam was innocent of any crime.

He said Mohammad was not aware of the identity of his passenger and demanded that the police and local Baluchistan provin-

cial government officials conduct an investigation to identify the culprits. He called for "justice."

The police complaint doesn't define what form that justice should take, but in a handwritten note at the bottom of the complaint one local official wrote that he had begun an investigation.

In a telephone interview from his home in the town of Taftan, close to the Iranian border, Qasim said it was just his bad luck

that his brother's final passenger turned out to be the Taliban chief, Qasim said.

It had been a morning like every other for Azam, recalled his brother. Azam's first passenger of the day had just walked across the border from Iran — which wasn't unusual. Hundreds of people cross daily between Iran and Pakistan at Taftan.

He was told to take the bushy bearded Pashtun to Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's largest and least populated province of Baluchistan, some 650km away.

What Azam wasn't told, and what he didn't know, was that his passenger was the Taliban chief and that US drones had been tracking him.

They had just reached Ahmadwal, about 25km from Quetta, when the US drone slammed into his vehicle. Azam and his Taliban passenger died instantly. His car was reduced to a smoldering wreck.

Qasim said he received a call from local police forces in the afternoon informing him that his brother was dead and telling him to come and collect the body. It wasn't until he arrived at the hospital in Quetta that he was told how his brother died.

Qasim said his brother had never had any affiliation with the Taliban. Qasim also sought both the Pakistan and US government to recognise his brother's innocence and financially compensate the family for their loss. l

Resistance to India joining nuclear suppliers group softens n Reuters, Vienna A US-led push for India to join a club of countries controlling access to sensitive nuclear technology made some headway on Thursday as several opponents appeared more willing to work towards a compromise, but China remained defiant.

The 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) aims to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons by restricting the sale of items that can be used to make those arms. It was set up in response to India's first nuclear test in 1974.

India already enjoys most of the benefits of membership under a 2008 exemption to NSG rules

granted to support its nuclear cooperation deal with Washington, even though India has developed atomic weapons and never signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the main global arms control pact.

But China on Thursday maintained its position that the Non-Proliferation Treaty is central to the NSG, diplomats said.

The handful of other nations resisting India's admission to the group, including South Africa, New Zealand and Turkey, softened their stance somewhat, opening the door to a process under which non-NPT states such as India might join, diplomats said.

"There's movement, including

towards a process, but we'd have to see what that process would look like," one diplomat said after the closed-door talks on Thursday aimed at preparing for an annual NSG plenary meeting in Seoul later this month.

Opponents argue that granting India membership would further undermine efforts to prevent proliferation. It would also infuriate India's rival Pakistan, an ally of China's, which has responded to India's membership bid with one of its own.

Pakistan joining would be unacceptable to many, given its track record. The father of its nuclear weapons programme ran an illicit network for years that sold nucle-

ar secrets to countries including North Korea and Iran.

"By bringing India on board, it's a slap in the face of the entire non-proliferation regime," a diplomatic source from a country resisting India's bid said.

Washington has been pressuring hold-outs, and Thursday's meeting was a chance to see how strong opposition is.

Most of the hold-outs argue that if India is to be admitted, it should be under criteria that apply equally to all states rather than under a "tailor-made" solution for a US ally.

Mexico's president said on Wednesday his country now backs India's membership bid. l

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USA

Q&A

How will UK's EU referendum vote count work on the night? a European Parliamentary election can vote.

12 DAYS TO GO When will results come?

Registering to vote

Votes will be counted by hand starting as soon as polls close at 2100 GMT. Each of 382 local counting areas will tally the number of ballot papers cast and announce local turnout figures (including spoiled ballots and postal votes) in each of the areas. The British Electoral Commission watchdog has estimated that most turnout announcements at counting-area level will come between 2230 GMT on June 23 and 0130 GMT on June 24.

The last turnout figure is expected at around 0400 GMT. Then each area will count the votes and announce totals for “Remain” and “Leave” in each of the 382 areas. The majority of counting areas are expected to declare between around 0100 and 0300 on June 24. The last declaration is expected around 0600. These local totals will be collated into totals for 12 regions, and then a final, national, result. The final result will be announced in Manchester by Jenny Watson, who is the Chief Counting Officer.

Britain extended the voter registration period for the referendum to midnight on June 9 after a late surge in applications crashed a key website shortly before the original June 7 midnight deadline.

When can people vote?

Polling stations open at 0600 on June

Can the count and vote be challenged?

23 and close at 2100.

Will there be an exit poll?

There are currently no plans by broadcasters for an exit poll as the margin of error is deemed to be too large.

The question Voters will be given one piece of paper with the question: "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?" They will be asked to put a cross beside either: "Remain a member of the European Union and "Leave the European Union"

Who can vote?

All those who are entitled to vote in a UK parliamentary general election can vote in the referendum, including British, Irish and qualifying Commonwealth citizens over the age of 18 who are resident in the UK. UK nationals resident overseas who have appeared on a parliamentary election register in the past 15 years will also have the right to vote, as will Irish citizens who were born in Northern Ireland and registered to vote in Northern Ireland in the last 15 years. In addition, peers and citizens of Gibraltar who were able to vote at

The electoral commission says this: "The referendum rules do not provide for a national recount to be carried out in any circumstances. Any request for a recount of votes will be at local count level and is for the Counting Officer to determine. We expect local recounts to be granted if a specific issue has been identified with the process in that counting area, rather than simply when the local totals are close.

"The national referendum result is only subject to challenge by way of judicial review. An application for judicial review would need to be lodged within six weeks of the certification that is being challenged being made."

Source: Reuters

Democrats searching unity after confirming Clinton's nomination n Tribune International Desk Nearing the end of a lengthy primary fight, Democrats are coalescing around Hillary Clinton's presidential bid and looking to reunite the party through a carefully orchestrated plan aimed at nudging rival Bernie Sanders to make his exit.

President Barack Obama's endorsement of his former secretary of state on Thursday headlined a day of unity for Democrats as the party prepares for Republican Donald Trump. Amid the message of harmony, Sanders crisscrossed the nation's capital and received praise in meetings with Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Democratic leaders.

Democrats are wary that divisions that emerged between Clinton and Sanders during the primaries might spill out during next month's Democratic National Convention or provide an opening to Trump, who is on course to be-

The campaigns for Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders were working on Sunday out of the same union hall in Santa Fe last week AP come the Republican nominee. So unity has become Job 1 in the party.

Biden and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren joined that effort Thursday evening, both endorsing Clinton and signaling to many of Sanders' supporters that it's time to unite around the party's presumptive nominee.

Warren, the progressive stalwart, who has been positioning herself as one of Trump's tough-

est adversaries, had been the only holdout among the Senate's Democratic women. But she said she would do all that she can to prevent Trump from getting "any place close to the White House."

In his long-expected endorsement, delivered via an online video, Obama pointed to Clinton's grit and determination but also called for "embracing" Sanders' economic message, which has galvanised

liberals and independents.

Trump responded to Obama's endorsement by tweeting: "Obama just endorsed Crooked Hillary.

He wants four more years of Obama — but nobody else does!"

The Clinton campaign tweeted back, "Delete Your Account."

While Sanders stopped short of endorsing Clinton, he told reporters he planned to press for his issues — rather than victory — at the party's convention and he would meet with Clinton in the near future to discuss ways they could work together to defeat Trump.

Clinton declared victory over Sanders on Tuesday, having captured the number of delegates needed to become the first female nominee from a major party.

Obama's endorsement and Sanders' visit were the public culmination of that work. Leaders on the Hill underscored Obama's message. The party's delicate handling of the Vermont senator reflected Sanders supporters' deep distrust of the Democratic establishment and its meddling in the primary. l

US House passes Puerto Rico debt relief bill Following months of internal wrangling, the US House of Representatives, on Thursday passed legislation creating a federal control board to help Puerto Rico cope with crippling debt that is wreaking havoc throughout the island’s economy. By a vote of 297-127, the House approved the bill, sending it to the Senate for consideration. -REUTERS

THE AMERICAS

Suspended Brazil president calls for referendum on early polls Brazil’s suspended President Dilma Rousseff is calling for a referendum on whether to hold early elections if she survives removal from office in an impeachment trial that is expected to conclude in August.

Under the Brazilian electoral timetable, presidential elections are scheduled every four years, with the next due in 2018. Rousseff ’s proposal for early elections, which are not provided for by the Constitution, is seen by many political analysts as a way out of Brazil’s political crisis.

-REUTERS

UK

German finance minister: Brexit would shut UK out of single market German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned Friday that if Britain voted to leave the European Union, it wouldn’t have access to the single market like non-members Norway and Switzerland do. If a majority of Britons opt for a Brexit in the June 23 referendum, it will shut the nation out of the single market with its free movement of people, goods and services, Schaeuble said. -AFP

EUROPE

Sweden agrees to continue nuclear power Sweden’s left-wing government struck a deal with the opposition Friday to continue nuclear power for the foreseeable future, backtracking on its pledge to phase out atomic energy. The government coalition, made up of the Social Democrats and the Greens, had agreed in October 2014 to freeze nuclear energy development, while the opposition has been in favour of building new reactors.

-AFP

AFRICA

Niger Delta Avengers claims fresh oil attack A Niger delta militant group on Friday claimed a fresh attack on a pipeline operated by the Nigerian subsidiary of Italy’s Eni in the restive oil-producing south. There was no immediate confirmation of the attack from Eni. -AFP

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INSIGHT

On southwestern fringe, China's Silk Road ambitions face obstacles n Reuters, Kunming/Vientiane For the southwestern city of Kunming, China's plan to extend a high-speed rail link 3,000km south to Singapore is already a boon: pristine expressways, a gleaming station and something of a real estate boom, as young buyers crowd property showrooms.

In Laos, work has yet to start on what should be the first overseas leg of a rail line stretching throughout Southeast Asia. The country, one of the region's poorest, could struggle to finance even part of the $7bn cost and has yet to agree financial terms with China.

From Laos, the railway would enter Thailand. But Beijing's negotiations have soured there as well, in part over financing, adding to a growing headache for China and highlighting the sort of problems Beijing may face as it develops its economic highways beyond Southeast Asia and across Asia under its "One Belt, One Road" project.

The ambitious plan to build land, sea and air routes reaching across the continent and beyond was announced by President Xi Jinping in 2013 with the aim of boosting trade by $2.5tn in the next decade. As China's economic growth slows, Beijing is encouraging its companies to win new markets overseas.

But across the Southeast Asia border, China is facing the most complex and possibly most significant obstacles to its ambitions, as its neighbours protest what they say are excessive Chinese demands and unfavourable financing conditions.

They have resisted Chinese demands for the rights to develop the land either side of the railway.

Beijing says turning a profit on land development would make the rest of the project more commercially

A view of the construction site of the new Kunming South Railway Station at Chenggong District of Kunming in China's Yunnan province REUTERS viable and allow it to make a greater upfront financial commitment.

Myanmar, in addition, had environmental concerns and cancelled its part of the project in 2014.

For China, Southeast Asia's concerns are "going to be the first significant hurdle as they implement One Belt, One Road," said Peter Cai, a research fellow at Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney.

China's foreign ministry and the Export-Import Bank of China did not respond to requests for comment.

Land-linked

In 2013, all signs pointed to fast completion of the Laos leg. Leaders from both countries agreed to speed up construction - China offered

Cars park on a dirt road leading up to the new Kunming South Railway Station at Chenggong District of Kunming in China's Yunnan province REUTERS

to loan most of the project funds.

In November, construction on the line's terminus in Kunming began.

The RMB2.1bn ($325 million) high-speed rail station in Kunming is now months from opening. Yet, there is no action in Vientiane despite an elaborate groundbreaking ceremony in December.

Without significant help from China, Laos lacks the financial muscle for the project, diplomats said.

It is unclear why China, which has been vying with Vietnam for influence in Laos, could not offer terms acceptable to Vientiane.

Both countries are invested politically in the scheme. China aims to increase its reach and influence in Southeast Asia and Laos says it wants to turn its country into one that is land-linked, rather than landlocked.

"There were very high-ranking dignitaries from both sides at the signing," said a Western diplomat in Vientiane. "Most people believe it will cost more than $7bn, and Laos is struggling to even finance $2bn of that."

The Laos government did not respond to a request for comment for this story. Diplomats though say the inaction reflected an internal Communist Party rift over how the negotiations with China were handled.

They said a shock decision in January by the politburo to exclude Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad from the top decision-making body in part indicated

concern at senior levels that the deal's terms were too favourable for China.

Somsavat had led negotiations on China-related projects and had faced internal criticism for being too pro-Chinese.

"The terms were good for Laos," Somsavat said. Construction was delayed because Laos was still "researching some details" and because of local opposition of land issues.

Holding the ground-breaking ceremony on December 2 last year also raised eyebrows in the leadership because the date clashed with celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Laos People's Democratic Republic, diplomats said.

With Somsavat out of the government "moves internally by the Laos government have been to renegotiate the terms of this rail agreement," a diplomat said.

Unrealistic

China has offered at least $30bn in loans and credit lines for projects.

Zhao Jian, transportation professor at the Beijing Jiaotong University, said China offers concessionary loans of between 2% and 7%, so any country pushing for cheaper loans was being "unrealistic".

Still, infrastructure projects like these need to be subsidised, said Kamalkant Agarwal, the head of commercial banking at Thailand's Siam Commercial Bank.

"You can build these projects if

you have a government or Santa Claus to pay for it," he said. "But otherwise, making these projects profitable is a huge challenge."

After failing to bridge gaps on financing, investment and costs, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at a meeting in Hainan in March that Thailand would go it alone on financing and for now build only part of the project. The Thai line would stop well short of the Laos border.

"They will have to invest more because this is a strategic route that will benefit China," Thai Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said earlier this year. Thailand refused Chinese requests to develop land along the railway route.

"I have said since day one with China, that there will be no offer on land rights," Arkhom said.

Thai finance ministry sources said the country could secure funds from Japan at much lower rates. Japan is Thailand's biggest investor but also a country jostling with a more assertive China for influence across Asia, so Beijing would be wary of this idea.

"The ministry does not want to be condemned for borrowing an expensive loan compared with other options to support this project," said a Thai finance ministry official who attended some negotiations with China.

Some Chinese local officials, for their part, see the delays as Southeast Asian dithering.

"We are the face to Southeast Asia," said Sun Xiaoqiang, vice-director of the Kunming Investment Promotion Board. "Of course, we all hope they will build faster."

