02 July, 2016

SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016 | Ashar 18, 1423, Ramadan 26, 1437 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 70 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages plus 16-page Arts & Letters | Price: Tk10

Terror strikes Dhaka

As of 2am last night, police were still surrounding the Holey Artisan Bakery at Gulshan 2, under siege reportedly by 8-9 gunmen. At least 20 people were being held hostage, mostly foreigners.

Gunshots killed two senior police officers and at least 24 were injured A police official helps his colleague in plainclothes, who was injured by bomb explosion at Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan, to get away from the area last night MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

STORIES ON Page 2

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SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016

Two cops killed in Gulshan restaurant hostage crisis Hasan, Arifur Rahman n Kamrul Rabbi and Mohammad Jamil Khan An assistant commissioner of DB police and the Banani OC were killed and several dozen police officials and civilians injured in an attack launched reportedly by the Islamic State members on a Spanish restaurant frequented by foreigners at Dhaka's Gulshan diplomatic zone last night.

Sources said at least 20 civilians, mostly foreigners, were kept hostage by a group of some eight criminals equipped with guns and sharp weapons inside the restaurant named O' Kitchen on road 79 at Gulshan 2. They could not be rescued until filing of this report at 2am.

Assistant Commissioner of DB police Rabiul Islam succumbed to bullet injuries at 1am while being taken to the hospital, DB Deputy Commissioner (north) Nazmul Hassan told the Dhaka Tribune.

Banani OC Salauddin Ahmed, who was shot while entering the restaurant around 10:30pm, died after he was taken to United Hospital, Assistant Commissioner Shibli Noman confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune. He also received splinter injuries.

Police said at least 24 law enforcers were injured during gunfights and grenade blasts that ensued around 8:45pm.

Gulshan zone Assistant Deputy Commissioner Abdul Ahad, Gulshan police Inspector (investigation) Salauddin Ahmed, his bodyguard Manik, SI Yasin Gazi, and constables Zia, Rabiul, Pradip and Alamgir are among the injured.

One of the other injured is microbus driver Abdur Razzak.

Most of them were admitted to United Hospital.

Around midnight, Rita Katz, di-

Police officials quickly move their wounded colleague away to safety following a bomb blast at Holey Artisan Bakery, the restaurant in Gulshan, Dhaka where eight to nine gunmen held more than 20 people hostage last night MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU rector of SITE Intelligence Group that monitors Jihadi activities, in a tweet said that IS' Amaq News Agency claimed credit for the attack. On the other hand, the supporters of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) hailed the gun attack.

Alongside the regular police forces, members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Rapid Action Battalion were also in position around the restaurant to tackle the situation.

Teams of the police's Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and the BGB reached the spot after 11pm when the RAB chief said that they were trying to settle the matter peacefully. A naval commando team went to the crime scene around 1:20am.

Security measures were beefed up at all major points across Dhaka following the tension, DMP Deputy

Commissioner Masudur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune.

Constable Sukhchan Mia who was performing his duties in front of the Qatar Embassy said that he had heard gunshots first at 8:45pm.

The firing continued with regular interval until 10:30pm, he told the Dhaka Tribune.

Three people including two police officials were shot at 10:30pm when the attackers opened fire and exploded a grenade that blasted with a huge bang, witnesses said.

RAB chief Benazir Ahmed at 11:15pm told reporters that they were trying to settle the matter peacefully after holding discussions with the criminals.

"Some derailed youths have entered the restaurant and launched the attack," said Benazir, director general of the elite anti-crime force. "We have talked to some of the people who fled the restaurant

after the attack. We want to resolve this peacefully. We are trying to talk to the attackers, we want to listen to them about what they want," he told reporters.

Sumon Reza, supervisor at the bakery who escaped the attack, told reporters that at least 20 people were at the bakery and all of them were foreigners.

He saw two attackers and both of them were appeared to be under 30. They had small firearms and at least one attacker was carrying a sharp weapon.

Sumon added that the attackers were shouting “Allahu Akbar” while entering the shop. Two of the bakery's staff are also foreigners, he said. “One baker, an Italian, escaped the attack but the other, an Argentine, could not,” he said.

A police team first tried to enter the restaurant around 9:30pm but they had to retract upon firing by

the attackers, a senior police official told the Dhaka Tribune.

Later a BGB team attempted to contact with the attackers but failed.

Finally, after the RAB chief's press briefing a team of around 2030 law enforcers was trying to enter the restaurant to settle the matter.

Members of the DMP's Bomb Disposal Unit went to the spot around 11pm, confirmed police sources. Moreover, a special team of BGB reached the spot around the same time.

Three ambulances were kept stand-by near the site to move the injured urgently to hospitals.

“Uncle, tell the police not to open fire. In that case, they will kill us all,” an engineer, who went to the restaurant with his wife and children, told his uncle over the phone around 10:35pm.

The attack took place at a time when the country has been experiencing series of targeted killings by members of Islamic State and AQIS. Yesterday, IS claimed responsibilities for the murder of two people – one in Jhenaidah and another in Bandarban. Since September last year, the group has claimed 24 attacks killing 20 people, mostly non-Muslim and non-Sunni preachers and foreigners.

On the other hand, AQIS claimed 13 attacks since 2013 killing 11 people, most of who are secular bloggers and LGBT activists.

The United States yesterday designated AQIS as a terrorist organisation and its leader Asim Umar as a global terrorist for their activities in South Asia.

In a video message in September 2014, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri announced the formation of AQIS. The group is led by Asim Umar, a former member of Harakatul-Mujahidin, the US state department said in a statement. l

MILITANT ATTACKS CLAIMED BY ISLAMIC STATE # September 28, 2015, Dhaka Italian aid worker Cesare Tavella,

# November 18, 2015, Dinajpur Priest Piero Parolari survives attack

# February 8, 2016, Gaibandha Hindu businessman Tarun Datta

# April 30, 2016, Tangail Hindu tailor Nikhil Chandra Joarder

# June 7, 2016, Jhenaidah Hindu priest Ananda Gopal Ganguli

# October 3, 2015, Rangpur Japanese farmer Hoshi Kunio

# November 8, 2015, Rangpur Bahai Centre Director Ruhul Amin

# February 21, 2016, Panchagarh Hindu priest Joggeshwar Roy

# May 14, 2016, Bandarban Buddhist monk Priest Maung Shue U

# June 10, 2016, Pabna Monastery staff Nityanando Pandey

# October 24, 2015, Dhaka Two killed at Hussaini Dalan

# November 26, 2015, Bogra 1 killed in Shia mosque attack

# March 14, 2016, Jhenaidah Shia preacher Abdur Razzaq

# May 20, 2016, Kushtia Homoeopath Sanwar Hossain

# June 30, 2016, Bandarban AL leader Mong Sanu Marma

# November 4, 2015, Ashulia Constable Mukul Hossain

# December 26, 2015, Rajshahi Suicide bomber killed in Ahmadiyya mosque attack

# March 22, 2016, Kurigram Christian convert Hossain Ali Sarker

# May 25, 2016, Gaibandha Hindu trader Debesh Chandra Pramanik

# July 1, 2016, Jhenaidah Hindu priest Shyamanondo Das

# April 23, 2016, Rajshahi Prof Dr AFM Rezaul Karim Siddique

# June 5, 2016, Natore Christian grocer Sunil Gomez

# November 10, 2015, Rangpur Shrine caretaker Rahmat Ali

# January 7, 2016, Jhenaidah Homoeopath Chhamir Uddin Mandal

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SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh take position near Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan, Dhaka where gunmen barged in and took at least 20 people into hostage last night

n Tribune Desk ery offers a nice patch of greenery and a casual atmosphere where you feel right at ease. It feels less of a business place and more of a home,” says one such reviewer.

It is their love and passion for food that drive the owners to found Holey and O' Kitchen.

“This project was born out of love and everyone involved is passionate about improving life,” they say on the eateries' Facebook pages. “We are passionate about our food.” l

TRIP ADVISOR

Launched only two years ago, Holey Artisan was quick to gain popularity among both locals and foreigners in Dhaka with their array of food as well as the homely ambiance. Driven by the success, owners Porag and Sadat then launched O' Kitchen, a restaurant serving European cuisines.

Launched only six months after Holey and right next to the

bakery, the restaurant also became an instant hit.

The bakery and the restaurant owe their success largely to the authentic experience of food, which is why they are a hugely popular socialising spot among foreigners living in Dhaka.

The added charm is its location, which is right next to the Gulshan Lake, according to reviewers on several online social platforms. “In the middle of the concrete jungle of Dhaka, the eat-

MILITANT ATTACKS CLAIMED BY AQIS # January 13, 2013, Dhaka Blogger Asif Mohiuddin survives attack

# February 26, 2015, Dhaka Mukto-Mona founder Avijit Roy

# February 15, 2013, Dhaka Blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider killed

# March 30, 2015, Dhaka Secular activist Oyasiqur Rahman Babu

# June 24, 2014, Dhaka Blogger Rakib Mamun survives attack

# May 12, 2015, Sylhet Blogger Ananta Bijoy Das

# September 30, 2014, Savar University student Ashraful Alam

# August 7, 2015, Dhaka Blogger Niladri Chatterjee

# November 15, 2014, Rajshahi Prof AKM Shafiul Islam

# October 31, 2015, Dhaka Publisher Faisal Arefin Dipon

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Who could be behind this?

About Holey Artisan n Tribune Desk

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# October 31, 2015, Dhaka Publisher Ahmedur Rashid Tutul, two writers survive attack # April 6, 2016, Dhaka University student Nazimuddin Samad # April 25, 2016, Dhaka LGBT activists Xulhaz Mannan and Mahbub Tonoy

No group or individual officially claimed responsibility for last night's attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan as of 2am.

In recent times, Bangladesh has seen a series of attacks by Islamist militants – mostly on people of other faiths as well as secular individuals. But yesterday's attack was the first ever hostage situation Bangladesh has seen.

In the attacks, the main suspects were the Islamic State and al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).

On different occasions, both groups have claimed to have carried out attacks on Bangladeshi soil. But the Bangladesh government has denied the groups' presence in the country, blaming most of the attacks on Jamaat-inspired extremists instead.

Although RAB chief Benazir Ahmed briefed media soon after the incident, he did not comment on the identities of the attackers.

Sumon Reza, a supervisor at the bakery who escaped the attack, told reporters that the attackers were shouting “Allahu Akbar” while entering the shop.

He saw two attackers and both of them appeared to be under 30.

They had small firearms and at least one attacker was carrying a sharp weapon.

Commenting on the latest attack, Rita Katz, co-founder of the SITE Intelligence Group that regularly reports on militant activities in Bangladesh, tweeted: “Clash in #Bangladesh different than all past #ISIS & #AQIS attacks there so far. A dangerous precedent in the country.”

John Kirby, US state department spokesman, also weighed in on the hostage situation. “The situation’s

ongoing, obviously – too early for us to say who’s involved, motivation, any of that stuff,” he said.

Soon after the attack, an unofficial twitter account claiming to belong to @Ansar_Islam_BD tweeted: “Operation has started in #Gulshan, #Bangladesh. Few foreign diplomatics (crusader) have been taking [sic] hostage in a hotel.”

The account later twitted: “It will be first in #Bangladesh to attack in diplomatic zone, taking hostage and largest operation against the crusaders and its allies.” The authenticity of the account could not be verified.

Meanwhile, just hours before the attack in Gulshan, IS yesterday claimed responsibilities for the murder of two people – one in Jhenaidah and another in Bandarban. Since September last year, the group has claimed 24 attacks killing 20 people, mostly non-Muslim and non-Sunni preachers and foreigners.

On the other hand, AQIS claimed 13 attacks since 2013 killing 11 people, most of whom are secular bloggers and LGBT activists.

The United States yesterday designated AQIS as a terrorist organisation and its leader Asim Umar as a global terrorist for their activities in South Asia. l

SEHRI & IFTAR

Ramadan 26 27 28

July 02 03 04

Sehri – 3:43 3:44

Iftar 6:54 6:54 6:54

Source: Islamic Foundation

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Mentally challenged man beaten to death in Dinajpur n Bipul Sarker Sunny, Dinajpur A mentally challenged man suspected to be a thief was beaten to death by the security guards of Dinajpur Medical College in the early hours of yesterday.

Confirming the matter to the Dhaka Tribune, Dinajpur Kotwali police station OC Redwanur Rahim said the deceased was identified as Sohel Rana, 32, resident of Relghunti area in Dinajpur.

According to police and local witnesses, Sohel entered the medical college premises early yesterday.

Suspecting that he was a thief, the security guards on duty at the time apprehended him and beat him.

“They caught Sohel because some resident students screamed when they saw

him, thinking he was a thief,” the OC said.

Critically wounded from the beating, Sohel was taken to the medical college hospital, where he died while undergoing treatment.

As word spread about the incident, angry locals blocked the highway in front of the college with tree logs around 10:30am and attacked the guards’ room.

On information, police hurled tear gas grenades at the protesters to bring the situation under control and later removed the logs from the road so traffic could resume.

Locals said Sohel was mentally challenged; his father was mentally challenged too.

No case has been filed in this regard and no one was arrested as of last night. l

Two little girls walk on a platform to board train as holidaymakers begin their journey towards home ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr. The photo was taken at Kamalapur Railway Station in Dhaka yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Long holiday eases Eid rush on highways n Kamrul Hasan The extended nine-day long Eid holidays have reduced the stress on commuters and bus owners alike as people have been leaving the city in smaller clusters this year.

Thursday night saw the largest group of people leave the city as most government employees began their Eid holidays.