Big gap

The gap between China and Southeast Asia is clearest on the streets of Vientiane and Kunming.

Hundreds of Chinese firms operate in Laos, including Wan Feng Shanghai Real Estate Company, which is building a $1.6bn project to supply Chinese expatriates with condominiums and shopping centres.

But the Laotian government has invested little in new rail and roads.

Billions of dollars have poured into Kunming, including the district surrounding the new rail station - described by the World Bank six years ago as a "ghost town".

"One Belt, One Road is good for Kunming," said Jin, a teacher, who only wanted to give his surname. "(Those countries) have a lot of issues over politics and governance. China is ready, but Southeast Asia isn't." l

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Taliban gains in Afghanistan threaten US reconstruction effort n Reuters, Washington, DC The United States has wasted billions of dollars in reconstruction aid to Afghanistan over the past decade, and now a renewed Taliban insurgency is threatening the gains that have been made, the US government’s top watchdog on Afghanistan said.

“The bottom line is too much has been wasted in Afghanistan.

Too much money was spent in too small a country with too little oversight,” John Sopko said. “And if the security situation continues to deteriorate, even areas where money was spent wisely and gains were made, could be jeopardised.”

The nearly $113bn Congress has appropriated for reconstruction since 2001, when US-led forces

invaded the country and toppled the Taliban regime, has long been plagued by corruption, waste and mismanagement, according to a series of reports from Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (Sigar).

Appointed by President Barack Obama, Sopko has led the watchdog agency for nearly four years.

He said the planned drawdown of US troops could compound the reconstruction effort’s problems and add to the amount that already has been wasted, which he estimated is in the billions of dollars.

According to Sopko’s latest report, issued in April, US reconstruction funding for Afghanistan includes projects for programmes to combat the drug trade, build electric power lines, develop new industries, im-

Power shovels remove debris from a burned down a home for asylum seekers and migrants in Duesseldorf on Wednesday REUTERS

Fight over fasting led to blaze at German refugee centre n Reuters, Berlin Residents of a refugee centre in the German city of Duesseldorf set their shelter alight after a fight among Muslim refugees over Ramadan meals, a prosecutor said on Friday, in an incident that is likely to increase unease among anti-immigrant groups.

On Tuesday a fire ripped through the accommodation that was home to around 280 refugees on the site of Duesseldorf’s trade fair. All residents were brought to safety but 24 suffered from smoke poisoning.

Ralf Herrenbrueck, senior public prosecutor in Duesseldorf, said there had been disputes among Muslims living in the home over how to celebrate Ramadan before the blaze broke out.

“There are two groups -- one group wants to follow it strictly and so only eat when it’s dark while the other group wants to eat at normal times -- for example because there are also pregnant women there,” he said.

Herrenbrueck said the Red Cross, which is running the home, had decided to provide a basic lunch and only distribute warm food late in the evening, causing the group of Muslims that did not want to follow Ramadan strictly to complain since it started on June 6.

“They threatened that they would do something if this didn’t change and when there was no warm food at lunchtime again on Tuesday, the arson happened,” he said.

Five migrants were detained but three have since been released because they could not be directly linked to the fire, he said.

Criminal police are investigating a 24-year-old Syrian, two Moroccans aged 18 and 26 and two Algerian men aged 16 and 26, police said in a statement. l

prove the banking and legal systems and modernize agriculture, which the report says “employs more than 50% of the labor force”.

The $113bn reconstruction fund has been plagued by corruption and mismanagement While he declined to comment on how many American troops he thinks should remain in Afghanistan, his new warning could increase the pressure on Obama to reconsider his timeline for reducing the US force in Afghanistan from about 9,800 today to 5,500 by the time he leaves office in January.

Last week, more than a dozen retired US generals and diplomats urged Obama to maintain the current level of troops in Afghanistan, warning that a reduction would undercut the morale of Afghan government forces and bolster the Taliban.

Nearly $951m- less than 1% - of the aid money has been saved in “restitution, fines, forfeitures, recoveries, savings, civil settlements,” and between 2015 and 2016, 107 people and companies have been barred from doing business with the US government for contractor misconduct, Sopko’s office said.

“Our agency wasn’t created until half the money or more was spent,” Sopko said.

About 60% of the $113bn Congress has appropriated has gone to train and equip Afghan security

forces. However, how effectively Afghan forces can fight the Taliban remains a big question, Sopko said, and if the security situation deteriorates further, it could threaten the ability of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s government to provide services to citizens.

“If we can’t get out there ... we can’t see if the troops are getting shoes, or getting bullets, or getting grenades, or getting paid, and the security will have an impact on that,” Sopko said.

Still, US reconstruction money has helped Afghanistan make some strides in human development, according to experts and former senior US officials, and the US Agency for International Development said it is not concerned about the planned drawdown of US forces in Afghanistan. l

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Learn English

TONGUE TWISTERS Tongue twisters are difficult to say. How fast can you say it without making any mistakes?

Friendly fleas and fireflies.

Find lots more fun things to do at www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglishkids © British Council 2016

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SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

Ramadan: Understanding the matrix between Deen and Duniya n Shireen Pasha What sort of matrix are we living in where we have the rising of despot after despot who have the audacity to kill and oppress in the name of Allah? One in which you think you are powerless. Balance your inner life (Deen, sympathetic nervous system) with your outer life (Duniya, parasympathetic nervous system) and you will see the grid, the mis-information and the suggestology under which we are maintained. The House of Saud, Erdogan, ISIS - are they not all reflections of the Qurayshis who stepped on beloved Muhammad’s neck when he bowed down in prayer? It is all a game and we jump too quickly.

The forces at play have been on this plane too long. They are bored and they continue to turn humans into their game and prize.

Would you believe me if I told you that the forces, which caused the Jewish holocaust are the same forces that are causing the Muslim holocaust, the climate change holocaust? Become aware and you will have direct experience of the matrix.

We are a country of deeply loving people. Yes, we are poor.

Our men and women offer

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Ramadan Special

themselves as slaves in the Middle East in order to build concrete homes on sliding earth. There is very little we can do to at a gross level to topple the injustice they experience. But let us not forget, we have atomic hearts and minds (which become subatomic when breath and beat are combined) and a heritage of persistently seeking knowledge.

How can we forget Paharpur (one of the oldest international universities in the world)? From the knowledge of Buddha to Begum Rokeya - every moment of love and consciousness is embedded in our DNA - what we have inherited from our beloved mothers and fathers.

Our inheritance, once unleashed through our atomic minds (while continuing to balance our material life without mundane obsession) can topple any great tyrant, starting with the ones in our shadow (verily the most difficult).

This Ramadan, fast, meditate (even better in community), offer your namaz (even better in community) and care for your body, forgive yourself and others - unleash heart, your power. Who can stop you then? No one. Who can stop the tyrants? You. l

PHOTO: COURTESY

Caption of Indian Miniature from Wikipedia: Ibrahim Ibn Adham in meditation when Angels arrive bearing gifts. (718 – c. 782 / AH c. 100 – c. 165). He is one of the most prominent of the early ascetic Sufi saints.

The story of his conversion is one of the most celebrated in Sufi legend, as that of a prince renouncing his throne and choosing asceticism closely echoing the legend of Gautama Buddha, Sufi tradition ascribes to Ibrahim countless acts of righteousness, and his humble lifestyle, which contrasted sharply with his early life as the king of Balkh (itself an earlier center of Buddhism). As recounted by Abu Nu’aym, Ibrahim emphasised the importance of stillness and meditation for asceticism. Rumi extensively described the legend of Ibrahim in his Masnavi. The most famous of Ibrahim’s students is Shaqiq al-Balkhi (d. 810).

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Haleem: How Hyderabad cafes made a Muharram dish synonymous with Ramadan The city was changing and the restaurateurs wanted assured business for a month packaged haleem for parcels.

While most outlets stuck to one option, he began innovating.

Pista House was the first to create a vegetarian option, and it now boasts of a Jain version.

He has applied for a geographical indication status for their trademarked bestseller. Pista House has also tied up with the US Postal Department to make haleem available across Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas and St Johns in the US. The Pista House haleem is made from the best-of-breed goats, wheat, ghee, dry fruits and spices like dalchini, elachi, laung and shahzeera. Their success prompted other famous Hyderabadi brands like Paradise and Hyderabad House to convert a traditional fare into a big viable business. As a result, Hyderabadi Haleem is also available across the Middle East.

Which is the best?

n Sriram Karri When Aurangzeb undertook the conquest of the Deccan, his army was busy conquering the lands and subduing the Qutb Shahis. At the time, it was a customised Arab dish that travelled out from the cantonments, winning the hearts of the people of Hyderabad and creating a legacy. It was called harisah, harissa or harees.

Even today, most popular anecdotes in Hyderabad credit the haleem or the harissa to the Alamgir, though history points to the Yemenis in the army of Bahadur Shah, the Sultan of Gujarat in the 16th century, for first serving it to Hyderabad Nizams.

Either way, it was a pure-play soldier dish.

The alchemy started with the slaughter of lambs – the skull and breasts were cooked as nihari, while the meat, mixed with wheat, lentils or cereals and sometimes sweetened with jaggery, was cooked for eight-odd hours. What magic got produced was eaten together as a community. Already a heavy dish, it was made richer over time by adding dry fruits and ghee.

That’s the creation we also see today. Unlike today, however, it was not a traditional Ramadan dish.

Camel, emu variants

“It was a dish that was consumed during Muharram,” said Ashar Farhan, cultural curator of Lamakaan, whose family has been in Hyderabad for generations. “It was a dish created to serve the energy needs of the soldier - like fiery mourners. It was cooked for hours, often for seven to eight, and hence the dish took the name of haleem – Persian for patience – but close to the Arabic harissa. Since it was never a domestic dish, it was cooked for large numbers of people; it was a dish associated with a special occasion.”

“It is a tough dish, though a delicacy,” Farhan further explained. “The richness of the dish and its appeal lies in it being cooked for hours, and beaten and mashed. It becomes like a rich paste, the spices and herbs used are thoroughly mixed with the wheat-flour and meat. It takes a tough stomach to digest it. It was also used as a starter in some wedding dawats over the decades.”

Despite being a traditional fare in a city which reveres both tradition and food, it has evolved, and its appeal has grown beyond the faithful. In Hyderabad’s Arab quarters of Barkas, where the descendants of the AfricanArabian tribes live, it is consumed with beef and retains the original name of harissa or harees. A few restaurants prepare a chicken variation called hareez, but the

chicken biryani loving city has never really taken to it in a big way.

Some variations have also used the camel, while emu meat

for alternatives. And so the haleem moved from Muharram to Ramadan, giving the outlets a month of assured business.

The most famous innovations

It was cooked for hours, often for seven to eight, and hence the dish took the name of haleem – Persian for patience – but close to the Arabic harissa

has become the most recent experiment. But most people don’t like anything except lamb.

Month-long business

The haleem as a Ramadan dish is not really an old tradition, says Farhan – it has been there only for a couple of decades. It was the changing lifestyle and economic growth of the city that put pressure on the city’s Irani cafes and they went searching

came from Pista House, now a brand became available globally.

Its proprietor, MA Majeed, has built a cult status for a dish which is available during the month of Ramadan in different variations in over 3,500 outlets – big and small. “My mother created our recipe, we kept it a secret,” he said, “but using best of business and technology practices, we took to spreading it.”

Majeed was the first to have

Building on the strength that Hyderabadi haleem is unique – because most break fast with softer food like fruits, dates and rice dishes like pulao and biryani – they began packing haleem and made it available at bus stations, railways stations and the airport for people to take it outstation.

With the growth of the city, Indians from all states who came and settled in Hyderabad began having the dish. Come Ramadan, Hyderabadis of all religions and states await the start of the haleem season.

While they wait, before the holy month begins, outlets set up ovens of clay and mud, stock wood and goats besides herbs and dry fruits.

Cooking happens over 12 hours, often pre-sunrise, and haleem starts getting served after Iftar prayers in the evening.

“It is amazing how it can be so different in different parts of the city and outlets,” said Rohit Lingineni, a Hyderabadi who is studying in Melbourne. “It is impossible to ascertain which is the best – and each one boasts of being number one. The only thing that can be claimed with certainty is that after biryani, Hyderabad’s biggest contribution to the culinary world is the haleem. And it is worth waiting for a year.”

Reprinted under special arrangement from Scroll.in

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Arts & Letters

A WEARY HISTORY –Rudro Mohammad Shahidullah

The path that everyone has taken for returning I shall not go down that path.

Listening to the sickening song of disintegration, getting all wet in the rain The broken raft of Behula shall return in the belief of birth.

What will I take along?

From the fancy city will I take the love of a sharp woman?

Booze, meat, a pair of lips giving composed laughter, and air-conditioned love?

What I will take along!

From the brick-built world will I take the corpses of rusted humans?

Black money, forgery, go-downs of potatoes, and this impotent politics?

Will I take them along?

Rabindranath is confined in the shelf, while some paddy sheaves are hanging from the drawing room wall.

Ah Bangladesh! You are hanging – my golden Bengal!

Like leftover bones, you are falling flat on your face at the table where a bunch of pseudo-intellectuals dine with ignoramus leaders.

I know it is I who will have to pay off this debt; it is I who will have to walk a thousand miles with this debris on his shoulder.

I shall return.

But the path everyone takes, with a smile over their face, in the company of dear ones, down that path I shall not return; that path is not mine – I shall return with blood, sweat and debris heaved upon my shoulders.

I shall not return beholding green rice fields through the window of a train Or listening to Bhatiali or Lalon songs; I shall not return with a chest full of love, or the lure of songs in silence.

I shall return shouldering blood, sweat and the debris of time Like the last soldier, all alone, I shall return – a weary history.

Translated by Rifat Munim

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Arts & Letters

TRIB

Unsteady dreams of a new inte n Naeem Mohaiemen A Bangla prize fight

Our first sighting of Ali is inside an airplane, in wide business class seats. He is looking out the window, although the flight is not near Bangladesh yet. A moment later, the stewardess serves him a glass of orange juice. The officious British narrator, journalist Mark Alexander, sits next to Ali and tells the audience that he has the privilege of “accompanying Muhammad Ali on this rare pilgrimage” (Massey: 1978, 11:04 mins, emphasis added)1. We could consider Ali’s Bangladesh trip as a time-traveling version of scholar Sohail Daulatzai’s concept of a roving “Muslim International” (a different concept from ummah, especially in its reliance on African American experiences). But the careful viewer will catch hints of how Ali’s position within this concept had changed, as the fiery and transformative political possibilities of the 1960s gave way to the reversals and defeats of the late 1970s.