The holidays began yesterday, but a large portion of people left Dhaka on Thursday night, finishing their last day in the office, said Liton Ahmed, Hanif Enterprise North Bengal routes manager.

Yesterday the bus terminals saw a smaller influx of passengers and empty counters promoting the buses to wait longer than their scheduled time of departure.

Jakiul Haque Jaki, a banker told the Dhaka Tribune that his bus was scheduled to leave for Thakurgaon at 10am but even after waiting an hour they had not reached Gabtoli. However, he said in the past they would wait for hours on end.

Transport owners said that because of fewer number of passengers than anticipated yesterday, they were compelled to reduce the number

of buses or send them off with many empty seats.

Parvez Alam, assistant manager of Southern area routes of Hanif Enterprise told the Dhaka Tribune that they had to send many buses with empty seats.

Tungipara Express’s Jatrabari counter employee, Mohidul Islam said: “the buses will be packed again on July 4 as many of the government employee and private job holder would leave Dhaka on that day.”

Similar comments were also made by the bus owners and different route managers of different transport agencies. l

Lailatul Qadr tonight n UNB The holy Lailatul Qadr or Shab-e-Qadr, the holiest and most blessed nights for Muslims, will be observed across the country tonight with due solemnity and religious fervour.

Muslim devotees will spend the night seeking divine blessings for peace and progress of the country as well as the Muslim Ummah.

According to the holy Qur’an, this is superior to a thousand nights as the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (SM) in this glorified night to show mankind the path of worldly and eternal emancipation.

The devout Muslims usually spend the night offering

special prayers, recitation from the holy Qur’an, holding milad mahfil, zikr, and other religious rituals at mosques and in their houses.

Special prayers and sermons will be arranged at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque and other mosques across the country on the holy night.

Bangladesh Television, Bangladesh Betar, private TV channels and radio stations will air special programmes, while newspapers will publish special articles highlighting the significance of the night.

On the occasion of Lailatul Qadr, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have greeted the country’s people and the Muslims across the world.

In his message, the president said the holy Lailatul Qadr, better than a thousand months, is a much sanctified night full of virtues.

“Allah revealed the holy Qur’an on this night. So the significance of this night is immense to the Muslim Ummah,” Abdul Hamid said.

He prayed to Allah to fulfil everybody’s life with His limitless blessings at the holy night.

In her message, Sheikh Hasina said the holy Qur’an was revealed at this night to show mankind the right path of emancipation. “We can get the proximity of the almighty Allah and unlimited divine blessings and forgiveness at this sacred night through prayers.” l

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SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016

Protests erupt at DU over terming Zia first president in souvenir

2 Shibir men killed in Jhenaidah ‘shootout’

n Nayan Khondoker, Jhenaidah

n Arif Ahmed and Kamrul Hasan The Dhaka University authorities yesterday suspended the acting registrar in the face of widespread protests over mentioning BNP founder and former president Ziaur Rahman as the country’s first president in its 95th anniversary souvenir.

Leaders and activists of Chhatra League, the ruling party’s student wing, also demanded the resignation of VC Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique, who termed the incident a mere “printing mistake.”

“We have taken immediate action against the printing mistake; suspended the registrar who is responsible for the incident. We will conduct a thorough investigation and take stern action,” the VC told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday afternoon.

Earlier, the Chhatra League activists locked up acting registrar Rezaur Rahman in his office for about an hour at noon after holding a meeting at the Teacher Student Centre. He was eventually rescued by the university proctor. The official later told reporters that it was a printing mistake.

Maj Gen Ziaur Rahman took office as the ninth president of Bangladesh on April 21, 1977, according to the Bangabhaban website. Father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mu-

Chhatra League members light a fire in front of the Dhaka University vice-chancellor’s residence in protest against mentioning BNP founder Ziaur Rahman as the country’s first president in an anniversary souvenir of the institution yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE but was unharmed, police said.

Members of Shahbagh police and the university proctorial team rescued the besieged VC and delivered him to his residence.

Chhatra League’s central committee President Saifur Rahman Sohag alleged that the “Jamaat-BNP followers” in the university administration had committed this act of distorting history.

The VC has announced that the souvenir would be withdrawn. “I do

jibur Rahman was the first president of Bangladesh’s first government in exile, formed on April 10, 1971.

Zia’s son Tarique Rahman made the claim first in 2014 at a seminar in London. BNP chief and Tarique’s mother Khaleda Zia later endorsed his view and publicly said her spouse was the first president.

Around 3pm, more than 50 Chhatra League activists attacked the VC’s SUV when he was entering his residence. The VC was inside

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not know why they are still demonstrating. However, it is anyone’s right to demonstrate if they wish, but proper action is under way,” he told reporters about the protests.

Motahar Hossain Prince, general secretary of Chhatra League’s DU unit, demanded that the VC resigns during a demonstration in front of the VC’s residence.

He warned that tougher protests would be launched if the demand was not met. l

Two Islami Chhatra Shibir members were killed in what police said was a gun battle with them in Jhenaidah early yesterday.

The two are Shahid Al Mahmud, 25, son of Rajab Ali Mollah of Badanpur village in Jhenaidah Sadar upazila, and Anisur Rahman, 26, son of Sabdar Hossain of Jugiya Bhatapara village in Kushtia Sadar upazila.

Shahid was a first-year Kamil student at Jhenaidah Siddiqia Kamil Madrasa. ASP Gopinath Kanjilal of Jhenaidah Sadar circle said some criminals hurled 4-5 handmade bombs and fired several shots at a police team that went to Tetulbaria area on Tetultola-Naldanga road.

“Police fired back, triggering a shootout for 20 minutes. When it ended, Shahid and Anisur were dead at the scene while others fled,” he said. Three policemen also sustained injuries.

“A local pistol, two rounds, five bombs and six knives were recovered from the scene. The bodies were sent to Jhenaidah Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy.”

On June 18, Shahid’s father Rajab told a news conference at Jhenaidah Press Club that some 10-12 people came by a microbus and three motorbikes at midnight on June 13 and picked his son up. l

Two more arrests in Mitu murder Mizanur Rahaman, n FM Chittagong

Two people including the younger brother of police informant Kamrul Islam Musa, prime suspect in the Superintendent of Police (SP) Babul Akter’s wife Mahmuda Khanam Mitu murder, were arrested by detectives in the murder case from Ragunia upazila in Chittagong early yesterday.

The arrestees were Shahjahan Mia, 28 son of late Kabir Ahmed and Saiful Alam Sikdar alias Saku Sikdar, 45, said Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP)’s Additional Commissioner (Crime and Operation) Debdas Bhattacharia. Saku is a businessman and Shahjahan is a vagabond, said the police official.

Chittagong Metropolitan Magistrate Nowrin Akter Kakon sent the two to jail after they were produced before the court with a ten-day remand prayer, CMP’s Additional

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN SATURDAY, JULY 2

killing and to find Musa.

Family members and relatives of Musa said Musa and Saku were picked up by police last month.

Both Debdas and Kamruzzaman have denied the claim, saying police are trying to arrest the other killers including Musa.

Investigators said all airports and land ports had been put on alert so that Musa, Nabi, Kalu and Rashed could not leave the country.

Police on Tuesday arrested Ehteshamul Haque Bhola who allegedly supplied two firearms to Musa to kill Mitu and his cohort Monir from Bakalia’s Rajakhali and recovered two firearms believed to have been used in the murder.

Mahmuda Khanam Mitu was stabbed and shot dead by three bike-riding assailants some 100 yards from her house in GEC area, heart of the Chittagong city on June 5 while she was going to drop her son at the school. l

Deputy Commissioner (ADC) (Prosecution) Nirmalendu Bikash Chawakrabarty said.

Debdas said Shahjahan’s name had come up in the confessional statements of Motaleb Mia Wasim and Anwar who directly took part in the killing, while investigators found that Saku had provided the motorcycle used in the murder to Musa.

“Seven to eight persons took part actively in Mitu murder. Shahjahan played his role as backup team member and informed the other killers about police movement during the killing mission,” said Debdas.

Musa’s family has said that plainclothes police took him into custody two weeks ago. Police are saying they are still hunting for Musa who allegedly hired the killers and plotted the murder.

DB Assistant Commissioner (AC) Kamruzzaman said they were grilling Saku and Shahjahan to gather more information regarding the Dhaka

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DHAKA TODAY SUN SETS 6:50PM

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Khulna

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Barisal

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:15AM

35.0ºC Sylhet

25.2ºC Tetulia

Source: Accuweather/UNB

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Sylhet

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Cox’s Bazar

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Fajr: 3:53am | Zohr: 1:15pm Asr: 5:15pm | Magrib: 7:03pm Esha: 8:45pm Source: Islamic Foundation

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SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016

Stalled work of road adds to people’s woes n Aminul Islam Rana, Sirajganj People, who travel through Bagura-Nagarbari Highway, have been facing trouble, as the construction work of by-lanes at different points beside the highway in Sirajganj has been stalled.

Ashraful Islam PK, sub-divisional engineer of Ullahpara in Sirajganj, said the construction of the by-lanes at Chandaikona, Bhuiyangati, Ghurka, Shahebganj, in front of Hatikumrul Union Parishad office of Ullahpara, Panchila, Boalia, Shyamalipara, Garadaha of Shahjadpur and BSCIC Dak Banglo intersection started in January.

The work was supposed to progress fast, as the points were identified as the most risky ones, he added.

But, Mir Shariful Alam Construction, the firm assigned for the work, has been dilly-dallying for the last

six months after digging ditches at 35 points in Sirajganj, Natore and Pabna Highways, including the afore-mentioned points, said Ashraful.

It put sand and concrete there, disrupting vehicular movements, reports our correspondent after visiting the sites recently.

We are making delay hoping to get another work from RHD of repairing some risky turning points adjacent to the by-lanes project The sufferings of the people of Khulna, Jossore, Kushtia and Pabna and 16 districts in the northern region will increase before and after Eid if no step is

taken immediately, said Abdul Kader Jilani, officer-in-charge (OC) of Hatikumrul police station.

Additional chief engineer’s office of Roads and Highways Department (RHD), Rajshahi, called for tenders last year for building the by-lanes at the points. Mir construction of Natore won the tender of nine crore taka. In January this year, the firm was asked to complete the construction work within one year.

The firm owner Md Bakhtiar Alam said admitting the fact:”We are making delay hoping to get another work from RHD of repairing some risky turning points adjacent to the by-lanes project.”

RHD Executive Engineer Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal said the work was resumed two days ago after the firm got several notices from RHD. Hatikumrul intersection has already been repaired, he added. “We are trying to ensure smooth journey during Eid vacation,” he said. l

Long Eid holiday disrupts medical care in Barisal Correspondent, n Our Barisal The 10-day long Eid holiday this year will severely disrupt medical services in Barisal as most of the medical staff have already started to go on holiday, on Thursday.

Private hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centers in the city have are already short on staff because most of them are on vacation.

Sources at Barisal Sher E Bangla Medical College Hospital, the biggest and only specialized health service provider in the region said only a handful of physicians and staff have been assigned for the total duty duration of Eid holidays hampering the hospital’s ability to care for its patients.

At least 508 doctors and nurses out of the 724 at Barisal SBMCH have left for Eid vacations.

Director of SBMCH Dr Sirajul Islam said:“There are about 35 intern doctors, 25 registers, assistant registers, 2 emergency, 9 indoor and outdoor medical officers and

145 staff nurses assigned to perform duties during the Eid vacation.”

Sources at SBMCH hospital sources informed that the number of patients admitted during Eid is usually around 500 as opposed to the average of 1200 to 1400 thus the fewer number of doctors and nurses would be able to manage the patient load, the hospital official explained.

In upazila level only 20 out of 122 doctors will perform duties in public health complexes, hospital, clinics in the 10 upazilas of Barisal district.

District Civil Surgeon Dr AMM Sharfuddin said:”The upazila level clinics and hospitals have made some special but very limited arrangements to offer health services and they usually refer patient to district and divisional level hospitals.”

SBMCH authorities started to release a huge number of patients before the long holidays began, before the aliments of their patients were properly healed accused Anowar Zahid, a health rights activist. l

Mother, son die in road accident n Tafsilul Aziz, Kishoreganj

A woman and her eightmonth-old boy have died after the bus they were travelling in veered into a roadside ditch in Kishoreganj.

At least 10 others were injured in the accident at Kuliarchar upazila on the Kishoreganj-Dhaka Highway yesterday morning.

The victims are Nadia Ak-

ter and her son Md Anas.

The injured, who are yet to be identified, have been admitted to Kuliarchar Health Complex and Bhagalpur Medical College Hospital in critical state.

Police say the driver of the Kishoreganj-bound bus of Ananya Supar Paribahan lost control and crashed into a ditch, killing Nadia and her baby on the spot. l

3 siblings drown in Ctg Hussain, n Anwar Chittagong Three sisters drowned in a pond at Julda union under Karnaphuli police station in Chittagong yesterday afternoon.

The deceased were Shanaj Akter, 15, Nargis Akter, 8, and Nazma Akter, 6, daughters of

Badshah Mia. Confirming the deaths, Rafiqul Islam, officer-incharge of Karnaphuli police station, told the Dhaka Tribune that the youngest daughter drowned in the pond first.

“The two elder daughters died from drowning in order to save the their drowning sister,” added the OC. l

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SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016

Eid shopping frenzy in Chittagong n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong People in the Chittagong are doing their last minute shopping frantically for Eid-ul-Fitr which is a week from now.

Shopkeepers at the malls are happy with a large customer turnout this year.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, shopkeepers said that Eid shopping reached its peak as most of people have already receiving their salaries and festival bonuses.