Before we can think of all this, the grating narration (“Bangladesh lies to the south of China”) has carried us away to Ali’s first encounter with General Ziaur Rahman at the Banga Bhavan2.

A few moments later, an official presents Ali with a Bangladeshi passport, making him the “country’s newest citizen” (13:27).

The dialogue that ensues is instructive.

Official: “Here is a passport for you…”

Ali: “So I am a citizen of Bangladesh?”

Official: “Yes that’s right.”

Ali: “Can I use this all over the world?”

Official: “Yes, you can.”

Ali: “Thank you so much. Now, if they kick me out of America, I have another home. Thank you.”

(13:58) In that moment, I wanted the camera to pan back, so we could see the Bangladeshi officials’ startled facial expressions. Ali was positioning his new citizenship as an antidote to his fraught relationship with the United States, especially after his refusal to fight in Vietnam. However, he was enacting this moment in a country that had very recently shifted away from a Soviet tilt and much closer to an American axis – an arc that began as early as 1974, but accelerated from 1976.

Ali had not properly understood

the nature of the region he was visiting, still dreaming of a Muslim International as inheritor to the idea of a radical Third World. In Bangladesh, Ali was seen as a global athlete. The live telecast of two of his fights made him one of the first global figures to have wide recognition in the country3.

His earlier opposition to racism in America, and overseas empires was largely not understood inside Bangladesh. Even if they had been, that position would not have fitted the distinct “tilt” Bangladesh had gone through by 1978.

Elsewhere, Muhammad Ali was a public figure who broke with the idea of loyalty to America, placing himself within a Muslim International, as when he told the listener: “I belong to the world, the black world. I’ll always have a home in Pakistan, in Algeria, in Ethiopia.”

(Mike Marqusee: Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties. Verso Books, 2005.)

While Ali used the term “black,” he gestured at Pakistan, and later visited Bangladesh. He was aligning himself with a force outside America, something he repeats after receiving his Bangladesh passport. Black here was an isomorphism for an intersection between Third World and Muslim world. Elsewhere, “Black Britain” was already in use to describe the alliance of Asian and Black migrants against the common enemy of British racism. Ali was indicating a wider possibility, the black experience as entry point into a Muslim experience, and vice versa.

But Ali’s travels, and his fellow travelers, of the 1970s were sometimes at odds with this earlier position. The Vietnam war had ended in a dramatic defeat for the United States, and the White House was now occupied by Nixon’s antithesis, Carter. While Vietnam had been a clearer issue for antiwar protestors, the subsequent war in Cambodia hinted at more messy transnational conflicts with dirty shades of grey. The dramatic events in Iran and Afghanistan were just around the corner, and with them would come the last fading act of the Cold War (which had most clearly been played out in Vietnam). The clear lines of demarcation for an anti-imperialist platform were starting to fade by 1978, and Ali himself was enervated physically from a brutal fight regimen, and financially by a long exile from the ring. In

the coda to the Bangladesh trip, we find an Ali enthralled by the “new” America of Jimmy Carter.

The Georgia peanut farmers’ arc seemed to suggest a path of redemption for the American project (“I will never lie to you”).

A Black radical now shifted from a critique of the American empire fueled by experiences of besieged black bodies, to a new position of embracing American exceptionalism. Ali was now transformed from a “dangerous” member of a transnational Black network to a “goodwill” ambassador for the American presidency.

Bangladesh, I Love You

Let us return to Reginald Massey’s documentary Muhammad Ali Goes East: Bangladesh, I Love You, a travelogue that requires decoding of stage-managed images. The original documentary was made for Bangladesh’s business interests, with enthusiastic support from a government, and wide popular

support for the athlete. After a screening on Channel Four, and a command screening at the White House, the film company went bankrupt and the documentary disappeared into obscurity. A few years back, a VHS copy was recovered by the London-based Brick Lane Circle which hosted a screening of the film for British Bengalis. In this way, the film finally emerged and now circulates through a clandestine recording made by an audience member at that screening.

Massey’s biography says he was born in “Lahore, then in British India.”4 After moving to London, he became an author of books on classical dance in India. His website states, “Some of his books are standard works and used by international bodies such as New York’s Lincoln Center.” Approached

by Bangladeshi businessman Giashuddin Chowdhury in 1977 about creating an event that would “boost the image” of Bangladesh,

Massey proposed a state visit

by Muhammad Ali. The fighter was then at a declining stage of his career, having been beaten

by Leon Spinks in a humiliating match. Massey presented the Bangladesh voyage as a tonic that would re-energize Ali, because “he was still a hero in Bangladesh.”5 The trip was framed as Ali doing his duty, for a third world nation, which we see in his speech at the beginning of the film: “[I want to] help more people in the world to know about Bangladesh. One of my goals is to greet all my fans, and do all I can to help more people in the world to know about Bangladesh.

To draw attention to some of the positive things about Bangladesh, so much negative things have been said.” (10:00) From the first touchdown, the film is structured as an extended travel film, guiding the viewer through tropes of a visit to Bangladesh: the river cruise (the passing crowd in another

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BUTE

ernational Official: “Here is a passport for you…”

Ali: “So I am a citizen of Bangladesh?”

Official: “Yes that’s right.”

Ali: “Can I use this all over the world?”

Official: “Yes, you can.”

Ali: “Thank you so much.

Now, if they kick me out of America, I have another home. Thank you.” (13:58)

boat yells “Muhammad Ali/ Jindabad”6 (16:28)), the “golden fiber” jute (the camera lingers on two containers marked with destinations of Los Angeles and Savannah), the (already) endangered Sundarban forest, the historic Star Mosque, the Dhakeswary temple, and the Sylhet tea gardens. Along the way were other elements which were not particularly specific to Bangladesh, but were part of the “East” imagery that Ali was dutifully granted: an elephant ride, and, of course, snake charmers (“snakes are poisonous to all but the snake charmers,” (15:17)). Ali charmed the audience by speaking of his largesse (to the people in Sylhet he said, “Many people could not afford to come to Dhaka, so we came to see you,” 30:24) and his flashes of humor (he pointed to his wife Veronica Ali in front of a group of female fans and said, “The ladies in this country not as tall as her…” (29:50)) By the film’s end, Ali has been

given a passport, a plot of land in Cox’s Bazaar, and the promise of naming a stadium after him. He had performed a symbolic bout with a twelve year old Mohammad Giasuddin (later three times national champion in Bangladesh).

The state visit ended with a dinner where renowned Bengali singer Sabina Yasmin sang the special composition “Ali Ali.” (A decade later, Yasmin would sing “Shob Kota Janala Khule Dao Na” [Open All The Windows], anthem of the Ershad era). Two million fans had come out to meet him, trailing him everywhere on his trip. Driving along the Cox’s Bazaar beach with its “miles of unbroken beach,” Ali waxed rhapsodic: “we in heaven over here. You want paradise come to Bangladesh … eat at the President’s house” (32:05).

Ali had come to Bangladesh because the country “needed” him – because Massey had said his trip would help improve Bangladesh’s image, giving stability to a country that had been through a brutal

war and an unstable aftermath.

Repeatedly, Ali reminded the camera, “We never get the news in America about how beautiful this place is.” But it was also Ali who also needed Bangladesh to revive him on a psychic level, after his bruising defeat to Leon Spinks – a moment that signaled a physical decline from which he never fully recovered. The film does its best to keep the frame on Bangladesh’s place in the world, but in it Ali also takes refuge from a boxing world that has declared him a spent force.

There is irony in the champion fighter who opposes violence overseas, and we see it in the film as well. Speaking of Bangladesh’s potential as a beacon in the world, he says, “So much violence in the world, so much killing… [I’ll do] what I can in my power to tell people…” (33:00). Yet by the end, he is raring for a second chance at Spinks and finally explains why he has to wear sunglasses all the time. “[He] gave me a black eye! Can you imagine?” (50:39)

The idea of Muslim International

Ali believed in the idea of a shared history between the Muslim parts of the Third World and Black American struggles.

Bangladesh was perhaps to be an early stop in a global tour that would rekindle his connection with this transnational concept, just as his 1972 Mecca trip had done. However, there were several instabilities within this project, beginning with Bangladesh as the locus of the dream of a Muslim International that included a critique of the empire. While there were still sites of resistance to forms of western domination, Bangladesh by the late 1970s was itself seeking a deeper embedding within the Arab power bloc. This bloc, strengthened by the oil crisis, had moved far away from the non-aligned concept of the 1960s. The realignments of that period increasingly presented the dilemma of Third World leaders who were not in anti-imperialist positions. Journalist Palash Ghosh highlighted some of the more problematic sites of Ali’s world travels: “But Ali mixed with some questionable characters during his many overseas jaunts, including such bloody despots as Uganda’s Idi Amin and Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein (both of whom praised Ali no end).”7 Grant Farred, in the Ali volume of the series on “Black Vernacular Intellectuals,” (What’s My Name.

Minneapolis: University of

Minnesota Press, 2002) makes a similar argument, stating that Ali’s presence could give Third World nations an “artificial unity.” Ali had performed a mistranslation that is common within the conception of the Muslim International. In this conceptualisation, every Muslim majority nation was a source for liberation theology and natural ally with black radical thinking.

Cassius Clay’s conversion to Islam had been received ferociously in America, including denunciation from icons such as Justice Thurgood Marshall (who called him “the ugly American)” and boxer Floyd Patterson (the “Black Muslim scourge [needed to be] removed from boxing”). Given this response, it is not surprising that Ali had moved into an emotional exile, seeking a new home in the Muslim Third World.

Yet, this journey landed the boxer into the public relations arena of a location such as Bangladesh, where a transnational Muslim identity was, at least in 1978, still highly contested and in flux.

Muhammad Ali was the exemplar of a defiant Black American experience, and he remained a contested figure until he was struck down with Parkinson’s Disease. Only in this debilitated state (recall his unsteady lighting of the torch at the 1996 US Olympics) was Ali safe for consumption by the American dream. In an interview, Reginald Massey told me that Ali had felt a particular kinship and warmth towards Jimmy Carter. Carter’s grandmother had employed a freed slave as a housemaid, and this made the future President “comfortable with black people”8.

I am unsure what to make of such enlightenment-via-housemaid stories, but it is certainly true that Carter reached out actively to rehabilitate Muhammad Ali. Perhaps it was particularly easy for Carter, since he had inherited the post-Vietnam zeitgeist of retrieval and redemption.

According to Massey, Ali showed the Bangladesh film in the White House and this resulted in a distinct warming of USBangladesh relationship and opening of foreign aid channels (which had been choked off during the Kissinger period).

Buoyed by the success of the Bangladesh film, Massey began work on a sequel, which would take Ali to India (although the Muslim International may have been Ali’s framing for his first trip, it was not where Massey’s interests

lay). Ali was flown to India with entourage, and according to Massey, charmed Indira Gandhi endlessly. He gave her a warm peck on the cheek, and quipped, “America kisses Mother India!”9.

Ali had traveled a long, strange way– the man who once said “the only solution to today’s racial problems is separation.”10 was now an ambassador for the postVietnam Carter era. Perhaps he believed, as many others did, that the Vietnam period had been a temporary malaise brought about by individual antagonists at the top (Johnson, McNamara, Nixon, and Kissinger). Jimmy Carter was supposed to be the corrective, but all that was soon to unravel with the twin ascendancy of Regan and Thatcher, and the beginning of the neoliberal backlash.

The looming superpower contradictions were brought to the surface halfway through the India filming. One day, while resting at the hotel, Massey received a direct phone call from the White House. After determining that the “Southern gentleman” voice on the phone was indeed Carter, Massey passed on the phone to Ali. After a brief conversation, Ali came to Massey and said: “Brother Reg, My President has ordered me to immediately fly to Africa and Saudi Arabia. My orders are to tell them all to boycott the Moscow Olympics because the Russians have invaded Afghanistan, a Muslim country.” (emphasis added) With that, filming was abandoned (Massey later said this contributed to the bankruptcy of the company) and Ali was on his way to Saudi Arabia, where he was warmly greeted by the King.

The Muslim International shifted away from the idea of being led by the Black experience to the centre of the Oil Bloc. Ali was now an emissary of the United States against Russia in the Afghanistan crisis, placing himself in the middle of a superpower battle. Ali did say “no Vietcong ever called me n****er”, and subsequent errors in political judgment will not diminish the courage of that lonely political stance. But in the span of a decade, the Afghan war was another Cold War staging ground (as Vietnam had been) with no possible benefit to the lives of poor or Black Americans.

Ali’s later experiences do not negate the potency of the Black International as a framing device for exploring Black radical  PAGE 18 COLUMN 1

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L I T E R AT U R E F E S T I VA L S

Feminist writers’ festival in Australia n Rashmi Patel

a cup of tea and get on twitter and abuse men?”

The video has over nine thousand views and four hundred likes. Social media abounds in such responses. Feminist writers are often inundated with messages on how and what they should write, where they are going wrong, and what their aims should be in expressing themselves. Even voicing that it is just too difficult to be a woman writer brings more brickbats than empathetic nods. In short, feminism has a long way to go in helping women writers write in voices they are comfortable with and still be acknowledged as equals in the literary world.

A more empirical evidence of bias on the Australian literary scene is provided by the Stella count, which shows the ratio of books by men and women reviewed in twelve major Australian review publications. It continues to indicate a clear bias by male reviewers towards male authors.

As Gloria Steinem aptly proclaimed recently at the Sydney Writers Festival: “Just don’t ask us if feminism is still relevant.” l This is a shorter version of an article that first appeared in scroll.in

W

hen Ryan Broderick, Deputy Global News Director at BuzzFeed, went about trying to find “social justice” literature at a London bookstore in a bid to poke fun at a male feminist, the only books that he could find for a pose were: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, and Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

While these may be feminist reads, the picture goes on to show that in your average bookstore you are not going to find an accessible stack of books written by feminist writers. After so many years of feminist writing, shouldn’t bookstores have more to offer?

Where is all the feminist writing?

The first of its kind... well, sort of The inaugural Feminist Writers Festival, the first of its kind as far as its name is concerned, has just been announced in Melbourne, Australia. This is not to say that it will be unique in terms of intended agenda and content, but surely there is no other writers’ festival with the f-word so prominent in its banner.