Visiting Afmi Plaza, Arong, Central Plaza, Mimi Super Market, Yunusco City Centre, this correspondent saw that the shopping malls were packed with Eid shoppers.

Salma Sultana, a teacher of BAF Shaheen College said: “This time the Eid market is a bit under control because of the strict monitoring from district administration.”

Tahmilur Rahman, executive magistrate of Chittagong district administration told the Dhaka Tribune that they conducted mobile courts at different shopping malls of the city so that the traders could not fleece the shoppers.

“We have conducted several

People are seen buying clothes from street vendors near Chittagong New Market area yesterday as people rush to finish last minute shopping as just a few days are left for Eid-ul-Fitr RABIN CHOWDHURY mobile courts at some shopping malls of the city including Chittagong Shopping Complex, Mimi

Supermarket and Terry Bazar. We have fined traders for overcharging customers,” said the magistrate.

Masud-ul-Hasan, CMP additional commissioner said that they deployed additional number of police

at the shopping malls of the city.

“We have also deployed female police at the shopping malls. Besides, we have deployed additional traffic police at all strategic points of the city to manage traffic congestion,” said the additional commissioner.

The roadside makeshift shop are very popular with low-income families and this year has been no different.

The roadside shopkeepers said they were doing a good business.

“Our customers are mostly garment workers and people from low-income brackets. Usually I can sell products amounting to Tk 5,000 per day. But now I can sell products worth Tk 15,000 to 18,000 a day,” said Babul Mia, a makeshift shopkeeper at No.2 Gate area in the city.

Abul Khayer, a rickshaw driver said: “Footpath is the only option for people like us, as we don’t have the kind of money to shopping in posh shopping malls.”

Mahmuda Akter, a garment worker who came from Madarbari area to the roadside shops in front of New Market claimed that the shops were charging higher prices for all items compared to last year. l

Anger mounts over new teacher recruitment policy n Liakat Ali Badal, Rangpur

Anger has m o u n t e d among teachers and students of Rangpur University over the new recruitment policy which is going to be made at a senate meeting today.

According to campus sources, a person should have GPA 8.5 scores in SSC and HSC to be eligible of a teacher candidate of the university while a student’s minimum quality to get enroll at the university is GPA 6.5.

If the university authority will implement the recruitment policy, no student of the university will get chance to become a teacher of educational institution, however, it is not a matter if he/she does an outstanding academic result, said the sources.

The decision was made at an academic council meeting on Thursday and the final decision will be approved at the senate meeting today, much to cause frustration among incumbent students of the university.

Currently, about 8,000 students are studying at 21 departments of the university which was established on 2008. Every year, about

1,200 students get chance to enroll at the university.

Mosiur Rahman, a lecturer at mathematics department, said everybody wanted that a qualified person became teacher of the university. But, it was meaningless that the authorities were only changing teacher’s requirement policy. The university authorities

should change admission policy first.

“According to the new policy, a student cannot be teacher of the university after standing first, second or three at honours and masters level which is unfortunate,” he said.

He also opined that the university authority should think further

before taking any kind of final decision over the matter, otherwise it would be suicidal for the university.

“A student becomes eligible to get enroll at Dhaka University if he/ she scores GPA 9 in SSC and HSC results while minimum score to be eligible as teacher candidate is GPA 8.5,” he added.

A teacher of Science Faculty who preferred to be unnamed said a vested interested group was trying to create an unstable situation over the issue.

Ibrahim Kabir, registrar of the university, said the decision would be made at a senate meeting today.

He, however, declined to give any detail. l

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SOUTH ASIA

2 children die as Kathmandu school collapses

Heavy monsoon rains caused parts of a school to collapse in Nepal’s capital on Friday, killing two pupils and injuring 24 others, police said. Police said the students, who were aged 9-10 and were in the third grade, had sat down for a lesson when one of the walls of the classroom came crashing down, burying them. -AFP

INDIA

Landslides and flooding in India kill 8 Flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rain in a mountainous part of north India killed at least 8 people on Friday and 30 more are missing, a disaster control official said. The toll from the disaster in Uttarakhand could rise, with many believed buried in the mud and debris that barrelled down slopes into homes.

-AFP

CHINA

China landslide leaves 10 dead Heavy rain caused a landslide in southwestern China Friday that killed at least ten and left 12 others missing, local officials said. The landslide hit early morning and buried 29 people in the village of Pianpo, in Guizhou province.

Rescue efforts were continuing with some 800 soldiers and relief workers on-site.

-AFP

ASIA PACIFIC

Taiwan accidentally fires missile towards China A Taiwanese warship mistakenly launched a supersonic Aircraft Carrier Killer missile towards China on Friday, hitting a fishing boat and killing one person, the navy said, as ties between the island and its once bitter rival deteriorate. The Hsiung-feng III missile flew about 75km before hitting the trawler in waters off Penghu, a Taiwanese-administered island group in the Taiwan Strait. The missile was fired during a drill. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, which handles China policy, said it had notified Beijing of the incident through a quasi-official body.

-REUTERS

MIDDLE EAST

Syria air raids kill 25 civilians Separate air raids in northern Syria by regime aircraft and warplanes of the US-led international coalition killed at least 25 civilians on Friday, a monitoring group said. Another five people were killed in an air raid on the southern rebel-held neighbourhood of Sheikh Said, it said.

-AFP

India launches first indigenous combat aircraft n Reuters, New Delhi India’s first locally-built combat aircraft officially took to the skies on Friday, 33 years after it was cleared for development, marking a long-held goal of cutting expensive imports to build a domestic defence-industrial base.

India’s fighter aircraft fleet, made up of a mix of Russian, British and French planes, is down to 33 squadrons as against the air force’s requirement of 45 to face Pakistan and China.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has nudged the military to accept the first version of the “Tejas” Light Combat Aircraft to make up for the shortfall while a more powerful subsequent model is under development.

Indian Air Force officers broke coconuts and priests held multi-faith ceremonies to mark the induction of two planes in Bengaluru.

Early this month China said it is

still testing its first stealth fighter, the J-20, but it would enter service soon.

The single-seat Indian fighter is considered superior to counterparts like the JF-17 aircraft jointly built by China and Pakistan. Tejas has had no accident in 3,000 hours of flying and its use of composites helps lower its radar signature, making it harder to detect early, air force officials said.

But the challenge for state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which is making the aircraft, will be to stick to the production schedule as the air force seeks to arrest the decline in the number of planes it can deploy, he said.

HAL only has the capacity to produce four Tejas planes a year, a government-appointed audit committee said in a report last year.

The plan is to increase production capacity to eight, a defence ministry official said on Friday.

India is separately negotiating for the purchase of 36 top end Ra-

fale fighter planes from France’s Dassault Aviation , a scaled-back

deal that has been hanging fire since 2012. l

Pakistan warns of blowback from moving fast against militants n Reuters, Islamabad Pakistan’s top foreign policy official warned on Friday that pushing too fast against all Islamist militants in the country could lead to “blowback” in the form of more terrorist attacks.

Sartaj Aziz sought to deflect criticism that Pakistan has not done enough to crack down on the Haqqani network and that it still shelters Afghan Taliban leaders, highlighted by the US drone strike that killed Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour in May. Aziz said he would defend Pakistan’s record of fighting militants when meeting this weekend with a US congressional delegation headed by Arizona Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee.

“I think what we have achieved in these three years is quite remarkable,” he said, citing the ongoing military operation to destroy militant hideouts in North Waziristan near the Afghan border.

“But there are risks involved of how far we can go and in what sequence we should go and in what scale we should go.”

Onlookers look into the car driven by Sufi singer Amjad Sabri, who was killed when unidentified militants shot at his car, in Karachi on June 22 REUTERS The military operation in North Waziristan targeted loosely allied fighters, including the Pakistani branch of the Taliban - which fights to overthrow Pakistan’s government.

Also based in the area were elements of the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network, which direct their attacks across the border

to target the US-backed government in Afghanistan.

Critics, particularly in the US Congress, say Pakistan has spared the militants that limit their attacks to inside Afghanistan.

Sartaj said the military acted “without distinguishing between ‘good and bad’ Taliban” but suggested that seeking a large-scale

crackdown on all at once would overstretch the armed forces and lead to more terrorist attacks.

“So we have to make sure that we move in a decisive way, but at a measured pace and according to our capacity, and ensuring that the blowback is manageable,” he said.

He also downplayed strained relations with the US following the May 21 US drone strike that killed Mansour and Congress’s blocking of financing for Pakistan to buy American F-16 fighter jets.

“I don’t see the relations are tense at the moment,” Aziz said.

“They are moving in the right direction and there are of course differences, but I don’t think there is any major crisis in the relationship.”

He also said Pakistan would continue to resist US pressure to roll back development of shortrange “tactical” nuclear weapons in response to regional rival India’s defence strategy.

“If India keeps expanding its nuclear arsenal and other arsenal, Pakistan cannot stay quiet. It has to achieve adequate deterrence,” he said. l

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SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016

Australia could soon elect 5th prime minister in 3 years n Tribune International Desk Australians go to the polls today with the opposition leader vying to become the country’s fifth prime minister in three years.

Global market turmoil since the Brexit vote, Australia’s success in turning back asylum seeker boats, gay marriage, housing prices, corporate tax rates and union corruption have been major issues in the eight-week campaign.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has urged Australians to vote for continuity and stability by re-electing his conservative coalition which dumped the country’s last prime minister less than a year ago.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten, who played a key role in his centre-left Labor Party ousting two of its own prime ministers in the space of three years., says the government remains deeply divided and that Labor is the stable option.

Polling suggests that Labor will gain some seats in the election, but not the 21 needed to form a majority government in the 150-

seat House of Representatives.

Labor currently holds 55 seats, the coalition 90 and five seats are held by minor parties or independents.

The government has promised to generate jobs and economic growth through tax cuts to big business, while Labor says it will keep the higher tax rates and use the revenue to better fund schools and hospitals.

There has been little change in opinion polls during the eightweek election campaign, and some observers say uninterested voters have switched off.

A television ad by the ruling Liberal Party reflected the possible mood of an electorate that did not love the government in its first term, but was not yet ready to toss it out.

While commentators accused the government of damning itself with faint praise, Turnbull described the ad as “a call for continued stability.”

Labor accuses Turnbull, a 61-year-old self-made multi-millionaire worth an estimated AU$150m, of being “seriously out

of touch” with ordinary Australians.

The government accuses Shorten, a 49-year-old former union boss, of inciting divisive and outdated class warfare. Those battle lines include Labor’s plan to reduce tax breaks on real estate to make it a less attractive investment for landlords, which the government warns would cause property prices to tumble, damaging the economy.

As in many countries, same-sex marriage has become a campaign issue, with the opposition saying that under a Shorten government legislation allowing same-sex marriage would quickly be put to the Parliament.

If re-elected, Turnbull’s government would ask the Australian public to vote on the issue in a plebiscite.

Both the government and opposition have promised to maintain Australia’s tough stance against asylum seekers, which has prevented any refugees from reaching the Australian mainland by bloat for two years. l

BILL SHORTEN

Australia’s opposition leader Labor Party Former lawyer and union chief, served as education minister and workplace relations minister Assumed Labor party leadership in Oct 2013 after years of infighting that saw two Labor premiers, Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd, toppled in party coups Cleared by police in Aug 2014 of historical sex assault allegations Campaigns on Labor government standing up for middle- and working-class families

Hungary’s migrant referendum enhances post-Brexit challenge Emboldened by Britain’s shock vote to quit the EU, Hungary’s leader Viktor Orban is forging ahead with his own referendum on migration, in what European diplomats see as a sign of battles to come with anti-Brussels populists across the continent.

Orban, in power since 2010, has clashed several times with the EU on issues ranging from independence of the courts and the central bank to his handling of the migrant crisis, which has included a fence on Hungary’s southern border.

His next clash pits him against an EU Commission plan to resettle refugees across member states based on quotas, which Orban sees as an act of out-of-touch Brussels bureaucrats usurping national authority.

Orban has enlisted allies, such as neighbouring Slovakia, which also opposes the quotas and this week joined a chorus of eastern EU states calling for the powers of the EU Commission to be reined in after Britain’s vote to leave.

to settle migrants lured to the bloc by more liberal policies of richer states. Germany, which argued for the resettlement, says the entire bloc must act to solve a common problem.

‘Rebellious current’

Police aid an elderly Syrian migrant woman who was put on trial for illegal border crossing, ahead of her court sentencing in Hungary on Friday REUTERS Hungary’s migrant referendum, due in the autumn, could coincide with Britain starting its EU exit negotiations. Critics describe the timing as opportunistic.

The EU migrant resettlement scheme was established last year after more than a million people entered the EU, most intending to settle in Germany and other rich northern countries. It requires member states to accept a quota

of refugees or pay a penalty for them to be housed elsewhere.

Hungary was the main arrival point into the EU’s border-free Schengen zone for migrants travelling by land, until Orban shut the frontier with the new fence last year, a popular move at home that was criticised by rights groups.

He and other eastern European leaders say their comparatively poor countries should not forced

USA

US attorney general says won’t interfere in Clinton email probe US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Friday she will abide by decisions of the FBI and prosecutors on whether to bring charges over presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton’s use of personal email while at the State Department. The announcement by Lynch was pushed to the fore after her impromptu meeting with former president Bill Clinton at the Phoenix, Arizona airport this week touched off a political firestorm.

-AFP

THE AMERICAS

INSIGHT

n Reuters, Budapest

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World

Orban has said the migration crisis could drive more countries out of the EU. His government will ask Hungarians: “Do you agree that the European Union should be able to prescribe the mandatory settlement of non-Hungarian citizens in Hungary without the consent of parliament?”