Panels that discuss feminist

Continued from page 17 thought. However, it does show some of the limitations of forms of racialized and religious essentialism that framed activism and alliances. By the mid-1960s, events inside America were also moving towards ruptures (assisted by provocateurs inside and outside the Black radical movement) that isolated Ali. Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad parted ways dramatically, splitting the strength of the Nation of Islam’s black membership. The fallout of this event was a distancing between Ali and X as well, which deprived the fighter from one of his radical

FEMINIST WRITERS’ FESTIVAL

writing have been an integral part of all major literary and writers’ festivals around the world and one needs to only glance at the international literary calendar to know that many local variations of women writers’ festivals already exist. So why a Feminist Writers Festival?

Cristy Clark, chair of the festival, says it all started with a Facebook post she shared in 2015, in which she wrote about her hope for a space to engage diverse voices of feminist writers across the country. She received overwhelming encouragement that indicated a need for a more

In response, Youtube user Gary Orsum introduces the tweet by saying: “I like this one. This one’s f***ing hilarious.”

After displaying Ford’s tweet, he goes on to show the picture of a male sewer worker and addresses the worker: “Excuse me mate,” he drawls, “um, Clementine Ford’s having a pretty hard time of it. Would you mind letting her do your really cruisy job as a sewer worker for a week, while you take on the hardest job ever in the world of writing a book and stopping whenever you feel like it to make

in-depth engagement with the scattered community of feminist writers which does not always get the support and visibility it would like.

Is writing the hardest job?

A few minutes of glancing through tweets of Australian feminist writers makes it clear that it is no easy feat to openly call oneself a feminist writer. One of the most outspoken feminist writers in Australia is Clementine Ford. On January 25 she tweeted a seemingly harmless line: “Writing a book is the hardest thing I have ever done. #homestretch”

Unsteady dreams of a new international political teachers. Once Martin Luther King started speaking against the Vietnam war and Malcolm returned from Mecca, fired up by the possibility of crossrace alliances, they both became too dangerous to be allowed to live. After their assassinations, Ali lost two mentors who could offer two polarities of incremental struggle or radical resistance. The 1970s therefore saw the waning of the idea of an International that could have derived energy from the African American experience.

The possibility of a transnational solidarity network was not only

ornamental but also political, independent and radical, and was eliminated during this decade.

Lawrence Ross11, in one of the obituaries to strike a contrarian note, said: “So now that he is dead, we have to ask the question as to who gets to decide which Ali voice gets heard and remembered.

Which Ali voice, the one that challenged America to be better, or the one that imagines Ali being the silent façade on which he could mean everything to everyone?” I know which one I want to honour and remember: the Ali who fought the colour line, and opposed the

destructive game of third world as chessboard (played by both the Soviet Union and the United States). He was a black radical who gave a generation the strength to resist and fight back. But it is also important to understand what combination of factors produced the later year figure– an Ali who would misrecognise the great game of the Afghan War (the origin point for many of today’s entwined wars) simply as the invasion of a “Muslim country,” stifling other possibilities the Afghan people held within themselves. These moments are unlike the man who once said,

“my goals, my own.” His later years carry both the weight of sacrificing his body to the sport, and the loneliness of an African American living on after revolutionary possibilities had been taken away from his people. l Naeem Mohaiemen explores postcolonial histories through essays and films. His essays include “Fear of a Muslim Planet: Islamic roots of hip-hop” (Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture, MIT Press, 2008). Email: Naeem.Mohaiemen@columbia.edu

FOOTNOTES 1

All references to Muhammad Ali’s Bangladesh visit are from Reginald Massey’s documentary Muhammad Ali Goes East: Bangladesh, I Love You (1978). Massey left the production company after a disagreement, and the company itself has since gone bankrupt. The circulating copy is a clandestine recording made by an audience member during a screening in London. Time codes are of the pirated London recording. https://

memorial in Prothom Alo, June 6, 2016.

youtu.be/OLpQQA9eEBU 2

3

For a detailed description of Muhammad Ali’s Bangladesh trip, see Mohammad Lutful Haque’s forthcoming Muhammad Ali’r Bangladesh Joy [Muhammad Ali Wins Bangladesh], Prothoma Publishers: 2016.

For a brief description of the impact of these live telecasts, see chess grandmaster Niaz Morshed’s

4

http://www.reginaldmassey.co.uk/

5

http://www.indiaofthepast. org/contribute-memories/ read-contributions/theunforgettable/380-working-withmuhammad-ali-the-boxing-champ

6

“Bangladesh Jindabad” was by then a newly popularized phrase.

muhammad-ali-the-boxing-champ 7

Ghosh, Palash. “Muhammad Ali In Bangladesh: 35 Years Ago The Champ Visited A New Nation In Turmoil.” International Business Times, 08/12/13.

8

Interview with author, May 11, 2014.

9

http://www.indiaofthepast. org/contribute-memories/ read-contributions/theunforgettable/380-working-with-

10

Carpenter, Les and Oliver Laughland. “Shunned by white America, how Muhammad Ali found his voice on campus tour” The Guardian, June 5, 2016

11

Ross, Lawrence. “A Silenced Ali Was a Likeable Ali for White People.” The Root, June 4, 2016.

19

DT

Biz Info

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

| tribute |

| technology |

Le Meridien Dhaka celebrates Ramadan with orphans

Symphony Mobile offers fingerprint security

Le Méridien Dhaka, an upscale hotel in Dhaka, hosted a celebratory iftar mahfil with the children of Baitul Aman Housing Society Madrasah and Orphanage. Minister Rashed Khan Menon, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, presided over the event as chief guest and blessed the young guests along

with hotel’s chairman Amin Ahmad, president Hasan Ahmad and general manager Ashwani Nayar. Also present were various other dignitaries of the Government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

With just a week over the hotel’s first anniversary, they considered the month of

Ramadan as a good opportunity as an organisation to contribute to the community. Le Méridien Dhaka catered to the little guests the way it knows best – with uncompromising service.

The hotel’s management team divided among the 150 children from a welfare home to give them undivided attention and share stories that may encourage the youths to greater heights of inspiration.

“It is a very encouraging beginning for Le Méridien Dhaka to be able to share these happy moments with these beautiful children,” informs Nayar. “Our target guests are in fact the curious and the creative-minded, and who is more curious or creative-minded than a child?

Children inspire us to do better and I hope today, with what little time we spent with them, we were able to inspire these children like they inspired us.” l

| initiative |

Microsoft BD boss announces panel for BASIS election

Managing director of Microsoft Bangladesh, Sonia Bashir Kabir, has announced a panel for competing at election of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), an apex trade body of information and communication technology (ICT) sector in the country.

The panel titled “The Change Makers” led by Sonia Bashir Kabir, including other prominent figures from the ICT sector, has announced their beginning with the slogan “Members First” and the aim to bring about groundbreaking changes within BASIS and in the ICT sector of the country.

Regarding the panel, Sonia Bashir Kabir said: “Digital Bangladesh is transforming our country and BASIS has been playing an integral role in it. We believe that BASIS members can be empowered to do more and overcome the challenges that our industry is currently facing.

We admit that BASIS member organisations are suffering from different problems, and every day these reputed organisations are facing different kinds of challenges. We all know about these problems, but we haven’t seen any effort to solve them.”

“It is not possible to bring sustainable development in the ICT sector without developing

the member originations of BASIS. And to address these problems, ‘The Change Makers,’ a panel of software, ICT businesspersons and experienced entrepreneurs guided by respected senior and junior members of BASIS, have agreed to work in unison. With a message to bring change, we are expecting votes from the members. The new panel wants to establish Bangladesh as a country leader in global ICT sector,” she added.

The main goal of the panel is to foster innovative, dependable and profitable software businesses, informed Sonia Bashir Kabir.

The panel consists of general member aspirants Sonia Bashir Kabir (Microsoft Bangladesh Ltd), Mostofa Rafiqul Islam (Metronet Bangladesh Ltd), Sufi Faruq Ibne Abu Bokor (Evatix), Azmal Haq Azim (Digicon Global Services Ltd), Nazmul Kabir Chowdhury Sharun (Gonona Technologies Ltd), Sabbir Rahman Tanim (Third Bell Entertainment Ltd), Saidul Islam Majumdar Likhon (Majumdar IT Ltd) and associate member Zaman Khan (Zaman IT). l

Symphony unveiled their new HD series Smartphone H400, which is their first to include fingerprint security technology. Fingerprint security sensors help Smartphone users to quickly lock and unlock their phone.

The handset contains 2.5D curved glass with a 5 inch HD IPS Display packing a resolution of 1280x720. The color screen device is quite comfortable for the MiraVision Technology. Through MiraVision, the contents will be displayed more vividly, providing a far richer and more colorful viewing experience.

The 13 megapixel rear camera with auto focus delivers quality pictures with faster and more image details. It has 5 megapixel front camera. It even includes face beauty, zero shutter display, voice

capture, gesture and smile shot and much more.

This handset runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, 1.3GHz Quad Core 64 bit processor with 2GB of DDR3 RAM. They claim 64 bit processor users can play any type of game without lag. It has a 16GB internal storage of memory which is expandable up to 64 GB. Its 3200mAh Li-poly battery enables customers to use it for longer periods of time. Moreover, battery optimisation options will help to boost battery life further and shuts down all background tasks, sensors, and services when idle.

The handset will be available in pickaboo.com and local markets from the end of June at Tk9,990.

The Symphony H400 will be available in black and silver. l

| offer |

Arabian Iftar Festival at Radisson Blu Water Garden

Discover the warmth of Arabian hospitality with the richness of traditional Arabian buffet spread at Water Garden Brasserie of Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden. Feast your soul to a choice of Arabian treats and beverages along with local delicacies in the Holy month of Ramadan. More than 150 dishes have been spread on the buffet.

Moreover, savor the sumptuous iftar take away treats from Chit Chat Deli Café and Water Garden Brasserie.

Executive chef from Italy, Antonio Gravagno, is all set to present saucy, scintillating Italian dishes which will take your taste buds on an exciting and sumptuous ride through the food capital of the world, Italy, this summer! Bask in the glory of sheer culinary brilliance in this encounter with inspiring Italian cuisine.

Special discounts include a “Buy 1 Get 1 Free” offer on City Bank issued Amex Gold and Platinum Cards; a “Buy 1 Get 1 Free” offer on Standard Chartered Bank Cards (Platinum Preferred Card, Platinum Preferred MasterCard, Platinum Preferred Saadiq Card, Priority Debit Cards and VISA Signature Cards); and a “Buy 1 Get 1 Free” offer on Robi Platinum Ace and Platinum subscribers of the Dhonnobad Program.l

DT

20 Editorial

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

INSIDE

Integrity first This trend of the law being broken by the very people who are supposed to enforce it doesn’t exist among law enforcers alone -- almost everyone in a position of leadership in this region seems prone to this habit PAGE 21

The royal silk city Today, Rajshahi lies at the centre of its own administrative division, containing some of the most outstanding cultural and heritage experiences in what remains a much neglected part of, not simply, Bangladeshi history, but even, arguably, human history PAGE 22

We need peace at the border

Climate change It is now high time for all countries to translate what has been agreed to on paper into actions on the ground -- after all, how else are we going to create a more just and sustainable world?

PAGE 23

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

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

BIGSTOCK

T

wenty-eight-year-old Rony Khalashi, shot dead two days ago by the BSF, is just the latest victim in a series of border killings.

It is beyond belief that, over the last 10 years, India’s Border Security Force has killed close to 600 Bangladeshi citizens.

Last month, Sujon, another Bangladeshi, was shot down by BSF. And let us not ever forget the image of 15-year-old Felani, whose body lay tangled up in barbwire after being shot dead by BSF’s very own Amiya Ghosh. Her killer was subsequently acquitted twice in a special BSF court because of “inconclusive and insufficient evidence.”

Despite repeated incidents of the BSF overstepping its boundaries, and its guards constantly going over the line, the Indian courts refuse to acknowledge the negligence and cruelty involved in such behaviour, and continue to treat the perpetrators with impunity.

Last month, BGB and BSF came together in the fight against crimes being committed in and around the border areas. Increased co-operation between both the border patrols are, of course, a welcome development in the ensuing relationships between the two countries.

But this senseless violence has to end now. And those responsible for the continuous killings of Bangladeshi citizens must be tried and brought to justice.

It should be a matter of national priority for both nations to see that these killings come to a stop and the lives of innocents and the undeserving are no longer brought to an end due to trigger-happy soldiers within the BSF. That is the only way we can ensure peaceful relations between India and Bangladesh continue to flourish.

It should be a matter of national priority for both nations to see that these killings come to a stop

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21

Opinion

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

Integrity first Law enforcement personnel are often the first ones to break the law

Who will take the police to task?

n Ekram Kabir

I

was returning to Dhaka through a South Asian airport.

After crossing the security thresholds, I arrived at the place where the duty-free shops were located. After roaming around a bit, I went to the smoking area. An airport security official entered the chamber a minute later and started to look at us with cigarettes in our hands. We found both of us looking at each other. I realised what he was up to.

Raising my eyebrows, I asked him: “Do you want a smoke?”

“Yes, sir,” he replied, with a wide grin.

I gave him a cigarette and offered him a light, but he refused it.

“Sir, I’m in uniform and therefore cannot smoke here -- I’ll go to the washroom and have my smoke there.”

“What are you saying, man? If I smoke in the washroom, you’d be the one to catch and penalise me. Now, you’re saying that you, being a security official, are going to smoke in a place where it’s prohibited? Come on! You can’t smoke in the washroom; you have

DHAKA TRIBUNE

This trend of the law being broken by the very people who are supposed to enforce it doesn’t exist among law enforcers alone -- almost everyone in a position of leadership in this region seems prone to this habit to do it here where we all are doing it.”

He humbly requested not to make him smoke in the smoking area. Then, he went away.

The reason I’m sharing this little anecdote is to say something about the other side of the people who work in important positions in our sub-continent.

There are people in high positions, or in positions that require one to have a lot of integrity, who are committing the very acts they are supposed to prevent. Take the Bangladeshi traffic police and police personnel, for instance.

There have been several occasions when I saw traffic sergeants taking the wrong lane and parking their motorbikes where they shouldn’t be. If they found us normal people parking our vehicles where they park

them, they would have taken us to task.

But they are doing it anyway.