Foreign diplomats say that despite such rhetoric, a “Huxit”, or Hungarian exit from the EU, still seems unlikely. Hungary depends on EU funds, and Hungarians, a generation removed from Communist dictatorship, are still mostly keen on membership.

But diplomats also see Orban’s position as part of a “rebellious current” in Europe that has seen Dutch and French eurosceptic leaders calling for referendums on EU membership. The referendum tactic could poison debate. l

Chile court gives gay man right to partner’s remains Chile’s Supreme Court set a precedent Thursday by awarding the right to decide where a dead gay man’s remains should lie to his surviving partner instead of the deceased’s family. The couple were not married and did not have a civil partnership but the court ruled that the couple’s 12-year relationship gave the bereaved partner a legal right over his loved one’s remains.

-AFP

UK

Fidelity insists jobs switch not Brexit linked British investment fund manager Fidelity will move 100 jobs from London to Dublin, it said Friday, but stressed the decision was made before the shock EU exit referendum result. “We have been recruiting into the Dublin office at the moment and there are some roles that will be moving from the UK,” a Fidelity spokeswoman said.

-AFP

EUROPE

Four Hungarian explosives experts killed in blast Four Hungarian army explosives experts were killed in eastern Hungary on Friday after a device on a former military shooting range detonated while being made safe, officials said. A fifth soldier was seriously injured and was being treated in hospital, according to a statement by the defence ministry published by the Hungarian news agency MTI. -AFP

AFRICA

Libya’s unity government says four ministers sacked Libya’s UN-backed unity government said on Friday that four of its ministers had been sacked just three months after it set up office in the capital Tripoli. “The dismissed ministers were absent from their work and refused to take up their duties in the Government of National Unity... for over 30 days,” the GNA said in a statement. -AFP

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INSIGHT

On Ireland’s border, Brexit threatens jobs, peace n Tribune International Desk The Northern Ireland farmer, like many residents along the United Kingdom’s virtually unmarked land border with the Republic of Ireland, faces the risk of financial ruin if Britain proceeds with plans to exit the European Union. EU farm subsidies provide most of his income from highland pastures of cows and sheep — around €80,000 annually to support his 241-hectare farm. He gets the subsidies under the EU’s “Less Favoured Areas” rating — farms on marginally productive but environmentally valued land.

Maguire called last week’s referendum verdict — with 52% voting UK-wide to leave the bloc, including 44% in Northern Ireland — “a disaster.”

“I can’t see Britain subsidising us the same as the EU has done,” said Maguire, who voted to remain.

“We’ve been much better off with the EU when we got the subsidies. ... I honestly think in a few years’ time, there’ll be no farming in this part of Northern Ireland.”

All along the meandering 500km border with the Irish Republic, residents are trying to imagine what life will be like if Northern Ireland, like the rest of the UK, actually leaves the 28-nation bloc. Both the UK and Ireland entered the then-European Economic Community together in 1973, and their cooperation at the European level helped to eliminate the border as a barrier to the economy or tourism by the early 1990s.

Many now fear that both British and Irish authorities will have no choice but to redeploy customs officers and police to deter immigra-

This May file photo shows a truck crosses the bridge from Blacklion, Republic of Ireland, into Belcoo, Northern Ireland, . The bridge has no signs indicating the presence of an international border besides the posted speed limits which are listed in British miles going north into Northern Ireland, and in kilometres going south into the Republic of Ireland AP tion and smuggling, a prospect that could fuel renewed support for the outlawed Irish Republican Army.

IRA attacks from the 1970s to 1990s spurred Britain to build border networks of bases and watchtowers manned by soldiers, but those installations have disappeared following the 2005 decision of most IRA members to disarm and renounce violence.

“For the sake of promoting peace and economic growth, we need to keep the Irish border as invisible as possible. Voters in England don’t really understand what’s at stake here,” said John Paul Feeley, a county councilman born in Blacklion, a village of 200 bordered to the north and east by Northern Ireland.

Feeley said around 30,000 people

travel daily across the border in both directions to attend jobs and schools, and the last thing they need is a return to traffic-snarling checkpoints.

“It’s a very serious situation for us,” he said.

The shock decision to back a Brexit sent the British pound tumbling against other currencies, including the Euro used in the Republic of Ireland. The change means that southerners with euros in their pockets suddenly find shopping in Northern Ireland around 10 percent cheaper, while Northern Ireland-based companies that do business in pounds find imported goods growing prohibitively expensive.

“A lot of our customers are in Europe, and I think it’s going to make it more difficult for us to

compete in Europe,” said Jonathan Balfour, director of Elite Electronic Systems, which employs around 200 people in the nearby Northern Ireland town of Enniskillen.

The company assembles printed circuit boards and other electronic peripherals but finds its costs for imported materials are rising with the pound’s sharp decline.

Other businessmen fear their supply chains will grow too difficult, with multiple tariff barriers, as they move goods from continental EU nations to the UK for eventual sale in EU member Ireland.

“I’m still in shock,” said Joris Smet, a Dutch citizen who runs his own building supplies business in the Northern Ireland border town of Newry. He said many of his

firm’s goods were imported from Germany via the Netherlands and the Belgian port of Antwerp, then exported again to the Republic of Ireland. “So it’s no surprise that I’m an avid supporter of EU membership. ... I cannot believe that people do not understand the obvious benefits to our economy.”

South of Newry, the Irish Republic city of Dundalk, 22km away, faces an exodus of retail trade to the north, where the weak pound means the euro enjoys boosted spending power. This last happened in 2007 and 2008, when Newry’s shopping centres were inundated with cross-border shoppers.

“We’ve always lived with the currency fluctuations. Sometimes Dundalk wins, sometimes Newry wins,” said Paddy Malone, spokesman for Dundalk Chamber of Commerce. “What we cannot live with is excessive border security.”

Malone gestured to the nearby M1 highway, which since 2007 has cut in half the travel time between the Irish capital, Dublin, and Northern Ireland’s capital of Belfast. Currently, the only sign that a driver has passed from one nation to the other is that speed limits and distances in the Republic of Ireland are listed in kilometres, while the north uses miles.

“That road was built without any reference to border checks. Imposing them on what is supposed to be a high-speed, efficient piece of infrastructure would be difficult, to say the least,” he said. “There’s also hundreds of small roads and country lanes that cross the border, and it’s impossible to police them all.”

“The British Army tried to seal off the border for years. They were never successful,” he added. l

Q&A

Brexit: What does it mean for Ireland?

Republic of Ireland is the only EU member state to share a land border with the UK and it remains the most deeply integrated in terms of trade, supply chains, migration, language and culture. The shock will be both economic and political. In short, the UK’s decision presents this country with one of its greatest challenges since independence.

What will be the effect on Ireland?

In the short-term, Ireland can expect to suffer some damage to trade and investment from currency fluctuations and market volatility - both of which are already evident. In the longer term, the country could see damage to trade with the UK through restrictive tariffs

on agricultural goods and other produce, as well as the return of a customs regime between Ireland and Northern Ireland, with the associated delays and potential for supply chain disruption.

Depending on the terms of the withdrawal, there may also be an impact on mobility and migration, as a UK outside both the EU and the Single Market raises questions over the viability of the Common Travel Area we share with the UK, and introduces the possibility of passport controls at the Northern Irish border. If the UK’s withdrawal leads to the introduction of a hard border on the island of Ireland this may serve to heighten political tensions in the North. The Northern Irish situation will be exacerbated by the 56% majority in

favour of Remain in the region: indeed, Sinn Fein has already called for a border poll on Irish unification, as provided for under the Good Friday Agreement (though such a poll can only be called by the Northern Ireland Secretary, Theresa Villiers).

What is the Irish interest?

A number of key Irish interests for the upcoming negotiations can be identified:

Trade Ireland and the UK conduct €1.2bn worth of trade every week, a relationship which must be protected Any potential trade barriers, including tariffs and customs posts, would present a major risk to the economy

and must be minimised

Migration and the Common Travel Area

ment, must be clarified All sides will hope to avoid disruption to the Northern Irish settlement

There is no precedent for the UK and Ireland Common Travel Area to exist half-in and half-out of the EU and its continued existence may now be in doubt Any changes to current arrangements could have repercussions for migration, employment and social welfare

Foreign Direct Investment

Northern Ireland

Energy market

The status of the border will be a primary concern for the Irish side The future of EU funding to the region, which has long-supported the peace process and regional develop-

Security of energy supply and the integrity of the All-Island Electricity Market will be a concern

It has been suggested that FDI flows to the UK may now be diverted to elsewhere in the EU This may be a positive, mitigating factor for Ireland in this debate and the country should now position itself to take advantage

Source: IIEA

Myanmar’s Saffron Revolution leader freed n Reuters, Yangon

A former monk and influential leader of Myanmar’s 2007 anti-junta uprising has been freed from jail and charges against him dropped, his lawyer said on Friday, just a day after new charges were levelled against him.

Nyi Nyi Lwin, better known by his ordination name, Gambira, was arrested in January for allegedly entering Myanmar illegally from neighbouring Thailand.

He had been set to be freed on Friday, but on both Tuesday and Thursday new charges stemming from alleged trespassing in 2012

were brought against him in two separate Yangon townships.

In 2007, Gambira emerged as a leading figure in a mass protest over living conditions and the oppressive rule of then-dictator Than Shwe that was dubbed the Saffron Revolution.

Gambira was arrested in 2007 and his sentence of 68 years for his role in the protest turned him into one of Myanmar’s most prominent political prisoners. He was released in 2012. Following his release, he said that he had been tortured while in jail, suffering through solitary confinement, beatings and sleep deprivation. l

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DIY

SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016

Creative at home Recycling doesn’t get craftier than this

and tie the sleeves together.

Old newspapers, magazines, calendars:

your favourite lyrics or quotes on these and stick them on your refrigerator.

Shoe laces

n Noor-E-Shahrin You have been at it for hours.

Searching YouTube for a doable DIY or origami to make yourself productive and useful until you finally quit and decide to watch movies. You will be surprised to know how accessible art supplies are; they are all around your household. Seek and ye shall find! Here are some very easy, inexpensive yet amazing DIY projects, life hacks, tips and tricks for the Jeff Koons in you.

The shoe box

We are all so excited about the shoes that we hardly ever think about the poor thing it came in.

Shoe boxes can be turned into a gorgeous phone recharging station by making a slit in one side for the main wire of the electrical outlet, and some more holes for the phone’s charger. This makes your room a lot tidier and organised.

Most importantly, you can make it as colourful as you like.

Get some glue and set a few of those toilet tissue cardboard rolls on the box to create compartments and there you have a stationary holder.

The lid can be painted on with any type of art you like and hung on the wall looking just like a real canvas and, bam! You are the Picasso of the 21st century.

If you want to show someone

special exactly how special s/he is, you might want to try this out.

Buy lots of small things like their favourite chocolates and key rings and put them all neatly in a shoe box. Decorate the shoe box with photos, writings and drawings.

They will keep this gift hamper forever!

Toilet paper rolls

Apart from the idea mentioned earlier, toilet tissue cardboard rolls are also ideal for making a phone holder out of it. Cut a rectangle in the middle and put in two hooks from the back to stop it from rolling away. Use your favourite colours generously and decorate it to suit your room.

If you are buying someone a small gift like jewellery, a toilet tissue roll gift box could be your DIY go-to option. Take colourful wrapping paper, wrap around a painted and decorated roll, close one end with a string, put the gift in, tie the other side close, and viola, you have yourself what looks like an over-sized yet yummy chocolate.

Old CDs and DVDs

We all have scratched CDs and DVDs lying around the house.

Take a few of them, cover both sides with wrapping papers and your guests won’t be able to take their eyes off your fabulous new glass covers. You could write

If you were ever a Phineas and Ferb fan, this should ring a bell.

If your sneakers don’t fit you any more, take the shoe laces and tie it around your finger with a bow.

Inspired from this, is the idea of bracelets made from shoe laces.

Feel free to tweak it as much as you want. Be a trendsetter.

Use shoe laces as decorations on the gift hampers or on gift cards for a friend; you can’t have “too much” of funk.

Toothbrush and toothpaste

Dentists recommend buying new toothbrush every three months.

But did your dentists ever mention how your old toothbrush could be a superb new addition to your art supply kit? Get some dilute water colour on your brush, gently stroke it with fingers inches above

from your page and see the magic for yourself.

Don’t underestimate the caps of empty toothpaste tubes. Collect different sizes of these, put paint on the edges and create perfect circles on your art projects.

Clothes which you grew out of

Giving away old clothes for charity is an awesome idea. But there are some of them that you want to hold on to. No, we are not talking about using them as a duster for your household furniture but as something that’s a wee bit more artsy. Here’s what you do. Cut out two small rectangular pieces of the cloth, sew them on the edges together, tie with a string across the middle and you have yourself a totally kawai bow.

And yet another gift wrapping idea! This might sound crazy but it might be unique to present your friend with a gift wrapped in a long-sleeved shirt. No scissors, no tape, no sewing. Just cover it up

Unclean glass windows and shelves are frowned upon by most, especially by our mothers.

If the windows in your room are stinking and you really have to impress your mom, all you have to do is get a mug of water with a splash of white vinegar, soak some newspapers in it and use that to clean the glass.

Also, wrapping gifts in colourful magazine pages or a calendar page can give a unique look to it.

If you are into painting and creating a mess around you when you are at work, lay some newspapers under your paper or easel. Cleaning up your own mess doesn’t get any easier.