They seem to take everything for granted and tend to think that, since they are the ones who “uphold” the law, no one would take them to task. Bangladesh isn’t alone, our entire sub-continent is, in fact, plagued by this specific phenomenon in which the “right” people are seen to be doing the wrong things.

In 2013, in Madurai of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the district police recorded, for the last three years, that at least 10 cases -- ranging from petty quarrel with neighbours to theft, to dowry harassment, and kidnapping -- were registered against police personnel themselves.

Last year, in Karachi and Daska, law enforcers were seen to behave more like a group of lawbreakers.

In Karachi, masked police commandoes kidnapped the bodyguards of former Sindh home minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza outside the Sindh High Court, and beat up the journalists on duty; while in the Daska tragedy a police officer reportedly killed two lawyers and injured two others without any ostensible reason other than verbal provocation.

In both the incidents, the police seemed to have acted with absolute impunity. The police, whose duty it is to maintain law and order even if it means putting their own lives at risk, seemed to have decided to enforce their own rule of law even if it meant putting the lives of those very people whom the police are supposed to protect from lawlessness at risk.

This trend of the law being broken by the very people who are supposed to enforce it doesn’t

exist among law enforcers alone -- almost everyone in a position of leadership in this region seems prone to this habit.

Our leaders are where they are because they are supposed to be people of integrity; we follow them because they live by example, we accept their decisions because they are to be the agents of positive change.

On several occasions, we find them not practising what they are preaching. It requires a huge amount of integrity to be in a leadership position.

Now, why does integrity matter to us, the followers? It’s because it plays the most important role in the decision-making process used by the common people when deciding who they will follow, who they will trust, who they will remain loyal to, and, ultimately, for whom they will perform.

The security official at the airport is a leader in his own capacity -- he makes sure that everything’s in order. However, what he displayed while interacting with me wasn’t at all leader-like. l Ekram Kabir is a writer.

Heritage

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22

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

The royal silk city There’s more to Rajshahi than mangoes

n Tim Steel

T

here are many who recognise the real possibility that silk, the fine, valuable, luxurious fabric woven from the cocoons of the mulberry silkworm, had its origins, not, as is generally supposed, in China, but even, possibly, in the lands around the Ganges river and delta, most of which are now the lands of Bangladesh.

There are two reasons for that possibility to be advanced; first, that there seems little doubt that the fertile soil, and favourable climatic conditions of the foothills of the Himalayas and the Ganges Delta, offer perfect conditions for the cultivation of both the Mulberry, and breeding the moths.

The second is that China is frequently, wrongly, identified as the source of such development, largely because of their well-

Today, Rajshahi lies at the centre of its own administrative division, containing some of the most outstanding cultural and heritage experiences in what remains a much neglected part of, not simply, Bangladeshi history, but even, arguably, human history documented history. There appears to be no evidence that either Mulberry, or moth, are indigenous to any part of China.

The use of saltpetre exemplifies the point of misappreciation; the properties of that particular chemical were, even Chinese documentation accepts, identified

by Buddhist monks around the Ganges basin and delta.

No source, in fact, can clearly identify the actual location of the origin of silk. However, one of the earliest documentary pieces of trading evidence can be found in the mid-1st century CE “Periplus of the Erythraean Sea,” a merchant guide to trade on the Arabic and Indian Oceans, which identifies the Ganges Delta as somewhere that silk may be acquired, “from an inland city called China.”

Whether the writers were confused about the identity of China as merely a city, or were simply aware that the source was an inland city, is not clear. But, if they believed the source was an upstream city, it would not be hard to identify Rajshahi as such a possible source.

With identifiable origins from the Pundra period, as much as five

millennia ago, Rajshahi was, by the 18th century, as trade with Europe boomed, at the very heart of the silk industry, said to produce the finest silk in the world.

And the tradition of silk production continues, today, in this “royal” city; known, even today, as Silk City.

The suggestion the city was founded in the second half of the 17th century is, in fact, to ignore both circumstantial and empirical evidence of a somewhat earlier period. Indeed, it seems unlikely that it was not a community as early, perhaps, as the Mauryan period about the 4th century BCE. Today, any walk through the town will discover temples of the 18th and 19th centuries; and many other buildings, such as mansions, reveal that, throughout the British period, this was a major mercantile city, on the banks of the Padma/ Ganges river.

It is hard to imagine that, since, in close proximity, European nations based their operations, similarly, on the banks of the Ganges, there was not already a community where today’s city now stands.

Indeed, the bund of the river,

from which colourful sunsets across the diminishing waters are wonderful to enjoy, remain one of the greatest, most pleasant, most sociable, and safest places for an evening walk, not just in this city, but, in fact, in all of Bangladesh.

Only the sea wall at Kurushkhul, close to Cox’s Bazar, and the river bank in Sylhet, can begin to rival it.

For anyone with a more than passing interest in social history, the building, in the centre of town, of the Rajshahi Co-operative Society conjures up the late 19th and early 20th century of positive British influence; more so, perhaps, than any other remnant of two centuries of domination.

However, of the many traces of the British and Imperial period, it is, perhaps, the Varendra Museum, inaugurated in 1910, that best illuminates. The first such in the lands that are now Bangladesh, its collection of sculptural and architectural works from Jain, Buddhist, and early Hindu periods may no longer appear to match the numerous quantity listed in the catalogue of the 1960s, but still it offers an exhibition of the supreme skills of workers in stone

within the late centuries of the Pre-Christian period, and the early centuries of the Common Era. Wandering through the seasonal mango markets in and around the city will leave little doubt of the diversity of form and flavour!

The road route between Dhaka and Rajshahi should only take between three and four hours of travelling time, but the way, once the impressive expanse of the bridge across the great Jamuna River is left behind, is littered with evidence of that heritage and cultural traditions.

Pabna, a little to the south of the way, offers one of the fairly numerous homesteads of the great poet Rabindranath Tagore. But, also, the well preserved, riverside, Edwardian Oriental palace of Sitlai (now a pharmaceutical factory, but largely intact, and located in an original deer park), and the little, neo-classical gem of Tarish Palace.

Natore, with its fascinating ruins of the Mughal palace of the great Rani Babhani, and magnificent neo-classical and oriental Edwardian pavilions, as well as the former Rajbari, now the official northern residence of the prime minister, can also easily prove an attraction, inviting a detour.

Puthia, however, lies athwart the main road, and it is hard to resist its fine, neo-classical palace, and some fifteen or so attendant Hindu temples.

It is, however, beyond Rajshahi, at Chapai Nawabganj, close to the border with India, that some of the

finest heritage sites in Bangladesh can be found; and unique, tribal, cultural traditions explored nearby.

The ancient Bengal capital of Gaur once spanned what is now the border, and some of the heritage sites within today’s sprawling town of Chapai Nawabganj were originally built in that city.

Gaur, itself, had its origins in early empires, including both Mauryan and Gupta, and traces remain of that, early, imperial past.

It was revived, in the late 17th century, as a hunting and leisure area for the Nawabs whose capital at nearby Murshidabad succeeded Dhaka as the centre of administration of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. Chapai Nawaganj, with the complex of Mughal period buildings constructed by Shah Suja, the favoured son of Emperor Shah Jahan and Mumtaz, the wife for whom Taj Mahal was built, and still in excellent condition, is, indeed, well worth exploring.

There is much for the heritage student to study in this fascinating adjunct to Rajshahi; not least, also, its own, seasonal, mango market, the largest in Bangladesh.

Today, Rajshahi lies at the centre of its own administrative division, containing some of the most outstanding cultural and heritage experiences in what remains a much neglected part of, not simply, Bangladeshi history, but even, arguably, human history. l Tim Steel is a communications, marketing and tourism consultant.

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DT

Climate Change

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

SDGs: Enough planning, it’s time to act n Meraz Mostafa

N

ow that we’ve agreed to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), our path to a fairer and more sustainable world, it is time to get moving.

If you haven’t heard of the SDGs, also known as the 2030 Agenda, they are worth looking into. These goals, broken into 140 targets, were agreed to at the United Nations last September and cover everything from reducing inequality to protecting life below the oceans.

More than 70 international participants, representing governments from eight developing countries and five multilateral agencies, met last week at the BRAC center, Savar for this year’s Poverty Environment Partnerships conference.

How to implement the 2030 agenda?

Unlike its predecessor, the Millennium Development Goals, the SDGs are universal. They apply to poorer countries in the Global South as much as they do to richer countries in the Global North.

Every country has a lot they can learn from each other, which makes forums like the Poverty Environmental Partnerships (PEP) conference crucial.

It was clear from the start that many countries represented at the conference had already committed to national development plans with little reference to the 2030 Agenda.

This is not too surprising since it has been less than a year since the goals were formalised: Governments already have had their own development plans well underway.

Fortunately, it generally appears that national development plans often overlap with what’s in the 2030 Agenda.

For many, the SDGs represent a new paradigm for development.

Shifting away from prior efforts, the new UN plan combines social, environmental and economic goals into a single agenda. It is important that the 2030 Agenda is implemented in the same integrated fashion they were designed: “While these international agreements are promising,” explained Steve Bass from the International Institute for Environment and Development, “the way they are implemented too often has a history of marginalising poor people and the environment.”

If nations are serious about

tackling poverty and addressing environmental degradation, it is important for countries to integrate these goals into their own national agendas, to ensure no aspect of the global plan is forgotten.

As proposed by Dr Saleemul Huq, Director of the International Center for Climate Change and Development, the separate goals should be imagined as individual strands that need to be interwoven into a unified rope -- with no strand left behind.

To prioritise or not to prioritise

A recurring theme at the conference was whether countries or institutions should prioritise certain goals to work on? Would this defeat the “integrated” premise approach of the 2030 Agenda? What potential trade-offs could arise?

Participants decided that some prioritisation of the SDGs is necessary: every goal is not equally relevant for every country.

Germany for instance will put more emphasis on SDG12: Responsible Consumption and Production than, say, goals having to do with health and education for obvious reasons.

Bhutan will address SDG1, 13 and 15, which cover poverty, climate change, and life on land respectively.

Many also pointed to the fact that if you look at the 140

BIGSTOCK

It is now high time for all countries to translate what has been agreed to on paper into actions on the ground -- after all, how else are we going to create a more just and sustainable world?

targets, you’ll soon find many commonalities (known as “linkages” in the jargon-filled industry) between the goals.

When you attempt to build more sustainable cities and communities as in SDG11, you are also taking climate action like in SDG13.

Clear water and sanitation, described in SDG6, also leads to better life under water for marine creatures covered by SDG14.

The whole premise of the PEP conference is that tackling environmental issues -- covered by several of the goals -- and poverty, SDG1, can be done together in a “win-win” fashion. Even if you prioritise, you will inadvertently make progress towards some of the other goals.

Zeenat Niazai, vice president of the Development Alternatives in India, stressed this might not always be the case: “Unless you are able to look at all the goals together, they are going to conflict with each other,” she said.

This is probably most true for the goals that have to do with energy and infrastructure, and the environment.

The coal-fired Rampal Power Station in Bangladesh will meet the first target of SDG7 in helping “ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services” but falls short on SDG13: Climate Action by contributing to global CO2 emissions.

If we want to reduce the

possibility of trade-offs, we need to improve the coordination between different parts of the government and development agencies that traditionally may have worked in very different areas.

This is as true for Bangladesh as it is for Finland. Governments, development agencies, civil society and the private sector will now have to come together and work in very different and new ways if we are going to implement the SDGs. Even if certain goals are prioritised, everyone is going to have to see the bigger picture when it comes to the 2030 Agenda.

2015 was a landmark year for global development with the agreement of the new global

sustainable development plan as well as the Paris Agreement, which addresses climate change.

While Bangladesh was fairly successful in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, we will have to do much more to implement the 2030 Agenda.

It is now high time for all countries to translate what has been agreed to on paper into actions on the ground -- after all, how else are we going to create a more just and sustainable world? l Meraz Mostafa is a Visiting Researcher at the International Center for Climate Change and Development.

This page has been developed in collaboration with the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) and its partners, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) and International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). This page represents the views and experiences of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of Dhaka Tribune or ICCCAD or its partners.

DT

24 Sport

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

TOP STORIES

Oh brother! Xhakas set to clash at Euro European Championship history is set to be made today when Granit Xhaka plays for Switzerland against his brother Taulant Xhaka in Albania. The siblings have been dreading facing off since the draw for Euro was made. PAGE 26

Injured Nadal out of Wimbledon Rafael Nadal will not play at this year’s Wimbledon due to the wrist injury that forced the Spaniard out of the French Open, he said. “I won’t be able to play at Wimbledon this year,” Nadal said on his Facebook page. PAGE 27

Abahani shocked, MSC held Arambagh Krira Sangha handed Abahani Limited a shocking 1-0 defeat in the Federation Cup at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. The defeat will make it tough for the Sky Blues to reach the knockout stage. PAGE 28

Suarez lays bare Copa frustration A Luis Suarez tantrum near the end of Thursday’s 1-0 defeat by Venezuela graphically summed up Uruguay’s frustration at a shock early exit from the Copa America Centenario. The striker has scored 40 goals for Barcelona in the La Liga this season. PAGE 29

(L-R) England midfielder James Milner, forward Jamie Vardy, midfielders Jordan Henderson, Jack Wilshere and Raheem Sterling are pictured during a team training session in Chantilly, France yesterday. England take on Russia in their opening game in Marseille today AFP

Temptation of draw might stymie England and Russia n Reuters, Marseille England and Russia are the big beasts of Group B and, though each would love a winning start when they meet today, the fear of losing could well become allpervading and lead to a cagey encounter.

With games against Wales and Slovakia to come, and the potential for three teams to qualify with two guaranteed, a point at the Velodrome might look a very useful result in a couple of weeks.

England, on the back of winning all 10 qualifiers, not to mention a rare victory in Germany in a friendly, start favourites and will expect to make the running in front of a 60,000 crowd that will be predominantly behind them.

However, despite that great run of form, England are anything but a settled side as Roy Hodgson struggles with the question of how to shoe-horn his form players into an established system.

Strikers Jamie Vardy, fresh from leading Leicester City to the most unlikely Premier League ti-

tle, and Harry Kane, the Premier League’s top scorer, seemingly demand selection.

But Hodgson is adamant Wayne Rooney, the captain and most experienced squad member, should get a starting berth, leaving the coach experimenting with his attacking options right up to the last minute.

V ENGLAND

RUSSIA

Stade Velodrome, Marseille 8pm local time (1am BST) * Bangladesh standard time England

11 14 6 4 4 25 17

Head-to-head Fifa ranking Matches Wins Losses Draws Goals scored Goals against

Russia

29 14 4 6 4 17 25

England have not lost in 90 or 120 minutes in 22 Euro matches in finals and qualifiers, going back to a 3-2 defeat by Croatia in November 2007.

The impressive statistics are skewed, however, as they lost on penalties to Italy in the 2012 quarter-finals and failed to qualify in 2008.

Russia reached the semi-finals that year with a side full of passion and pace but they were disappointing in 2012 and in the 2014 World Cup and the current crop are not a group to have fans on the edge of their seats.

They are, however, a well-organised and technically adept squad and coach Leonid Slutsky has quickly developed a strong team spirit since taking over from Fabio Capello last August.

With that to deal with and winnable games on the horizon, Russia are unlikely to take too many risks today, leaving it up to England to decide whether to open up in all-out pursuit of victory or indulge in 90 minutes of cautious chess. l

EURO FACTS England have not lost over 90 or 120 minutes in 22 EURO fixtures, going back to that 3-2 defeat by Croatia in November 2007 – since then, their record is W17 D5, although they were beaten on penalties by Italy in the UEFA EURO 2012 quarter-finals.

Roy Hodgson’s side won all ten of their UEFA EURO 2016 qualifiers – just the sixth team to achieve the feat, after France (1992, 2004), Czech Republic (2000) and Germany and Spain (both 2012).

England failed to qualify for the final tournament in 2008 – due in no small part to that reverse against Russia in Moscow – but that is the only time they have missed out since 1984.

England were semi-finalists as hosts in 1996, matching their previous best performance from 1968, when they came third.

This is Russia’s fourth successive EURO final tournament and fifth in six as an independent nation.

The Soviet Union won the first UEFA European Championship in 1960, and finished as runners-up in 1964, 1972 and 1988. Russia’s best performance since the dissolution of the Soviet Union came in 2008, when they reached the semi-finals.l

25

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Sport

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

History arrives for Wales n AFP, Bordeaux

sey will line up with him, but Joe Ledley is due to start on the bench after Coleman said it would be “reckless” to start him just a month after he fractured a fibula playing for Crystal Palace.

Striker Hal Robson-Kanu, meanwhile, has declared himself fit to start despite sustaining an ankle injury in a pre-tournament training camp.

EURO FACTS

Wales' forward Gareth Bale takes part in a training session in Dinard, western France, on Thursday AFP

Gareth Bale and Wales will play their inaugural European Championship finals game today mixing the joy of a special day with nerves over whether they can get back to winning ways.

The Group B game against Slovakia will be the first time that a Wales team has appeared at a major tournament since June 19, 1958 in Gothenburg, Sweden, when a 17-year-old Pele settled a World Cup quarter-final in Brazil’s favour and consigned the Welsh to the international wilderness.

The years in between have brought a succession of failed managerial regimes and agonising near-misses, but come kick-off, the call of the country’s long-suffering football fans will finally be answered.

Welsh dreams were realised last October when, despite a 2-0 defeat away to Bosnia-Herzegovina in their penultimate qualifying match, Chris Coleman’s side secured their place in France.

The final game, a 2-0 home win over Andorra, became a 90-minute party, as players, staff and fans united in celebration of the team’s feat and in memory of former manager Gary Speed, who committed suicide in 2011 after sowing the seeds of the side’s revival.

Jubilation, however, has given way to uncertainty in the months that have followed. Wales have failed to win any of their four subsequent friendlies, losing to the Netherlands, Ukraine and Sweden and drawing 1-1 with Northern Ireland.

Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ram-

Bale dismisses Wales as one-man team

England’s Hart keen to banish demons of the past at Euro 2016

n Reuters

n Reuters, Chantilly

Winger Gareth Bale was quick to play down the idea that Welsh fortunes at Euro 2016 in France rested on his shoulders after the team heavily relied on the Real Madrid winger to guide them to their first international tournament finals since 1958.

The 26-year-old scored seven goals during Wales’s European qualifying campaign, three of which were winners.

“It’s never a one-man team. For us it’s a squad thing. We’re ‘Together Stronger’ and it’s there for a reason -- we don’t just say it for no reason,” Bale, a five-times Welsh player of the year, told reporters on Thursday.

“We all work hard as one unit -

we attack as one and we defend as one. When we lose the ball we all fight back to get it.”

Chris Coleman’s team kick off their European Championship campaign in Group B against Slovakia today before facing England and Russia. Bale insisted Wales would not be satisfied if they went out at the group stage of the 24team tournament.

“I have been playing for Wales for 10 years and it was a massive goal of mine to get to a major championship,” the twice Champions League winner said.

“We have achieved that but we do not want to come here and make up the numbers. We have done something amazing that we have not done in a long time but now we want to do even better.”l

Goalkeeper Joe Hart is keen to forget England’s failures at previous tournaments and put his trust in the new young squad at the European Championship in France this month.

A perfect qualifying campaign and warm-up victories over Turkey, Australia and Portugal have raised hopes Roy Hodgson’s charges might win a first major trophy since England’s World Cup triumph 50 years ago.

Hart has been part of England’s squad at three earlier tournaments but has never progressed beyond the quarter-finals.

“I’ve gone into every tournament confident and felt like we’ve been ready. So for me to say it’s dif-

Bale scored seven of Wales’ 11 goals in qualifying for EURO 2016, providing two assists – meaning he scored or set up 82% of his side’s goals.

V WALES

SLOVAKIA

Stade de Bordeaux 5pm local time (10pm BST) * Bangladesh standard time Wales

26 2 1 1 0 6 7

Wales have never before reached a UEFA European Championship final tournament. Their previous best performance came in 1976, when they lost to Yugoslavia 3-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals, losing the first leg 2-0 in Zagreb before a 1-1 draw in Cardiff.

Head-to-head Fifa ranking Matches Wins Losses Draws Goals scored Goals against

Slovakia

24 2 1 1 0 7 6

While Wales go in search of lost momentum, Slovakia enter the tournament on the back of an eightgame unbeaten run that includes a stunning recent 3-1 win away to world champions Germany.

Like Wales, Slovakia are appearing at their first European Championship and will also come up against Russia and England in Group B. Right-back Peter Pekarik says that his team-mates are in high spirits. “The atmosphere is great,” he said. l

ferent this time would be wrong,” Hart told reporters on Thursday.

“But they’ve gone, they are the past, this is a new one, a new set of players we’re going to give it all we’ve got.”

England’s squad is the youngest at the tournament, with only four survivors from Euro 2012. Hodgson has indicated captain Wayne Rooney will be a mandatory pick, but the form of Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy means England’s record goal scorer may be shoe-horned into midfield.

But for Hart, there was no doubting the skipper’s importance.

“Wayne is such a key part of the squad, and accessible to all the players,” said Hart. “There is definitely a connection and age doesn’t really factor into this team.”l

While Slovakia have never before competed in a UEFA European Championship final tournament as an independent nation, as part of Czechoslovakia they appeared in three four-team finals.

Czechoslovakia’s 1976 glory Czechoslovakia finished third in 1960 and 1980 and lifted the trophy in 1976. Eight of the 11 players who started the final against West Germany – and triumphed on penalties after a 2-2 draw – hailed from Slovakia.

Slovakia reached the 2016 finals thanks mainly to wins in their first six Group C qualifiers, a run that included a 2-1 home triumph against Spain – the holders’ first qualifying defeat in 36 matches and nine years.

Slovakia coach Ján Kozák earned three caps for Czechoslovakia against Wales in 1978 and 1982 FIFA World Cup qualifying, helping his side reach the latter finals in Spain.

Hamšík helped Napoli eliminate a Swansea side including Ashley Williams, Neil Taylor and Ben Davies in the 2013/14 Europa round of 32.

England goalkeeper Joe Hart attends news conference yesterday

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Oh brother! Xhakas set to clash at Euro n AFP, Lens

European Championship history is set to be made Saturday when Granit Xhaka plays for Switzerland against his brother Taulant Xhaka in Albania’s colours.

The close siblings have been dreading facing off since the draw for Euro 2016 was made.

“It’s a crappy feeling. That was the last thing we wanted,” said new Arsenal star Granit, 23, who is 18 months younger than the brother he will have to face at Lens’ Stade Bollaert-Delelis in their opening Group A match.

Granit, who joins the Gunners for the new season, has even joked

the brothers have a pact to “leg it off the pitch after two minutes”.

Taulant, 25, has a reputation as a midfield hardman and plies his trade with FC Basel. But said he will not “put him through the mill” when asked about facing his high-profile brother. It promises to be a tense occasion for the Xhaka family who will face a quandary over who to support.

Four sets of brothers will play at Euro 2016 in Belgium’s Romelu and Jordan Lukaku, Northern Ireland’s Corry and Jonny Evans while Russia’s Vasili and Aleksei Berezutski are the only twins.

But the Xhaka siblings are set to become the first brothers to play

against each other in a European Championship finals.

Granit’s rise to the Premier League stardom has been fast: two years with Basel, then four at Borussia Moenchengladbach before he signed for the Gunners in a deal reportedly worth 45 million euros ($50m).

In contrast, Taulant has spent his entire career at Basel, apart from a loan spell at Swiss league side Grasshopper.

Granit made his debut for Switzerland as an 18-year-old at Wembley in a 2-2 draw against England in 2011. Taulant first appeared for Albania two years ago in a 1-0 win over Portugal, who did not have

star scorer Cristiano Ronaldo.

Their parents Ragip and Eli fled Kosovo, in 1990 just before war ravished their homeland and they found a new home in the working-class neighbour of Basel’s St Johann. Ragip found work as a gardner, Eli as a cleaner.

Both their sons were soon chasing footballs on the local playing fields. The brothers soon developed differing playing styles.

Granit is a creator, using technique and skill to unlock defences, but was known for being a loudmouth off the pitch. Taulant prefered to draw less attention to his work, but gets stuck into the midfield dirty work. l

V ALBANIA

42 6 0 5 1 4 11

SWITZERLAND

Head-to-head Switzerland Fifa ranking 15 Matches 6 Wins 5 Losses 0 Draws 1 Goals scored 11 Goals against 4

France legend Zinedine Zidane on Friday tipped Belgium to impress at Euro 2016 but dismissed any suggestion that his countrymen were under added pressure as hosts.

Belgium, ranked second in the FIFA world rankings, open their Group E campaign on Monday against Italy in Lyon, before also facing Sweden and the Republic of Ireland.

Real Madrid manager Zidane, who won Euro 2000 as a player, told reporters in India he could not pick a winner but fancied Belgium’s chances of clinching their first major trophy.

“I’m not a magician. You never know who will win a competition like this,” he said on a visit to Mumbai, where he is a brand ambassador for a property development.

“You have to wait until the competition starts to see which team is strong and has everybody ready to play for them.

“Belgium for example are

Albania’s record in qualifying was W4 D2 L2; prior to a 3-0 victory in Armenia in their final qualifier, they had not scored in three competitive games (D1 L2), including two defeats.

Switzerland’s record in qualifying was W7 D0 L3, two of those defeats coming against Group E winners England. They won their last two competitive games, scoring eight goals and conceding none.

This is Switzerland’s first European championship final tournament since they co-hosted UEFA EURO 2008 with Austria. They lost their opening two matches and bowed out at the group stage despite a 2-0 triumph against Portugal in their last game.

Switzerland’s best qualifying goals

Switzerland have reached the finals of the last three World Cups, opening two of them with victories – 1-0 against Spain in 2010 and 2-1 versus Ecuador in 2014 – and drawing 0-0 with France in 2006.

Taulant Xhaka, Albania

Zidane tips Belgium to impress at Euros n AFP, Mumbai

Albania are one of two teams making their major tournament debut at UEFA EURO 2016 along with Iceland.

That success against Portugal was Switzerland’s first win in nine EURO finals contests (W1 D2 L6). They have yet to make it through the group stage in three finals appearances.

Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens 2pm local time (7pm BST) * Bangladesh standard time Albania

EURO FACTS

a brilliant team with lots of individuals. But on the day of the game we will see if they will deliver their best game,” the World Cup winner added.

The Belgians, whose best performance at the Euros came in 1980 when they were losing finalists, boast a number of top players from Chelsea duo Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard to Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne.

Zidane, who coached Real Madrid to their 11th European title last month, also said France, who kick the tournament off against Romania later Friday, would revel in their role as hosts.

“Les Bleus” won both the European Championships and World Cup on home soil, in 1984 and 1998 respectively.

“It’s a bonus to play in your own country. There’s no additional pressure playing at home. With all the fans it will be like having a 12th player in the team,” he said.

France also have Switzerland and Albania in Group A. l

Granit Xhaka, Switzerland

Germany hoping Hummels could face Ukraine n AFP, Evian Germany are hoping centre-back Mats Hummels could be fit to face Ukraine when the world champions open their Euro 2016 campaign on Sunday.

Hummels has been out since tearing his calf in the German Cup final on May 21, playing for former club Borussia Dortmund against new employers Bayern Munich, but his recovery at the Germans’ base in Evian has gone well.

Germany’s assistant coach Thomas Schneider says a decision on whether Hummels is fit to fly to Lille with ‘die Mannschaft’ for Sunday’s match has yet to be made.

But Hummels’ inclusion, even off the bench, would ease Germany’s woes in defence after Antonio Ruediger was ruled out of the European championship finals on Tuesday with a knee injury.

“Things look good for Mats, he trained for an hour on his own yesterday and he can take part in full team training now,” said Schneider.

Hummels, 27, has won 46 caps for Germany.l

The only Swiss side to have played a competitive game in Lens is Young Boys, who lost 5-1 to Lens in a 2007/08 UEFA Cup second qualifying round match.

Ronaldo ‘best in the world’, says Cedric n AFP, Marcoussis Portugal defender Cedric Soares hailed team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo as the “best in the world” yesterday as the Real Madrid superstar aims to become the leading scorer in European Championship history.

“Cristiano is the best in the world, he’s shown that many times,” said Southampton defender Cedric, with Portugal kicking off their Euro 2016 campaign against Group F rivals Iceland on Tuesday. “(Paul) Pogba and (Antoine) Griezmann are fantastic players,

but we can’t compare them with Cristiano,” said Cedric.

“The two are good players, but Cristiano is on another level,” he added.