Bottles and containers

This is probably the oldest idea in the playbook. This list is only half complete without good old Coca-cola bottles, empty shampoo or lotion bottles, Pringles cans, glass jars, you name it. Do we really have to spell it out? Plant some money plant in it and hang it from the roof of your veranda. Decorate a Pringles can, insert some hooks evenly on the sides and hang lightweight objects from it. Buy electric candles online and put them in glass jars, and of course the option of a glass painting is always there! Put your phone in a Pringles can while playing music for louder and crisper sound. This works like magic.

The possibilities are endless.

Your job is to experiment and explore them. Most importantly, think outside the box and be crazy creative. l

Drinkit awards 5 story writers

| submissions |

Featured submissions Hamartia I don’t have to pay rent to have more room for improvement when others are hell bent formulating how best to criticise my tragic flaw and bring me down to size I choose not to resent as I can always strive to be better than I am at present that’s the kind of character I wish to represent Abrar Zaman Featured challenge (July 2016) Drabble: A short work of fiction of exactly one hundred words. The purpose of the drabble is brevity, testing the author’s ability to express interesting and meaningful ideas in a confined space.

Got prose in your pocket? Poetry in your soul? Send your submissions to featuresdt@gmail.com

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Writing

SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016

n Features Desk ‘Tomar Golpe Sobar Eid’, a Bangla story writing competition jointly organised

by Drinkit, a water purifier of RFL and private television channel Boishakhi, awarded five best story writers.

The winners were Asif Imtiaz, Sakib Chowdhury, Eleash Nahid, Humayun Rashid and Tamim Rahman.

Drinkit and Boishakhi arranged the contest for creating young playwrights in Bangladesh.

The prize giving ceremony of season five was held at The Daily Star Centre in Dhaka on Wednesday. Asaduzzaman Nur, Cultural Affairs Minister handed over prizes among the winners of the competition.

Noted littérateurs Selina Hossain, Emdadul Haque Milon and Anisul Haque judged the participants’ writings.

Around 11,450 young playwrights took part in the contest. The five best story writers were also awarded Tk50,000 each for their potential stories.

Five TV play directors adapted their writings into screenplays. The winning dramas will be aired on Boishakhi TV during its Eid special program.

The Cultural Affairs Minister praised the contest by RFL and Boishakhi Television and thanked both organisations for taking such creative initiatives.

“The motto of the contest is to give a new platform for the youth and allow them to live up to their potential,” said R N Paul, Director of RFL Group.

Television viewers will get pure amusement from the drama, hoped R N Paul.

Arafatur Rahman, Head of Marketing of RFL Plastics, Tipu Alom, Deputy Managing Director & Chief Editor and Ahsan Kabir, Head of Program at Boishakhi TV were present at the event. l

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Feature

SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016

Software developers in Bangladesh:

Worth the job?

Kazuki Nakayama, Country Director of Sekai Lab Bangladesh - a Japanese software development start-up, speaks on the Bangladeshi software development sector in comparison to Japan, and how far the former nation still has to go to par with the latter.

What does software development truly mean in Bangladesh?

Having a possibility to become an alternative to the garments industry, as the largest domestic industry.

Do you think this sector is worth a career in Bangladesh?

Very much, yes!

What does the average graduate need to know?

Before they join larger conglomerates, students with an internship experience at any software firm is appreciated more.

How far can the average graduate reach?

As a software engineer with a bargainable salary between Tk25,000 to Tk50,000.

How is the previous answer different in Japan?

My guess?

Two years.

Same designations at less pay. It would range from Tk15,000 to Tk20,000 in Japan.

How long does this sector need to challenge the global players?

What do you think holds young software developers back?

They lack experience in terms of working with teams.

Moreover, the application of business logic is comparatively low in Bangladesh when it comes to software development.

Would Japanese firms hire them as they are?

Definitely!

It would help if they spoke Japanese though.

DT

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Feature

SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016

Perks of being an only child that too with full confidence that when you go searching for it, it will be there waiting for you. YES.

Your clothes remain your own

People who have siblings of the same gender would do anything to not have their clothes taken without their permission. The sweater you stretched out perfectly will stay that way and not be overstretched by your elder sister. You guys are not even the same size, why she still steals your clothes will always remain a mystery.

No one to set high expectations

n Fariha Afroz Are you an only child? Do you constantly miss your unborn siblings?

Life with siblings is plenty fun but here are some reasons you should stop feeling sorry for yourself and be glad instead. As you continue reading this, you will find yourself being grateful for being an only child.

No fighting for the remote

You want to watch Star World and not HBO? Go ahead. You want to keep watching what you are

watching and also get a snack? You don’t have to take the remote with you to the kitchen. This is something people with siblings can not even dream of. Feel lucky yet? You should.

Having an elder sibling is a lot of pressure. Anything they accomplish, you have to do better.

Anything they can not, you have to accomplish to keep your parents happy. The only way to not live in the shadow of your elder sibling is to not have one at all. So go on and thank God because you should.

Food you keep in the fridge doesn’t ‘magically’ disappear

You don’t become a young parent

This is probably the biggest advantage of not having a sibling. Yes, even more than not having to fight for your mother’s affection. Why you ask? Because food. You’re full and you want to keep the rest in the fridge for later? You can and

Those of us with a younger sibling, and especially one who is much younger, are bound to become their parent. We scold them, feed them, make sure they are clean at all times and keep them from getting hurt. Teenage stuff ? We can’t do

any of that. We have to help mother clean Ayesha up. You, the only child, get to be a teenager and not be turned into a parent. Be happy!

You can make your own decisions

Often, having an elder sibling means having a third parent and one more person to take permission from. Unless siblings are on really (and we mean really) good terms, it is a given that apu or bhaiya will intervene and try to convince our parents to not let us go, sometimes just for fun. “Ammu ami shob bujhi,” they will say. You, on the other hand have no such thing to worry about. What a life you are living!

Peace

Younger siblings are full of energy with their minds set on annoying us for the rest of our lives. Having a quiet moment is never an option.

Anything we try to do, they will interrupt. It is almost as if it is their life’s mission to keep us from having some quality downtime.

It has become common for us to want to go home after a long day but stay out because we have just remembered Aryan is at home.

No one is spying on you

A sibling is nothing short of a

spy camera. They see everything and report back to your parents.

Nothing you try to hide is safe because you are under their constant surveillance. Not having siblings means you have only two sets of eyes to dodge. Passwords to your phone and computer are private to you and you have total freedom.

Nice.

No competition

No need to compete for your parents’ love, you have got it all.

No matter what you do, they have no other choice than to accept you and your apology. How nice it must be.

Bragging rights

You can brag all day about how you are such a delight that your parents did not feel the need to have another child. Off course, people can then say you are actually a nightmare and the only reason they don’t even think of having another kid is because they have had enough. But, don’t let them burst your bubble, fight them. Your parents are lucky to have you!

While the grass always looks greener on the other side, these are reasons you just cannot ignore.

Life without siblings does have its perks. Enjoy it and, hope your parents don’t change their minds!l

Younger siblings are full of energy with their minds set on annoying us for the rest of our lives. Having a quiet moment is never an option

PHOTOS: BIGSTOCK

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18

Feature

SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016

In quest for greener cars n Mahmood Sadi Have you ever noticed the freakish attires that ramp models put on during the prestigious summer fashion weeks in Milan, Paris or New York? A layman, in most cases, has an innocent notion in his/her mind while watching those shows. Who’s going to wear that in public?

Amateur fuel-efficient car designers around the world have been doing almost the same thing - designing and creating cars, like those fancy weird contemporary fashion designer’s work. It’s probably best kept at the warehouses of a fashion outlet or Lady Gaga’s personal wardrobe.

Simply the terms ‘fuel-efficient car’ is dubbed as an oxymoron to many cynics. No engine, whether the one from Maruti’s 800cc or 5,000cc engines of muscle cars from Chevrolet can’t stop carbon emission while playing on the road and running on full throttle. So as long as you have a vehicle with a combustible engine, please keep the word ‘green’ out of it.

Yes, some of the world’s biggest manufacturers have come up with ideas like implementing lower brake specific fuel consumption or turbocharged direct engine to increase the fuel efficiency of a regular car by 5-6 percent.

But considering the fact that over 32 percent of the world’s oil and gas is used for automobile industry, which then accounts for nearly 43 percent of the world’s carbon emission, it’s hard to throw

a party for hitting a number like 5-6 percent.

The truth is multi-billion dollar automobile industries have not and will not support the cause of creating a space for fuel-efficient cars in the market. Fuel-efficient cars will just become the industry’s ‘killer apps’.

And there you have the oil and gas industry which had not and

would not let the people come up with any alternative greener sources of energy to break their monopolised ‘energy’ market.

A US prodigy named Stanley Mayers in 2005 came up with a perfectly designed car which could run only by water. He successfully designed and drove that vehicle.

After six months or so, he just vanished into thin air. Conspiracy theorists suggested that it was the car industry that made him disappear.

Against the tide, massive scale success in designing and producing fuel-efficient or fuel free cars, however, has come in the form of none other than the great Elon Mask, our modern day Iron Man (Tony Stark).

This genius young billionaire is not just an amateur car designer, rather he is considered to be the Steve Jobs of the automobile industry. In 2010, He had decided to design fuel-efficient electricity driven cars and he did that by establishing a company named Tesla.

Today, Tesla is a multi-billion dollar company and the cars that they have been producing have

become a huge hit worldwide, especially in the Occident. Its popularity is also increasing every day. Surprisingly, the price tag of those cars is still kept in reach of the average consumer, even with the plastic wallet.

Nonetheless, reducing carbon emission through modified engine combustion is now the automobile industry’s next challenge, as CEOs of automobile giant General Motors, Tata, Bavarian Motor Works and many more have declared so in the last world’s automobile convention in 2012.

Now, a small country like Bangladesh, with the world’s fifth largest air pollution (a huge thanks to some 1.2 million vehicles that accounts for over 40 percent of the pollution) doesn’t have university level disciple to teach automobile engineering just yet. We also don’t have car manufacturing facilities in the country. So designing fuelefficient car is barely a concern of ours.

But the local efforts of building an automobile in the backyard, that suits local roads as well as the environment, went back to the early 80s, when former VC of BUET (later the founder VC of Ahsanullah University of science and technology) Prof Dr Mosharrof Hossain Khan designed and implemented (in industrial scale) today’s tempo and three wheeler, popularly known as the baby taxi.

These two ‘gems’ of tera-

transit mode of transportation has been responsible for ferrying out almost 17 percent of the city’s commuters. Rest aside the fact that four stroke baby taxies are now only found in the country side due to the ban imposed by the transport regulator.

Further effort of designing ecofriendly cars in Bangladesh took place in 2013. BUET and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) had come up with ecofriendly car designs contest, which they named Ecorun.

Ecorun is a contest which has been organised in Japan since 1982. The concept of Ecorun was first introduced in Bangladesh

by JICA. They approached BUET regarding the program in May 2011.

The mechanical department of BUET was inspired by the proposal of JICA and decided to make an effort to take the concept to the national level, with

participation from differnet univeristies.

In September 2011, an inception meeting for Ecorun Bangladesh was held at BUET. In November, the national steering committee was formed with the members from BRTA, JICA, Walton, Runner and most of particiapting institutions BUET, CUET, MIST, IUT and RUET. Prof Dr Mohammad Ehsan of Mechanical Department of BUET said that the Ecorun of 2013 was a success. “Our first challenge was to develop a target vehicle specification, which is achievable under the constrants of availablity of equipment, time, cost, as well as addressing the aspect of fuel efficieny and the needs of Bangladesh,” he said.

He said that in December 2012, a set of basic technical specification for the lightweight fuel-efficient vehicles was set, based in which the vehicles were designed and fabricated by the participating teams.

“The students of BUET designed a lot of cars and they got very interested in the process. The competition gave the students an opportunity to work on their own from scratch. We really want to conduct more such contest in upcoming years because we are confident that if we really try, we can accomplish making our own energy-efficient car.” l

Photos: Bigstock

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DT

Feature

SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016

Top five startups meet investors at demo day

PHOTO: BIGSTOCK

n Feature Desk After four months with the GP Accelerator program, five startups got the opportunity to present their businesses in front of more than 100 attendees, including investors and professionals on Demo Day at the GPHouse recently.

Rajeev Sethi, CEO of Grameenphone, launched the event by reiterating the journey of the Grameenphone Accelerator program.

Before the speeches of an introductory session titled Startup Bazaar was organised, the attendees were able to meet and chat with the five startups from the GP Accelerator team.

In October 2015, Grameenphone partnered with SD ASIA to launch the GP Accelerator in search for five talented tech startups in Bangladesh. After a rigorous process, the GP Accelerator team unveiled the top five startups to participate in the announcement program.

The top five startups, namely Ennovision, Sheba, Repto, Kandy and Share, received a seed funding of more than Tk10 lakhs each, and got the opportunity to work inside GPHouse (with full logistical support). Moreover, the teams were also mentored by SD Asia’s panel of start-up ecosystem experts.

Ennovision Limited is a web design company that serves as a one-stop solution for businesses looking to create a solid online presence through their websites.

Kandy is an intelligent

personalisation mobile advertising application that puts delightful content on users’ lock screens, as well as time-saving tools, giving users a useful lock screen experience.

Share is a carpooling application, looking to disrupt the way people commute around Dhaka city.

SHEBA is a service platform for solving day-to-day household problems.

REPTO Education Center is an online course marketplace where you can create courses with stateof-the-art web tools and sell your courses online.

Samad Miraly, co-founder of SD Asia, expressed his excitement about Demo Day: “Demo Day is about the showcasing of progress. I think the teams are best placed to talk about how much improvement they have seen in the last four months. In case they are being humble, I can say that I am truly impressed by the level of commitment, dedication, persistence, and leadership they have shown,” he said.

Grameenphone provided full logistics support for the top starters at the office space of GPHouse.

Faisal Kabir, project head of GP Accelerator, said: “We are very happy that the first batch of the GP Accelerator program has graduated.

While joining the program Demo Day was the end goal for the startups, we believe each startup has put more than 100% to come up to where they are today. Our partnership with SD Asia has helped ensure that the startups are on track

and being guided to scale up faster.

We had a lot of new learning and unplanned scenario management during the last four months.

Hopefully, our learnings will be helpful to support the business

program meant to keep energy high, investors intrigued and build towards an unbelievable startup ecosystem in Bangladesh that sustains itself. If successful, these companies have the potential

Demo day is a showcase of the exciting startups that have now gone through four months of rigorous curricula and experienced mentorship in a highly competitive environment

development of GP Accelerator second batch better than before.”

Kazi Mahboob Hassan, head of Transformation, said: “Demo day is a showcase of the exciting startups that have now gone through four months of rigorous curricula and experienced mentorship in a highly competitive environment. It is a

to change the way things work around us. We celebrate not just the success part of their cycle but also the inevitable downturns.

Today Grameenphone has reached another milestone to clearly demonstrate its commitment with the vision of empowering societies.”

SD ASIA arranged several

mentorship sessions and pitching seasons for the top five. Every week, the five startups from the Grameenphone Accelerator attended sessions on crucial business topics. Relevant experts and mentors were invited to be the guest speakers for these learning sessions.

Mustafizur Rahman Khan, CEO and founder of SD Asia, sees the Demo Day as an opportunity for the startups: “SD ASIA is very fortunate to have Grameenphone as a partner in starting the accelerator program.

We believe the program has not only help the startups to become better, but also help GP to understand the potential of data-driven companies in Bangladesh. With the current program finishing, we look forward to welcoming next batch in August.”

When asked about the startups Fayaz Taher, co-founder of SD Asia, said: “In four months, the GP Accelerator team that shown dedication and commitment to build profitable businesses without giving up. They have gone through a very rigorous program that has challenged their conventional thinking and way of execution. I now feel that the teams are better prepared to face the reality of business and success.”

GP Accelerator Demo Day was an event where Bangladeshi startups found exposure with investors, both local and international.

Investors, entrepreneurs and social media specialists from over the world attended the event and brought the Bangladesh startup ecosystem to their attention. l

DT

20 Editorial

SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016

INSIDE

No country for women If we have a good and honest look at our mental backyard, we’ll discover a lot of women-unfriendly junk. The amount of junk is so high that it’d surprise us if we just listened to the experiences of the women PAGE 21

A world of cultural heritage There can be little doubt that, in the Ganges delta, developed one of the world’s first global centres of international trade PAGE 22 BIGSTOCK

How will Brexit affect climate change?

It seems the tasks for the citizens of the UK are no different and they should show their leaders the way through this uncertain period 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.

Capping the number of cars per family is no solution

T

he government’s idea of restricting the number of cars that can be owned by one family is bound to be ineffective if implemented.

The levels of traffic congestion in Dhaka’s major cities are indeed woeful, and so this provision can be seen as a sign of desperation on the government’s part. However, the number of cars per family is not the root cause of our traffic problem.

A cap on the number of cars is misguided in its focus. There is evidence to suggest that when any kind of ban is imposed, people find a way to circumvent them. A ban would merely increase dishonesty and corruption surrounding the sales and registration of vehicles, without positively affecting traffic in any discernible way.

The solution, then, lies not in how many cars someone owns, but in proper road and transportation policy and its proper implementation.

It is imperative that we improve our public transportation system, regarding which some progress has been made recently, but a lot remains to be done. The quality of bus services urgently needs improvement. Right now, too many buses operate in a haphazard manner without proper timetables. The metro rail, scheduled to be completed by 2019, could also ease the pressure that is currently on our roads and highways.

Furthermore, car usage could be discouraged through fuel pricing. Also, closing the option of CNG conversion for private cars would deter many from buying more cars unless it was absolutely necessary.

Traffic congestion is one of our biggest challenges, and we must be smart about tackling it. Let us not move towards repressive and futile measures like this one.

Traffic congestion is one of our biggest challenges, and we must be smart about tackling it

DT

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Opinion

SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016

No country for women Misogyny is alive and thriving in our society

n Ekram Kabir

I

was awestruck by the news.

A few days ago, news media reported that a religious leader in Amtali upazila of Barguna district has prohibited women from walking through the road that goes by the place where they hold religious congregations.

The disciples of the religious leader had also raised a sign-post at the entrance of the road, saying: “Women’s movement is strictly prohibited through this road.”

The disciples of the religious leader used highly insulting language whenever they saw any woman passing through that road. When this was covered in the media, the law enforcers, after quite a lot of thinking, could successfully bring down the signpost.

However, no one is sure whether the women are being allowed to tread that road.

This brings us to the question of how we in Bangladesh treat our women. If this is the way we behave with the female folks, there’s a huge question mark on the attitude of the men folks.

I know this is an old subject to talk about and many organisations have been relentlessly working on the issue, but I’m not sure whether we have made any advances in this respect.

Our women are still looked down upon, discriminated,

A lot of men still haven’t learnt to treat women as equals

If we have a good and honest look at our mental backyard, we’ll discover a lot of women-unfriendly junk. The amount of junk is so high that it’d surprise us if we just listened to the experiences of the women

abused, and victimised.

A junior female friend of mine, working in a radio station, was telling me a story the other day. Their chief executive, while convening a meeting, gave her a power bank which he said he wouldn’t use.

This angered her male colleagues. They used sexually abusive language, saying: “He gave it to you because of the two breasts that you’re carrying; he’d have given it to us if we also had those.”

Appalled, I asked her: “Didn’t you tell them anything? Didn’t you protest?”

She said: “Come on, this is a

normal way of talking in our office.

We have to survive much more dangerous abuse on a regular basis. The guys think this type of language would inspire the girls to sleep with them.”

I don’t believe that her office is a lone example. There are millions of instances across the country; we don’t know about them because the women don’t talk about their bad experiences.

When I get time, I run an experiment regarding how we men look at our women.

Sometimes, I spot a boys’ adda or a crowd of men standing on the pavement; I stand quite close to them to see their expressions

when a woman or a girl passes by.

It’s quite interesting to see that all of them ogle at various parts of the woman’s or the girl’s body passing by them. Almost no one looks at their faces.

And it’s more interesting to see the body language of the women when they pass by: All of them specifically know about the gazes of the men. They withstand the men’s gluttonous stares.

If the women protest, they are bound to become victims of violence. And this reminds me of how violently we sometimes torture our women.

A BRAC study this year said violence against women rose by

BIGSTOCK

74% in 2015 compared to the year before.

This was prepared on the basis of field reports done by BRAC staff working in 55 districts across Bangladesh.

It also added that the number could be much higher, as 68% of incidents of violence against women go unreported. The study found 87% of Bangladeshi married women are abused by their husbands.

The figures look dangerous; it seems that these numbers are fabricated, made up. How can we be that bad? We’re not wifebeaters! We’re avaricious voyeurs!

We don’t take women for granted!

But we are. If we have a good and honest look at our mental backyard, we’ll discover a lot of women-unfriendly junk.

The amount of junk is so high that it’d surprise us if we just listened to the experiences of the women. We as males probably don’t know what we really do to our women. l Ekram Kabir is a writer.

Heritage

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22

SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016

A world of cultural heritage Bangladesh offers the chance to explore over 4,000 years of history Company, and Raj periods of rule; they may be decaying, but what architectural heritage, anywhere in the world, is not? However, across the country today, over 150 palace sites, 400 Buddhist monasteries and universities, countless temples and mosques, and all the rest, from the earliest periods of the faiths and traditions they represent, can be found in just about every locality.

Perhaps the world’s last hidden treasure of heritage, under some threat, as are so many such treasures around the world, that of Bangladesh is, certainly, amongst the most ancient, and the most obscured. Shaded, perhaps, by the vastness of modern India (the political foundations of which were, ironically, laid in the lands of Bangladesh), and other, smaller neighbours such as Bhutan and

n Tim Steel

G

lancing through the documentary, empirical, circumstantial, and archaeological evidence of millennia past of the history of the lands around the Ganges, and its delta, it is easy to catch glimpses of the social and cultural and even the economic history of civilisation itself.

Slowly emerging from the depths of the alluvial soils on Bangladesh, and from the libraries and museums of the world, is a picture of the early beating heart of trade, beliefs, languages.

There can be little doubt that, in the Ganges delta, developed one of the world’s first global centres of international trade. With rivers that reached into both the heart of the Asian continent, and its sub-continent, and sea routes established at an early time, across the known and even unknown world, to east and west, even as far as the Mediterranean lands, at least two and a half millennia ago -- and probably much earlier than that.

The Ganges basin also saw the very early development of manufacturing skills, not least in metals, iron, and brass, but as well as weaving, pot making, and gem cutting. And there can be no doubt that these first vestiges of “civilisation” laid foundations of much of what was to come.

It may well, too, have been the cultural exchanges with travelling traders that lay foundations, both to one of the world’s earliest written languages, Sanskrit, but also stimulated the evolution of the great belief groups that have

been born, in and around these lands.

Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, possibly, even, some suspect, Christianity, too; and certainly acted as a cross roads for the spread of Islamic belief.

In these lands, Buddhist monks are believed to have been the first to investigate the properties of saltpetre (potassium nitrate) -- experiments which, in the 6th century CE, they shared with the Chinese emperor. The Chinese saw, subsequently, the potential in warfare of its somewhat “explosive” qualities.

Ironic, but unsurprising, perhaps, that, in the mid 16th century, the Mongol descendants, the famous Mughals, created one of the great so-called Gunpowder Empires.

There is reason to believe that, in the later part of the same century, the British sought, and found, the copious source of the raw material of gunpowder around these lands, and by early 17th century, were shipping large cargoes of gunpowder to support the military and naval endeavours of Britain to become, it is said, by 1759, “Masters of the World.”

With their contracts to supply the gunpowder, the East India Company grew into the world’s first true corporation, administering vast lands, innumerable servants, and incalculable wealth.

The inheritance of such a past, in Bangladesh today, offers the prospect to citizens, and visitors alike, of enjoying the exploration of more than 4,000 years of cultural evolution.

This evolution has produced a

globally renowned cuisine, that is rich in unique, often longforgotten traditions and ancient crafts, and shopping, as people have done here for millennia, for amazing fabrics, fragrances, garments, and jewellery.

All of that, in the historic centre of ancient trade and commerce, and birthplace and crossroads of ancient faiths and early languages, where 2,000 and more years ago, the people of the lands were widely respected across the classical world, written and no doubt spoken of, readily recognised in a way that even today, cannot, perhaps, be matched.

How, one wonders, should one describe the culture of today in lands that have seen the development of language, of literary, artistic, musical, sculptural, and architectural achievements to match the finest in the contemporary world?

This is a people who achieve much in a wider, contemporary world, especially in international institutions and commercial organisations. But also a people vulnerable to both military and religious oppression.

A younger generation, representing over half the population, warm, friendly, hospitable, and with an untrammelled, natural curiosity and instinct for hospitality, is, without doubt, the greatest natural resource of Bangladesh today. It may be a resource that requires careful nurturing, as invaders, and potential invaders, and even rulers, of the lands that are now Bangladesh, have found, to their cost, throughout the ages,

There can be little doubt that, in the Ganges delta, developed one of the world’s first global centres of international trade

they are no “pushovers.”

Adventurous, too. That seamen from these lands, the “Laskars,” made famous in 19th century western literature, were sailing around the world from millennia ago. Certainly, they were reaching, and settling in Britain from at least the 17th century.

This, then, is the cultural heritage of a remarkable people.

And it is a heritage of rich and diverse contemporary cultures that enrich any visitor to communities across the lands.

From great Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and even Christian and Animist festivals, colourfully celebrated throughout the year, to such challenging events as boat racing.

To compare with any other such in Asia: Kite fighting, Mughal wrestling, fire eating, water festivals, and even today, surfing!

There is also a wide diversity of cuisine, amongst which, this writer, at least, possibly values most, the amazing range of tea shop snacks, both savoury and sweet.

Not to ignore the architectural splendours of palaces, forts, bridges, houses, temples, mosques, churches, and public buildings, from Sultanate, Mughal,

Nepal.

None of which neighbours, in fact, can outreach Bangladesh in the age and diversity of their heritage; but none of which have had to struggle so hard to throw off foreign domination, losing both people and tangible heritage, so substantially, in the process.

Having myself planned, organised, and, sometimes, even led tours from one day, to 14 and more, for both Bangladeshi born and bred, as well as natives of other cultures, traditions, from all over the world, educated and sophisticated travellers of all ages, to explore this unique and remarkable heritage, I can truthfully say that few, if any, have returned without a sense of wonder, especially a wonder that it is not better known. A pity!

Well might the sixth Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb have described Bengal as “the paradise of nations.” It was a Bengal, ruled, in his time, from Dhaka. For him, it was the wealth and trade that appealed. For today’s visitor, it is much more to be experienced, touched, tasted, seen, inhaled, heard, worn, and appreciated! l Tim Steel is a communications, marketing and tourism consultant.

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Climate Change

SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016

How will Brexit affect climate change?

REUTERS

n Saqib Huq

T

his last week has been a milestone in British history. After three months of campaigning, the British public finally lined up outside polling stations and crossed a box on ballot papers to have their voices heard (the first time, for many).

After a tense night of vote counting and fancy graphics among news channels trying to deliver information and poll numbers to an anxious public, the result was “Brexit” -- a decision to leave the European Union after 43 years of membership.