Cedric called Ronaldo “the leader of the team”, and the Real forward is three goals shy of equalling Michel Platini’s tally of nine European Championship goals.

“He feels really good and he’s very motivated. He’s an example for us every day, we have a chance to listen to his advice. I try to always pay attention to what he says.” l

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Sobers leads Lord’s tribute to great Ali n AFP, London

QUICK BYTES Usha, Abahani win big

Joint title holders Usha Krira Chakra remained at the summit of the Green Delta Premier Division Hockey League after thrashing Sadharan Bima 7-1 at Maulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium yesterday. Hasan Jubair Niloy netted four goals for Usha yesterday while Krishna Kumar Das, Ashfaq Newaz and Alim Belal added one apiece. Rasul scored the consolation for Bima.

In the day’s other match, Abahani Limited, who were also the joint champions in the previous edition, earned a huge 6-0 win over Ajax Sporting Club to stay second in the points table. Maksud Alam Habul notched three goals while Rumman Sarkar grabbed a brace. Sheikh Mohammad Nannu also got himself on the scoresheet from a penalty corner. Usha and Abahani are the only unbeaten teams left in the competition. Usha are at the top with 25 points from nine matches while Abahani are two points behind, having played the same number of games. Mohammedan Sporting Club are third with 20 points from eight outings.

–TRIBUNE REPORT

Kosovo, Gibraltar to play 2018 World Cup qualifiers: FIFA Kosovo and Gibraltar are to play 2018 World Cup qualifiers after being admitted as new members of FIFA, world football governing body confirmed on Thursday.

“UEFA’s Emergency Panel has today decided that Kosovo will join Croatia, Iceland, Ukraine, Turkey and Finland in Group I, and Gibraltar will join Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Estonia and Cyprus in Group H,” FIFA said in a statement. “The UEFA Emergency Panel has decided that Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia should not play against Kosovo for security reasons,” the statement added.

–AFP

Stuttgart match win sets another Federer record Roger Federer beat Florian Mayer 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/1) on Friday to reach the Stuttgart grass court semi-finals, claiming another record in the process. The world number three moved ahead of Ivan Lendl to stand second in career match wins with his 1,072 victories putting him behind Jimmy Connors (1,256). Federer dispatched Germany’s Mayer for the seventh time without a loss as he advanced into a final-four showdown with Austrian Dominic Thiem, who recovered to defeat Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny 3-6, 6-4, 7-5. –AFP

England batsman Jonny Bairstow plays a shot during play on the second day of their third Test match against Sri Lanka at Lord's cricket ground in London yesterday AFP

Bairstow suffers highs and lows against Sri Lanka n AFP, London Jonny Bairstow continued a brilliant year of run-scoring with a Test-best 167 not out against Sri Lanka at Lord’s yesterday.

But the debate about whether Bairstow should keep wicket for England intensified when he dropped Dimuth Karunaratne on the second day of the third Test At tea, Sri Lanka were 62 without loss in reply to England’s first innings 416, a deficit of 354 runs.

Left-hander Karunaratne was 30 not out and Kaushal Silva 31 not out. But Karunaratne should have gone for 28 when he got an edge off all-rounder Chris Woakes only for

DAY TWO, AT TEA SRI LANKA 62/0 in 15 overs (Karunaratne 30, K Silva 31) v ENGLAND 416 in 128.4 overs (Bairstow 167*, Cook 85) England lead by 354 runs Bairstow to drop the two-handed waist-high chance.

Even allowing for the possibility that Bairstow was mentally and physically tired after his more than six-hour innings, and that the ball ‘wobbled’ a touch before reaching him, it was still an extraordinary miss by a Test keeper.

It is not the first time this series

that Bairstow has grassed a routine chance -- although yesterday’s miss was the most glaring.

Since January 1 he has been in prolific form with the bat for both county champions Yorkshire and England, scoring 594 runs at an average of 118.8 in Tests and 1,127 runs in a ll first-class cricket at 102.4.

Friday saw Bairstow receive good support from Woakes (whose 66 was his maiden Test fifty) in a seventh-wicket partnership of 144.

Meanwhile Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Rangana Herath took four for 81 on a good pitch for batting.

England resumed on 279 for six with Bairstow, dropped on 11, 107 not out and Woakes unbeaten on 23.l

Garfield Sobers, arguably cricket’s greatest all-rounder, led a special tribute to Muhammad Ali at Lord’s on Friday that coincided with the boxing legend’s funeral.

The two sporting icons met at Lord’s back in 1966 when Sobers was a member of the West Indies side playing England in a Test match at “the home of cricket” and heavyweight star Ali was in London for his second fight with Britain’s Henry Cooper.

During the lunch interval of Friday’s second day play in the third Test between England and Sri Lanka, black and white photographs of Ali meeting Sobers in the Lord’s dressing room were displayed on the ground’s giant screens.

Sobers, 79, then rang a bell in the Lord’s pavilion five minutes before the start of the second session of play as a tribute.

Thousands of people from near and far were expected to line the streets of Ali’s hometown Louisville on Friday to say goodbye to him. Ali, who died aged 74 last week after decades suffering with Parkinson’s disease, and Sobers enjoyed success in London in 1966.

Ali stopped a bloodied Cooper in the sixth round to retain his world heavyweight title.

Sobers (163 not out) and his cousin David Holford (105) shared a second-innings stand of 274 that helped save the West Indies from defeat as they drew the second Test against England at Lord’s.

If three-times world champion Ali is viewed as boxing’s best heavyweight of all time, Sobers is widely regarded as cricket’s greatest all-rounder.l

Nadal out of Wimbledon with wrist injury n Reuters, London Twice former champion Rafael Nadal will not play at this year’s Wimbledon due to the wrist injury that forced the Spaniard out of the French Open, he said on Thursday.

“I’m sad to announce that after talking to my doctors, and receiving the results of my last medical revision, I won’t be able to play at Wimbledon this year,” Nadal said on his Facebook page.

“As you can all imagine, it’s a very tough decision, but the injury I suffered at Roland Garros needs time to heal.”

Nadal’s withdrawal is a blow for the championships at which the Spaniard has been such an attraction for more than a decade. He also had to pull out before the 2009 edition of Wimbledon with a knee injury when

he was defending champion, citing that as “one of the toughest decisions of my career.”

Nadal was also badly missed at the last fortnight’s French Open after pain in his left wrist flared up and he was forced to withdraw following a landmark 200th grand slam win over Argentina’s Facundo Bagnis in the second round.

The 30-year-old’s career has been littered with injuries, particularly to his knees. He also missed the U.S. Open in 2014 with a problem with his right wrist and has suffered from back and hamstring problems as well as appendicitis.

Nadal, who had already pulled out of next week’s grass-court warm-up at Queen’s Club, added on Facebook that he would also miss two more of his usual pre-Wimbledon events.l

NADAL’S GRAND SLAM MISERY AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2006 - foot, 2013 - virus

WIMBLEDON 2004 - ankle, 2009 - knee, 2016 - wrist

FRENCH OPEN 2003 - elbow, 2004 - ankle

US OPEN 2012 - knee, 2014 - wrist

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Abahani shocked, Mohammedan held n Tribune Report

Arambagh Krira Sangha handed Abahani Limited a shocking 1-0 defeat in the Federation Cup at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. The defeat will make it tough for the Sky Blues to reach the knockout stage.

Arambagh stunned the Sky Blues by taking the lead in the 25th minute through Mohammad Abdullah. Nigerian striker Kester Akon showed great skill to skip past two defenders before passing it forward to Abdullah, who swiftly sent the ball crashing into the near post.

Arambagh defender Akramuzzaman Liton made a brilliant tackle inside the penalty area in the 34th minute to thwart a threatening Abahani attack.

Abahani’s Sunday Chizoba also came close to bringing parity but his free-kick from just outside the box flew inches over the crossbar two minutes into the second half.

Ten minutes into the second half, Sunday outmuscled his marker to meet a fine Mamun Mia cross but the Nigerian’s header went just wide.

Abahani’s misery increased when they were reduced to 10 men after their defender Ariful Islam received

Abahani Limited’s Nigerian striker Sunday Chizoba (R) grapples for the ball with an Arambagh defender during their Federation Cup match at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE two yellow cards within five minutes.

Earlier yesterday, Mohammedan Sporting Club kicked off their Federation Cup campaign with a surprising 2-2 draw against Rahmatganj in the tournament opener at the same venue.

Against the run of play, Congolese forward Siyo Zunapio put Rahmatganj ahead with just four minutes into the clock after fine work from Syed Rashed Turzo. Turzo found Zunapio with a through pass from the right flank and the Congolese striker

drifted into the box before slotting home into the near post.

Mohammedan were finding it difficult to equalise the margin as three of their shots ended up flying over the bar in the first half while Shahadat Hossain Shahed went agonisingly close but his effort hit the woodwork.

Guinean forward Ismael Bangoura also missed a great opportunity to level things but he soon made amends in the 63rd minute when he smashed a rebounder home from six yards after Masuk Mia Jony’s initial shot was punched away by Rahmatganj goalkeeper Al Amin.

Five minutes later, the Black and Whites took the lead for the first time in the game through Shahed, who had no problems placing home into an unguarded net.

The delight however, did not last long as Zunapio bagged his second 10 minutes from time. The Congolese striker curved a delightful effort into the top right corner.l

RESULTS Mohammedan

2-2

Bangoura 63 Shahed 68

Abahani

Rahmatganj Zunapio 4, 80

0-1

Arambagh Abdullah 25

BCB to probe poor umpiring n Tribune Report Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan yesterday informed that the board will investigate the poor umpiring issue along with the switching of venues and favouritism towards some clubs in the ongoing Dhaka Premier League.

“I heard about such things in TV and newspapers. In fact, I talked about it [Thursday] and I think these things should not happen. The main problem is that there was a big chaos after Gazi Group [Cricketers’] game against Victoria [Sporting Club] was postponed.” said Nazmul.

“And secondly, Abahani were linked to be involved with poor umpiring. What happened is that the matter went to the ICC (International Cricket Council). They (ICC) are saying all the games played in the DPL are fixed, which is very alarming.

“But, what I learned is that the particular run out which was not given did not have any impact on the game as the batsman at the other end struck a six and a four. It (run out) would have hardly mattered in the context of the game,” he added.l

Dhaka Tribune’s DPL XI Dhaka Tribune Sports appointed Minhaz Uddin Khan and Mazhar Uddin as the selectors to pick their Dhaka Premier League XI. Soon they found out the pressure attached to such a job. Within 20 minutes however, Minhaz threatened to quit while Mazhar tried patiently to get his way. They understood what the national selectors usually go through. Then they sought the expert opinion of Bangladesh opening batsman Tamim Iqbal, who thankfully had no issue of not being in the line-up and still advised us with some technical points. We also relied on statistics to form this XI, keeping in mind the league rules of including just one overseas player. Meanwhile, Mazhar and Minhaz have been retained as selectors to pick the Super League XI, a reward for doing their work peacefully and being communicative with each other.

1. Abdul Mazid (Victoria SC) The right-hander opener was in terrific form this season at the DPL. He made 538 runs at an average of 48.90 with a top score of 118. He struck two hundreds and three fifties in 11 matches, and is also the second highest run-getter in the tournament.

2. Imtiaz Hossain (Doleshwar) He made 526 runs at an average of 52.60 with a top score of 100 not out.

Imtiaz is one of the most experienced cricketers in the domestic circuit. The 31 year old right hander smashed two hundreds and three fifties so far and undoubtedly the cricketer from Sylhet has been one of the highlights for Prime Doleshwar this season.

3. Shamsur Rahman (Gazi Group) He has been unheralded since getting chopped from the Bangladesh team

in 2014. But this season, Shamsur has made amends by ending the first phase with 558 runs at 55.80 average, a hundred and four fifties. Certainly he should make the selectors think of him when they next pick Bangladesh’s oneday squad.

4. Al-Amin (Victoria) Young Al Amin has been in terrific form right from the start of the league for Victoria. He made 502 runs at an average of 55.77 with five fifties and a hundred.

As the fourth highest run getter in the tournament, Al Amin also has a brilliant strike-rate of 89.80. He also ended the season with his first List-A five-wicket haul with his offspin.

5. Mohammad Mithun (WK, Rupganj) The wicket-keeper batsman has played a key role for Legends of Rupganj both with the bat and behind the stumps.

Mithun has made four half centuries in the tournament, making 393 runs at an average of 43.66, with a top score of 90.

6. Mahmudullah (Sheikh Jamal) The ever dependable Mahmudullah led Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club from the front both with bat and ball this season.

The 30 year old smashed two centuries and also picked up 21 wickets with his off-spin. He was undoubtedly the best allrounder in the competition, bringing his international form into the domestic arena and doing justice as the first pick in the draft.

7. Mosaddek Hossain (Abahani) The middle-order batsman made his mark for the Bangladesh Under-19s and continued doing

the job for Abahani this season. With 431 runs at an average of 86.20, he is an easy pick in this XI.

8. Mashrafe Mortaza (C, Kalabagan) He had to be satisfied with a below par squad but the person that he is, Mashrafe went against the odds to ensure his side finished in seventh place despite being a relegation contender. Mashrafe also finished with 22 wickets and the fastest hundred by a Bangladeshi in List-A cricket, and there is no doubt that he is our captain.

9. Chaturanga de Silva (Victoria) As one of the lesser known foreigners in the league this season, de Silva was the most effective of them all. The left-arm spinner who played six ODIs for Sri Lanka, bagged 23 wickets in 11 games to top the bowlers and scored 221 runs to aid Victoria to the top.

10. Mosharraf Hossain (Rupganj) He had to deal with competition in and out the field and also a one-match suspension.

Mosharraf though marched along strong and fought against all the odds, helping his side to end as the fifth team in the Super League. Along the way Mosharraf bagged 11 wickets in nine matches and made 258 runs with two half centuries.

11. Kamrul Islam Rabbi (Victoria) The right-arm pacer took 22 wickets to join Mashrafe as the leading wicket taker among the local bowlers.

Kamrul has done more than expected of him.

Emdadul Bashar (coach, Victoria) The season was the 10th consecutive one for Emdadul Bashar, with Victoria.