No doubt the shock has been felt around the globe, with markets and stocks tumbling to near record lows (as did the spirits of those in the “Remain in EU Camp”). As the days followed, the sheer scale of the task at hand slowly became apparent. The UKEU relationship, albeit not perfect, was one that affected almost all aspects of each others’ legal, political and social cultures.

In the international forum, many treaties and agreements are negotiated, signed and implemented, with the UK and EU speaking and acting as one. Among many such agreements, the most recent one significant to climate change was the Paris Agreement agreed on last December, where the UK was seen as a decisive and leading figure in the negotiations that led to the first legally binding agreement to curb carbon emissions by all 196 Nations that were present.

The importance of such an agreement, especially with climate impacts becoming more severe and frequent, is not one to be taken lightly.

Even before Paris, the UK was one of the strongest voices within EU, pushing for legislation and policies for environmental protections and a strong ally for Least Developed Countries (LDCs), such as Bangladesh, in addressing the impacts of climate change.

Unfortunately, it seems every day, the uncertainties and daunting negative impacts of how a “Brexit” would finally play out, seems to be rising.

With the resignation of current Prime Minister David Cameron, the task of formally negotiating and agreeing on a deal to step out of the EU seems to be pushed ever further and onto the next leader of the party.

Without a clear leadership in this situation, it is difficult for everyone to understand: Is the UK still part of the Paris Agreement?

Will the new government still be as environmentally focused? Will the UK reduce its carbon emission targets? Such uncertainties have already shaken investors and the longer the timeframe for clear policies and business incentives, the worse it may get for supporters of the Paris agreement and the scores of British businesses that depended on a UK-EU relationship.

What happens now?

In the short term, the UK and EU need to decide on what the terms of their divorce will be. Once the UK has formally submitted its

resignation from the EU, it has a period of two years to formalise these terms and conditions.

This is a complicated and controversial process, which will range from matters of Trade, Security, Environment, Energy, Freedom of (peoples) movement and many others.

The carbon emission targets, submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), will most likely be re-calculated, for both the UK and EU. This may be more complicated than simply subtracting one set of targets from another, as many factors are likely to change due to the divorce of the union.

The reduction (or not) of targets may be a boost to investors looking to get in on cheaper “green” projects and prove their environmental credentials.

However, the uncertainty of leading government party and leader oF the party (the new prime minister), will prove to be a setback for any potentially interested customers.

Hope amidst uncertainty

The British public have often shown their enthusiasm and civil engagement on environmental issues, from thousands of protestors marching on streets and demanding that politicians keep climate change on their agenda to contacting their local MPs and highlighting the urgent support needed for vulnerable countries and help the poorest at risk from climate change.

In this case of a Brexit, the

public and environmental groups are sure to hold the government accountable and push the country to be as ambitious and progressive as possible on climate change issues. Without the fall back of EU directives and laws on environmental concerns, activists and environmentalists seem to be gearing up for a hard fight to come.

They have some powerful friends though. Among them is the newly elected Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who wants to “make London one of the world’s greenest cities” and eventually zero-carbon.

His environmental plans include strong initiatives to reduce air pollution levels by introducing “green buses” and more electric vehicles, plant more trees and increase green spaces around the city and to use public land for solar and renewable energy systems to boost the city’s energy supply while reducing emissions.

The city has a diverse economy and is home to many environmentally focused and “pro-green” industries. Businesses ranging from hi-tech, smart, energy efficient technologies to policy and scientific research think-tanks to “green banking” and financial services companies have helped to make the UK a vibrant and active member in the fight against climate change.

Mayor Khan has come out to assure investors (of all kinds) that London is still a good choice for businesses and that his Green Revolution is the right direction.

Among the rising surge of renewable energy initiatives

across the UK and with a strong political figure (such as the Mayor), the public are sure to have a robust case to hold any future government of the UK to keep their climate change targets.

More and more, from around the world, we see the engagement and activism of the citizens of nations to urge their leaders and governments into strong action on climate change and environmental concerns.

From the formation of community groups to rallies and marches, numbers from hundreds to hundreds of thousands have joined together to show their leaders that the impacts of a changing climate are a major issue and in need of urgent action.

It seems the tasks for the citizens of the UK are no different and they should show their leaders the way through this uncertain period. l Saqib Huq is a Research Officer at the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD). The views expressed are his own.

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.

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TOP STORIES

Poles rally round ‘Kuba’ after miss Teammates rushed to rally round Poland’s Jakub Blaszczykowski after a crucial penalty miss handed Portugal victory in their Euro 2016 quarter-final. “We lost as a team, and not just one player,” said striker Robert Lewandowski. PAGE 26

Mariner Young’s Club players celebrate after winning the Green Delta Premier Division Hockey League title at Maulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium yesterday.

Mariner defeated holders Usha Krira Chakra 3-2 MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

I’m joining United Ibrahimovic Former talismanic Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic said on Thursday that he is joining Manchester United, ending intense speculation about where the 34-year-old superstar will be playing next season. PAGE 27

Neymar tied down to €250m buyout clause Mercurial Brazilian striker Neymar Jr has signed a five-year contract extension which includes a buy out clause of up to 250 million euros (277.5 million dollars), Spanish side Barcelona Football Club said yesterday. PAGE 28

Del Potro knocks out fourth seed Wawrinka Juan Martin Del Potro proved that multiple wrist surgeries had not robbed him off his flowing racket skills as he knocked out fourth seed Stan Wawrinka with a 3-6 6-3 7-6(2) 6-3 in the second round of Wimbledon yesterday. PAGE 29

Mariner lift first ever hockey title n Tribune Report Mariner Young’s Club came from behind to earn a historic 3-2 victory over Usha Krira Chakra in the final match of the Green Delta Premier Division Hockey League at Maulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium yesterday.

In the process, Mariner wrapped up their first ever domestic top-flight title.

A draw would have been enough for Mariner to clinch the title while Usha needed three points to retain their crown.

And it was Usha who started strong, racing to a two-goal lead at the beginning of the game before Mariner staged a brilliant comeback to seal a famous victory.

Mariner finished at the summit with a five-point lead as they accumulated 43 points from 16 matches while holders Usha, who

were at the top after the conclusion of the round robin league, ended as the runners-up with 38 points.

Abahani Limited finished third with 36 points while arch-rival Mohammedan Sporting Club concluded their campaign at fourth with a point less.

It was Usha who went ahead in the 13th minute when Hasan Jubair Niloy broke the deadlock with a powerful hit to beat Mariner goalkeeper Mehrab Hossain Kiron. They doubled the lead just two minutes later and this time, Pushkor Khisa Mimo collected Niloy’s angular hit before sending it home with a reverse hit.

Following the second goal, the Mariner supporters showed their fury, breaking a number of chairs in the gallery.

However, Waqas Sharif gave the fans some relief in the 25th

minute by pulling one back.

The game rolled forward with Mariner going all-out for the equaliser while Usha seemed disorganised. They earned two penalty corners in the 45th and 46th minutes but failed to convert any before Arshad Hossain levelled the margin four minutes later following a push by Ishtiaque Ahmed.

Just a minute before the end of stipulated time, Ishtiaque killed off any hopes that Usha were harbouring of retaining their title.

“We are very happy. Locals, foreigners, everyone played as a unit and performed really well.

We trained hard during Ramadan and some were even fasting during the practice sessions and the games. We got the result of our hard work,” said Mariner captain Mainul Islam Kaushik. l

When Usha Krira Chakra raced to a 2-0 lead against Mariner Young’s Club in the Green Delta Premier Division Hockey League title decider at Maulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium yesterday, the Mariner supporters wrecked havoc, breaking a number of chairs in the gallery. However, the situation was soon brought under control MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Fizz set to depart to the UK on July 13 n Mazhar Uddin Bangladesh paceman Mustafizur Rahman is all set to make his English county debut after his medical reports turned out to be positive.

The left-arm pacer is expected to leave for the UK on July 13.

Mustafizur suffered multiple injuries on his right leg during the IPL but is now fit to play, according to the BCB’s media committee chairman Jalal Younus. The southpaw will leave for the UK as soon as he gets his visa.

The 20-year old is expected to take part in the remainder of the NatWest T20 Blast and the Royal London One-Day Cup. “Our medical team gave a positive report regarding his physical condition. He is doing fine in training at the moment and we expect him to improve further. He will leave for England on July 13, subject to the availability of visa,” said Jalal to the media.

According to sources, Mustafizur is likely to play his first NatWest T20 Blast game on July 15 against Hampshire. He is expected to be with Sussex till the completion of the one-day competition on August 2. However, he will be available for selection if his side make it to the knockout stages of both the tournaments.

“I feel better now. I can bowl properly, which I wasn’t able to do previously. It would be good to go to Sussex. I will try to give my best there. I played an Under-19 game in England in 2013 but had to return home soon due to injury,” said Mustafizur.l

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Italy face tactical challenges because of injuries, suspension n Reuters, Bordeaux Chameleon-like Italy have been lauded for their tactical suppleness at Euro 2016, but with several key absentees, coach Antonio Conte may need to reinvent them again for their quarter-final against Germany.

Recent victories, including the second-round triumph over defending champions Spain, have taken their toll, with midfielders Antonio Candreva and Daniele De Rossi training alone on Thursday because of groin and thigh injuries respectively.

Thiago Motta, a potential replacement for De Rossi, is also suspended from today’s game.

Italy’s tactical innovations have been a highlight of the tournament, with Conte eschewing some of the national game’s “traditional values”. Known for their defensive qualities, the Italians have not been afraid to attack in France.

They defended intelligently to nullify Belgium in their opening 2-0 win. Their discipline was complemented by an offensive fluidity, as they modulated on the theme of 3-5-2 to become either a 5-3-2 without the ball or a 3-3-4 in possession.

The versatile Candreva, with the mobility, energy and tactical nous to excel in transitions, was critical, and neither of his potential replacements, Florenzi or Darmian, can offer as much offensively.

Italy have never lost to the Germans in a competitive match at a tournament. But Conte will not only have to find a way to neutralise Germany’s considerable threat, but also compensate for Italy’s absentees.

With both De Rossi and Motta likely to be sidelined, Conte may turn to the tenacious Stefano Sturaro alongside Marco Parolo in the centre.l

Italy coach Antonio Conte during training yesterday REUTERS

Germany players warm up during a training session at the team's training ground in Evian yesterday, on the eve of their Euro 2016 quarter-final against Italy

AFP

Germany attempt to throw off Italian shackles n AFP, Bordeaux Europe’s titans clash today when Germany and Italy meet in the plum Euro 2016 quarter-final with huge stakes for both countries.

Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger is poised to make his first start in the Bordeaux match, while Italy’s veteran defender Daniele de Rossi faces a race to be fit.

Like two heavyweight boxers eyeing up their opponent before the first bell, both teams have talked up the respect factor and down played the significance of Italy winning the last eight meetings at major tournaments.

In the most recent matches, Italy claimed a 2-1 win in the Euro 2012 semi-finals while Germany romped to a 4-1 win in a meaningless friendly in March.

Joachim Loew’s Germany insists they have no “Italy trauma” as they look to beat the Azzurri at the ninth attempt on a big stage and throw off their Italian shackles.

Antonio Conte’s Italy has compared taking on the world champions as football’s equivalent of “climbing Everest”. Italy have their own trauma after crashing out of the 2014 World Cup in the first round.

Both squads insist this will be

their toughest test so far at the European Championship finals.

No doubt penalties have been practised behind closed doors, should the tie be decided by a shoot-out.

The Azzurri proved they are up for the challenge by dumping previous holders Spain out of the competition with a 2-0 win in the last 16.

But Conte’s team will have to become the first team to score past the Germans at Euro 2016, unless the tie is settled by penalties.

The clear, often repeated, German message this week has been of great respect, but no fear of the Azzurri.

As has been well documented in the media of both European footballing powerhouses, Italy has a rare unbeaten record over Germany at major tournaments.

“It doesn’t mean anything to me that we have never beaten Italy in a big tournament”, said Germany midfielder Toni Kroos.

“They are the best team we will have faced here. I’m looking forward to the game and I’m very optimistic.”

But the question will be whether previous failures appear at the back of German minds should Italy take the lead in Bordeaux.

Torino striker Ciro Immobile,

who spent an unhappy season at the German outfit Borussia Dortmund, is not impressed with the respectful noises coming from the Germans.

“We’ve beaten them so many times ... they’re just trying to cover themselves,” he said.

“We know Germany are strong and will be sure of themselves. But our victory over Spain has really lifted our confidence.”

Germany have all their players fit and no suspensions.

Centre-back Jerome Boateng has recovered from a calf strain which made him doubtful for the 3-0 win over Slovakia in the last 16.

The burly Bayern Munich defender scored his first international goal against Slovakia.

After three Euro 2016 appearances off the bench, Die Mannschaft’s leader Schweinsteiger is poised to make his first start after a knee injury.

Germany’s shot-stopper Manuel Neuer is on a record run of five games unbeaten, a first in the 108-year history of the German FA, which includes the 2-0 warm-up win over Hungary.

Italy have Thiago Motta suspended and are waiting on the fitness of two other midfielders.

Italy’s experienced De Rossi is almost certain to miss out after

injuring his right thigh in the win over Spain.

Likewise, Lazio winger Antonio Candreva is doubtful after suffering a hamstring injury in their 1-0 group stage win over Sweden nearly two weeks ago.