Despite having a mediocre side Bashar has done wonders to make Victoria finish top after the first phase.l

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SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

DAY’S WATCH

RESULTS

FOOTBALL

Venezuela

1-0

Uruguay

2-0

Jamaica

Rondon 36

SONY SIX, SONY ESPN

Mexico

7:00 PM

Hernandez 18, Peralta 81

Euro Cup 2016 Albania v Switzerland

GROUP C

10:00 PM Wales v Slovakia

Team

1:00 AM England v Russia

SONY ESPN 5:00 AM (Sunday) Copa America Centenario 2016

GP W D

Mexico

2

Venezuela Uruguay Jamaica

L GD PTS

2

2

2

4

6

2

2

0

0

2

6

2

0

0

2 -3

0

2

0

0

2 -3

0

USA v Paraguay 7:00 AM (Sunday)

Venezuela midfielder Alejandro Guerra (R) and defender Oswaldo Vizcarrondo (L) defend against Uruguay defender Diego Godin (2L) during their Copa America Centenario match at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday

Colombia v Costa Rica

CRICKET STAR SPORTS 1 4:00PM Sri Lanka Tour of England 3rd Test, Day 3

TEN 1 HD 1:00 PM India Tour of Zimbabwe 1st ODI 10:30 PM Tri-Nation 2016 :4th ODI South Africa v Australia

HOCKEY STAR SPORTS 2 7:00 PM FIH Men’s Hockey Champions Trophy Germany v Belgium 9:00 PM India v Great Britan 11:00 PM Australia v Korea

FORMULA ONE STAR SPORTS 4 10:55 PM FIA F1 World Championship Qualifying : Montreal, Canada

TENNIS TEN 1 4:00 PM ATP World Tour 250 2016 Mercedes Cup: SF

BASKETBALL SONY SIX 7:00 AM NBA season 2015/16 : Game 4 Cleveland Cavaliers v Golden State Warriors

GOLF TEN GOLF HD 4:00 PM European Tour 2016 Lyoness Open: Day 3

NEO SPORTS 11:00 PM PGA Tour 2016 FedEx St Jude Classic

REUTERS

Uruguay tumble out as Mexico, Venezuela reach Copa quarters n AFP, Philadelphia Uruguay were sent crashing out of the Copa America Centenario on Thursday as Venezuela and Mexico marched into the quarer-finals.

Uruguay, the record 15-time Copa America champions, were eliminated in the group phase for the first time since 1997 after slumping to a shock 1-0 loss to Venezuela in Philadelphia.

That result combined with Mexico’s 2-0 Group C win over Jamaica in Pasadena left the 2011 champi-

ons struggling to digest a humiliating early exit.

“We never found the game we wanted and that cost us,” Uruguay’s revered coach Oscar Tabarez said, adding that the ill-fated campaign should serve as a warning to his team as they now look ahead to the resumption of 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

“It’s been a very different Copa America. I’ve never experienced something like this before.

“We knew it was going to be difficult but this should be a wake-up

call before the World Cup qualifiers,” Tabarez added.

Uruguay’s defeat also capped a miVenezuela’s winner came on 36 minutes, when midfielder Alejandro Guerra cleverly spotted Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera off his line. Guerra unleashed a long-range effort from near the halfway line which the back-pedalling Muslera could only parry onto the bar before Salomon Rondon bundled in the rebound.

Venezuela’s advance to the last eight is the biggest shock of the

Suarez lays bare frustration n Reuters

A Luis Suarez tantrum near the end of Thursday’s 1-0 defeat by Venezuela graphically summed up Uruguay’s frustration at a shock early exit from the Copa America Centenario.

The striker who scored 40 goals for Barcelona in the La Liga season banged the transparent, acrylic bench shelter with his fist after realising he was not the man chosen to go on as Uruguay’s last substitution in the 78th minute of the Group C match in Philadelphia.

“However, angry he gets, I’m not going to send on a player who could be at risk,” coach Oscar Tabarez told a news conference of Suarez, who figured on Uruguay’s match team list under the “I” column for injured.

“There was no situation. It’s what I said yesterday (Wednesday), Luis is not fit to play, but it’s a thing for the

medics I was with him just now and he didn’t say anything to me.”

Tabarez’s plan was to have Suarez, recovering from a thigh injury, fully fit for the knockout phase but that was dashed by the team’s poor performances, not so much

against Mexico as Venezuela.

Uruguay, record 15-times winners of the world’s oldest international tournament, were among the pre-tournament favourites to lift the trophy in the centenary event in the United States.l

Uruguay's Luis Suarez (L) reacts during the Copa America Centenario match against Venezuela in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Thursday AFP

tournament so far.

The Venezuelans are currently bottom of South America’s 10-team round robin qualifying competition for the 2018 World Cup; Uruguay are on top of the standings.

Venezuela will now face Mexico in their final first round game to determine who finishes top of Group C. Mexico, who had beaten Uruguay 3-1 in their opening game, meanwhile proved too powerful for Caribbean minnows Jamaica in front of an 83,263 crowd at the Pasadena Rose Bowl. l

Carrick extends Man Utd contract n Reuters Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick has signed a one-year contract extension to June 2017, the Premier League club said on Thursday.

The 34-year-old has made more than 400 appearances for the club, winning five league titles, the Champions League and the FA Cup during his 10-year stay at Old Trafford. Carrick had sparked doubts about his future when he accompanied his children on to the pitch for the final game of the season at Old Trafford.

New United manager Mourinho felt Carrick deserved to be rewarded with a new contract.

“Michael is a very intelligent midfielder and a great reader of the game. I am pleased that he will be extending his contract,” Mourinho said.l

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Downtime

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SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Custom (5) 5 Bill of fare (4) 8 Beginning (6) 9 Poison (5) 10 Stupefy (4) 11 Bullock (5) 12 Tree (3) 15 Water grass (4) 18 Building’s divisions (5) 21 Flightless bird (3) 22 Adverse fate (4) 24 Stagger (4) 25 Conscious of (5) 28 Story in instalments (6) 29 Floor coverings (4) 30 Useless remains (5)

DOWN 1 Here (6) 2 Container (3) 3 Rainbow goddess (4) 4 Tinge (4) 5 Niggard (5) 6 Meal course (6) 7 Rounded vase (3) 13 Behold (2) 14 Unassuming (6) 16 Printers’ measure (2) 17 Constraint (6) 19 Burrowing animals (5) 20 As stated (2) 23 Servant (4) 24 Spirit (3) 26 Armed conflict (3) 27 Drink (3)

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 11 represents P so fill P every time the figure 11 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

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

Time to binge on blinders

n Mahmood Hossain Peaky Blinders is a cooler and possibly sexier version of Boardwalk Empire. With the latest season three released on

Netflix, you’ll be able to watch all three seasons from the first. The series revolves around late 19th century gangsters, the Romani Peaky Blinders, on the verge of 1920s Birmingham, England, post

World War I. The fictional take on the Shelby brothers (the main characters), is a gripping one. It’ll make mob/mafia fans want to put on a flat cap or newsboy hat with a razor blade attached. You’ll get

what that means once you’ve seen the show. But we wouldn’t ever condone such a thing, so keep your razors on your faces.

Brilliantly played by Cillian Murphy, Tommy Shelby, a former WWI veteran and Sergeant Major, is the feared and respected leader of the gang. He, and his ambitious and dangerous crew, naturally catch the attention of chief inspector Chester Campbell (played

by Sam Neill), who is a detective in the Royal Irish Constabulary from Belfast. Winston Churchill personally puts Campbell in charge of bringing down the the uprising in Birmingham and take down the Peaky Blinders and their illegal activities. This is where the fun begins.

The show is wonderfully shot, giving the cinematography credit where it’s due. In addition, the magnificent and raw emotional performances by the actors only heightens the show’s popularity.

Based on a true environment of the late 1800s, the Peaky Blinders were a stylish bunch, a lovely nod to the impeccable bespoke suits they wore on a regular. Bravo to the costume team behind the

show as well. As the Shelbys continue their dominance in expanding their criminal empire to the south (London) and north of England, the show really captures the essence of this period drama.

The suspension of belief is quite limited because the direction of the show portrays something very close to a non-fictional story.

The show writer Steven Knight, also an executive producer, was quoted saying he had never seen a single episode of Boardwalk Empire or The Wire – two of the best television series of all-time.

He said that looking at other people’s work would distract the genuine or original take on something new; it would inevitably influence his own work one way or another. Well, Mr Knight, a job well done. But once you’re done with this show, we recommend you check out the other mentioned shows in this article. That goes to you, the readers, and Mr Knight himself.

And you are welcome, we’ve provided you a recommendation that is worthy of a binge. Just remember to take short breaks in between each episode. l

and enjoy the show. Plenty of explosions, gun fights, plot holes and stereotypical, unoriginal bad guys. So what makes this movie so fun to watch? Simple. It’s senseless action. This time around, the action is shifted into the city of London, as Mike Banning (Butler) is seen once again protecting president Benjamin Asher (palyed by Aaron Eckhart) against terror attacks. The most ridiculous set-up is seeing how miraculously these terrorists infiltrated the British government’s law enforcement within a span of only two years.

Don’t worry, that wasn’t a spoiler. You really can’t find a spoiler talking about this movie if you’re life depended on it.

However, at many points of the film, you’ll start asking yourself, “what it be so difficult to come up with something a bit more intriguing to the script?” Of course not! It’s the sequel to an already mindless action movie. And that’s just it, ladies and gentlemen.

London Has Fallen is not a great movie, and that’s being nice.

Although, it is definitely a movie worth watching at home on BluRay or some kind of streaming service. No one is going to blame you for watching a clichéd, overdone action flick. Put it on for some background noise while you clean your room, if you want. Again, this a solid action flick, do not expect anything else from it. l

From Olympus to England not be as good as the franchise starring Willis, but it brings the whole popcorn movie enjoyment to its audience.

Just turn your brain off for about an hour and 40 minutes

n Mahmood Hossain London Has Fallen is a terribly good film. It’s so bad that it’s good.

Call it a guilty pleasure, if you will. The sequel to Olympus Has Fallen is cut from the same fabric

as the original Die Hard movies, starring Bruce Willis in his prime.

Gerrard Butler, the hero of this film and Secret Service agent, can be seen mimicking the character of the iconic John McClane from Die Hard. London Has Fallen may

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Back Page

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

UNSTEADY DREAMS OF A NEW INTERNATIONAL PAGE 16

THE ROYAL SILK CITY PAGE 22

TIME TO BINGE ON BLINDERS PAGE 31

An end to life as they know it

Bandarban’s indigenous people struggle as their slash-and-burn agro methods are no longer effective

CHT

FOOD CRISIS

Alam Durjoy, back from n Nure Thanchi, Bandarban Rui Moun, an 85-year-old living in the remote hills of Bandarban, has known hardship throughout her life.

She says struggle is a constant companion for most of the indigenous people who live on jhum cultivation, a slash-and-burn method of agriculture, on the little patches of arable land available on the steep hills.

But the present food crisis is nothing like she has ever seen before, Rui Mon tells the Dhaka Tribune.

The octogenarian breaks down in tears and says she wishes she could die to end the suffering.

It was not always this bad, she says. Thirty years back, the Jhum people grew different varieties of crops on the highlands of Thanchi in Bandarban.

But different reasons – mostly man-made, but also some weather-related – have triggered a collapse in the jhum harvesting practices handed down from generation to generation.

Jhum farmers said the small arable spaces in the hills are only suitable for jhum cultivation once every four years. Following each round of multi-crop cultivation, the land needs to be left alone for at least four years so that jungle weeds, herbs and shrubs grow naturally.

Rui Moun, an 85-year-old in Thanchi's Young Noung Para village, tells the Dhaka Tribune that the food crisis in the remote hills makes her wish she could die to end the suffering NURE ALAM DURJOY Then the wild vegetation needs to burned to make the land ready for the next round of cultivation.

Usually farmers grow crops like rice, sesame, pepper, ginger, turmeric, pumpkin, corn etc on a single piece of land.

Although this had been the routine practice for hundreds of years, people can no longer follow this cycle any more.

When the Dhaka Tribune visited the remote areas of Thanchi re-

cently, the jhum farmers said there were too many mouths to feed now and too little land available for meeting the demands.

In the remote areas where there is no awareness about family planning, a population boom coupled with limited cultivable space have made the food crisis more complicated, the highlanders said.

People can no longer wait four years to grow crops on the same piece of land. The second round of

harvest must come within two and a half years, or the families face starvation.

“In the past, we had food to eat and plenty of work available. We also caught fish in the Shankha River,” 85-year-old Rui Moun told the Dhaka Tribune while sitting in her home at Young Noung Para village under Remakree union.

Those were a different time when people in the hills could also go hunting small deers, Samba

deers, and wild boars and hens in the forest, she said.

Back then, Rui Moun said she could go Bangalee vendors in the nearby bazars and exchange one Hari – or around 4kg – of rice for one Hari of dried shrimp.

But those golden days are long gone. Now people hardly had any rice that they could exchange.

Nirandra Tripura, a 32-year-old resident of Kesapru Para, said the alarming drop in rice production means that food is becoming more and more scarce each day.

Thirty-seven households in Kesapru Para are facing starvation after excessive rain damaged the jhum crops there last year.

The situation is the same for people in Usamoung Karbari Para, one of the locals named Ao Ma Ching told the Dhaka Tribune.

“Crops from jhum cultivation has not been satisfactory in the recent years. Even if a little bit grows, rats and pigs eat them,” said Rengui Murong of Loyakree Para.

“Bad weather and frequent rounds of cultivation on the same land mean we cannot get a good harvest,” he added.

On the remote hills, there was simply not enough arable land where the Jhum people could grow their crops, Rengui said.

Chankran Mro, of the same village, said the people now had no choice but to leave it to their own fate and hope for the best.

When the only way of livelihood they have known their entire lives seem to be disappearing fast, hope is the last straw they can cling onto. l

Final tribute to Ali n Reuters Hundreds of people gathered outside Muhammad Ali's boyhood home in Kentucky and elsewhere along a funeral procession route yesterday to celebrate the boxing champion who jolted America with

‹‹ Worshipers and well-wishers take photographs as the casket with the body of the late boxing champion Muhammad Ali is brought for his janaza in Louisville, Kentucky yesterday REUTERS

his showmanship and won admiration as a man of principle. Ali died a week ago at age 74 as one of the most respected men in the US. A hearse embarked on a route through Louisville, Kentucky; it was to end at Cave Hill National Cemetery with a private burial.

Thousands of people were expected to fill the KFC Yum Center for a memorial featuring eulogies by former US President Bill Clinton and comedian Billy Crystal.

Pallbearers will include actor Will Smith and former heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis. l

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