Neither took part in Thursday’s Italy training session behind closed doors. Let battle commence. l

QUARTERFINALS

V GERMANY

ITALY

Nouveau Stade Bordeaux 8pm local time (1am BST) * Bangladesh standard time

HEAD-TO-HEAD GERMANY

4 33 8 15 10 40 49

ITALY Fifa ranking Matches Wins Losses Draws Goals scored Goals against

12 33 15 8 10 49 40

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Misfiring Ronaldo ‘amazing’, insists coach Santos n AFP, Marseille Portugal coach Fernando Santos hailed Cristiano Ronaldo’s performance as “amazing” despite his failure to score as his side progressed to the Euro 2016 semi-finals with a 5-3 penalty shootout win over Poland.

Ronaldo is just one goal off matching Michel Platini’s record of nine in Euro finals, but endured a frustrating night in front of goal during the 120 minutes in Marseille. The Real Madrid star did net from the penalty spot in the shootout and Santos reserved special praise for Ronaldo and his club teammate Pepe.

“Pepe and Cristiano played an amazing game, sometimes people undervalue them,” said Santos.

“People focus on Ronaldo because he has to score, but he played amazing, he is a great captain. Pepe was amazing today too.”

Renato Sanches was Portugal’s hero. The 18-year-old cancelled out Robert Lewandowski’s opener on his full international debut.

However, Santos refused suggestions Sanches is ready to inherit Ronaldo’s role as leader of the national team. “(An era) before and after Renato is an exaggeration. He played a great game, but he is still growing.

“This is not the future Renato because (in the future) he will be an even better player. Renato is still growing and he has to take all his qualities and put it all on the pitch.”l

RESULT Poland

1-1

Portugal

Lewandowski 2 Sanches 33 Portugal won 5-3 on penalties

Talented players, dull matches and a semi-final place for Portugal n Reuters, Paris Portugal continue to be a paradox at Euro 2016, reaching the semi-finals without ever giving the kind of uplifting performance that their talented team should be capable of.

Coach Fernando Santos was naturally delighted after his side overcame Poland on penalties in the quarter-finals after a 1-1 draw, yet, as far as the neutrals were concerned, it was another soporific display.

Portugal’s progress to the semi-finals, without winning a match inside 90 minutes, has drawn parallels with the Paraguay team who managed to reach the 2011 Copa America final by drawing every game.

The only difference was that Portugal at least managed to beat Croatia 1-0 after extra-time in the second round while Paraguay won both their knockout games at the Copa on penalty shootouts before coming a cropper in the final against Uruguay which they lost 3-0.

It some ways, it seems harsh to criticise a Portugal team whose recent record at the European championship puts many bigger countries to shame.

The Portuguese have reached the quarter-finals on all seven occasions they have taken part and in the last five tournaments have reached the final once and the semi-finals three times.

But there has been something strangely unsatisfying, and even exasperating, about their performances at Euro 2016.

Portugal players celebrate after the penalty shootout win against Poland during their Euro 2016 quarter-final at Stade Velodrome, Marseille, France on Thursday REUTERS Their style of play is not especially defensive, they do not commit more fouls than anyone else and their average of 19 goal attempts per game is the fourth highest at the tournament.

On the other hand, their second-round tie against Croatia was dire and the second hour of the match against Poland lulled Marseille’s Stade Velodrome into near silence.

It has been pretty much the same story since the amiable Santos took over in September 2014, having led Greece to the last 16 at the World Cup. Portugal are unbeaten in 12 competitive matches under his leader-

ship but their nine wins during that period have all been by single goal margins.

Their line-up suggests they should be capable of more. Threetimes world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo, former Manchester United winger Nani, mercurial forward Ricardo Quaresma and midfielder Joao Moutinho have shown only the odd flash of their abilities.

Instead, Portugal have become a team who are difficult to beat, even more difficult to watch, and the talk after matches is invariably about unity, hard work and commitment.

They are also clinical in penalty shootouts and converted all five

spot-kicks against Poland.

“We are a team with great character. I continue to say I’m only going home on 11 July,” said Santos, who has insisted since the start that Portugal will reach the final on July 10.

“You need to have courage to take penalties in a shootout, you need to have personality and cold blood, and the players had that.”

Ronaldo was equally upbeat.

“Maybe nobody gave much for our chances but we are now in the semi-finals,” he said. “It was a very important win, the team took the penalties well and fought hard. We are in the semi-finals and now anything in possible.” l

Poles rally round ‘Kuba’ after penalty miss n AFP, Marseille

Poland’s midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski (L) misses a shot in the penalty shoot-out during their Euro 2016 quarter-final against Portugal on Thursday AFP

Teammates rushed to rally round Polish midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski after a crucial penalty miss handed Portugal victory in their Euro 2016 quarter-final on Thursday.

“We lost as a team, and not just one player,” said striker Robert Lewandowski, who gave Poland a second-minute lead with his first goal of the tournament.

Blaszczykowski, popularly known as “Kuba”, was Poland’s hero in their last 16 clash with Switzerland. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder hit Poland’s opener then booking their ticket their first lasteight place at a major finals when

he converted from the spot after Granit Xhaka missed his effort at the penalty kicks.

In the latest penalty kicks, Blaszczykowski’s run was ended

by Portugal ‘keeper Rui Patricio.

When Ricardo Quaresma stepped up to score on the next kick Portugal went through 5-3 on penalties.

“It doesn’t matter that he (Blaszczykowski) missed his kick, he’s still a great player and a big friend,” said defender Kamil Glik.

“He saved us a lot of times in this tournament by scoring in other games. That’s what we told him.”

Poland goalkeeper Szczesny, who left his place to Fabianski because of injury, suggested nerves may have got to Blaszczykowski. l

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I’m joining Manchester United - Ibrahimovic n AFP, Paris Zlatan Ibrahimovic said on Thursday that he is joining Manchester United, ending intense speculation about where the 34-year-old Swedish superstar forward will be playing next season.

Ibrahimovic, who was a free agent after ending a hugely successful stay at Paris Saint-Germain, becomes the second signing of new United boss Jose Mourinho after that of highly rated Ivory Coast centre-back Eric Bailly from the Spanish outfit Villarreal.

“Time to let the world know.

My next destination is Manchester United,” he wrote on Instagram and Facebook, complete with a picture of the United badge, as comments approving of the move - one of the biggest of the summer transfer window so far - flooded in.

Ibrahimovic reunites with

Mourinho, after they enjoyed a good relationship while together at Italians Inter Milan, in what is likely to be the last major move in a career spanning five countries and reaping 11 league titles.

He was set to sign a one-year deal yesterday that will see him earn about £220,000 a week (260,000 euros, $290,000), British media said. The towering Swede, who hit 62 goals in 116 international matches, had toyed with questioners for weeks about where he would be going and it will be his first time playing in the Premier League, which is awash with cash from a bonanza television deal.

Ibrahimovic, who quit international football after Sweden crashed out of Euro 2016, has also played at Ajax, Juventus, Barcelona and AC Milan during a career in which he has become as well known for his colourful personality

as his prowess in front of goal.

Van Gaal paid out heavily for his fellow Dutchman Memphis Depay, but he failed to deliver and spent the second half of the season on the bench. Ibrahimovic said weeks ago that he knew where he would be playing next season, but kept the football world guessing - typical of his mercurial personality, as was his dramatic announcement in just 12 words.

“Yes, I have made my choice,” Ibrahimovic tantalisingly told a press conference at a training camp near Stockholm for the Swedish team ahead of Euro 2016, where he endured a frustrating time.

He said then that he had decided “long ago” but dodged all questions about whether that team was Manchester United, where Mourinho has replaced van Gaal after the Dutchman’s troubled two-year reign at Old Trafford came to a bitter end. Asked

a direct question about whether he had received an offer from United, Ibrahimovic’s hesitancy in answering spoke volumes.

He drummed his fingers on the table, smiled and eventually replied: “Let’s see what happens.”

“There are concrete offers from England, Italy... all countries.

There are even some from outside Europe,” he said.

But when asked whether he was tempted to work again with Mourinho, Ibrahimovic said only that they had worked well together at Inter Milan, where the Swede played from 2006 to 2009.

“You want action, you bring Mourinho. I believe he’s the man to bring them back to the top. Wherever he went he won,” the Swede said of Mourinho taking over at United, where he will be tasked with bringing back the glory days and swagger sorely missing under van Gaal. l

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Del Bosque quits after Spain fail at Euro 2016 n AFP, Madrid Vicente del Bosque quit as Spain’s coach after the defending champions crashed out of Euro 2016, ending one of football’s most successful managerial dynasties.

Del Bosque, 65, won a World Cup and a European Championship in a glorious era for Spanish football. He also won the Champions League twice with Real Madrid.

His legacy was tainted by Spain’s disastrous first round exit at the 2014 World Cup and now their defeat in the last 16 at the European Championship. Some of the team’s greatest players are also expected to retire soon.

“Without a doubt, I have no intention to remain as coach, but you have to be discreet,” Del Bosque told Spanish public radio RNE late on Thursday.

“No matter what the result of the Euros, I had no doubt about what my future would be.

“I have handled this issue discreetly. But it is a decision that was taken in advance.”

Spain were eliminated from Euro 2016 on Monday after a meek 2-0 defeat to Italy.

Marca newspaper said ex-Granada coach Joaquin Caparros was being lined up to take over the national team.

Del Bosque, who succeeded the late Luis Aragones after Spain’s triumph at Euro 2008, is a popular figure in Spain after guiding the national team to a maiden World Cup victory in 2010 and a second straight European Championship title two years later.

The likes of Andres Iniesta, David Silva and Iker Casillas became household names around the globe under Del Bosque’s tactful guidance.

He also overcame the traditional rivalry between Barcelona and Real to maintain a united team on the international stage.

In an age of star coaches, his eight years in charge of a top national team is almost unprecedented in modern football.

Some felt a fresh start was needed after Spain’s failure to advance beyond the group stage at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The side lost their first two games and Del Bosque was criticised for his loyalty to the core of players who won in 2010.

The Spanish federation stuck with him, but Del Bosque’s gamble to stay in the job for Euro 2016 did not pay off.

“I had already said it. I had no doubts. It would be hard to win again,” del Bosque said.

“Maybe we did not perform well against Italy. The first stage went well. But the most difficult part would be winning again.”

He said he will remain in his post until his contract expires on July 31.

“On July 31 I will leave football. I will be available to help. I will leave the bench although I will always remain close and will want things to go well for Spanish football. If I can help in anything, I will,” he said.

Del Bosque said no one at the Spanish football federation had asked his advice regarding who should replace him.

Chelsea release strikers Pato, Falcao Chelsea have opted against renewing contracts for strikers Radamel Falcao and Alexandre Pato, and goalkeeper Marco Amelia, the Premier League club said on its website yesterday.

Colombia’s Falcao, who signed on a season-long loan from Monaco last July, netted just once in 12 appearances last season and was sidelined through much of the campaign with a thigh injury.

Brazilian forward Pato joined on loan in January from Corinthians until the end of last season and will leave the club after scoring once in two games.

Italian 34-year-old Amelia, who has never featured for the first team, ends his stay at the club after joining in October 2015 on a free transfer.

All three contracts expired on June 30. l

PLAYING CAREER As a player he enjoyed 11 successful seasons at Real Madrid from 1973 to 1984, winning five league titles, four Spanish Cups and featuring in the European Cup final defeat by Liverpool in Paris in 1981.

He also won 18 international caps for Spain between 1975 and 1980.

SPAIN COACH Del Bosque was appointed Spain coach in July 2008, shortly after they had won the European Championship.

Spain’s 2010 World Cup campaign got off to a poor start as they lost 1-0 to Switzerland, but they rallied to win their group and then beat Portugal, Paraguay and Germany, all by a 1-0 scoreline, to reach the final where they faced the Netherlands.

The showpiece match went into extra time with the score 0-0 before Andres Iniesta snatched the winner in the 116th minute to give Spain their first world title.

Spain confirmed their status as the world’s dominant side when Del Bosque led them to their second straight European title in 2012, following a 4-0 victory over Italy in the final.

Del Bosque led Spain into the World Cup in 2014 but they lost their crown after defeats in the first two group stage games and were eliminated before the knockout rounds.

Caparros, who has managed a host of Spanish clubs including Villarreal, Sevilla, Athletic Bilbao and Levante, told Marca: “I would be excited to manage the national team, any Spanish coach would be honoured to take this job.”

There has been no official word on del Bosque’s successor however.

And among the other names tipped to replace him is former Spain un-

der-21 boss Julen Lopetegui, Granada coach Paco Jemez and former Marseille boss Jose Miguel Gonzalez.

Del Bosque made more than 400 appearances for Real Madrid as a player and in four years as the club’s coach from 1999 won the Champions League in 2000 and 2002. He was replaced in part because he was not considered a big enough star. l

Man City sign Spain’s Nolito n Reuters

Barca ties Neymar down with 250m euro buyout clause

Spain forward Nolito has joined Manchester City from Celta Vigo on a four-year contract, the Premier League side said yesterday.

The 29-year-old, who played all four games in Spain’s Euro 2016 campaign, scored 39 goals in 103 appearances for Celta Vigo since joining the Spanish club in 2013, before spells at Granada, Benfica and Barcelona.

New manager Pep Guardiola has already signed Australia midfielder Aaron Mooy from sister club Melbourne City and Ilkay Gundogan from Borussia Dortmund.

“I’ll do everything that the manager asks of me, try my absolute best and do everything I can to try to repeat the form I’ve shown throughout my career at various clubs,” Nolito told the club’s website.

“It’s just about trying to play my normal game and let’s hope that I can help Manchester City to win games."l

n AFP, Barcelona Brazilian striker Neymar has signed a five-year contract extension which includes a buy out clause of up to 250 million euros ($277.5 dollars), the Spanish club said yesterday.

The deal will keep the 24-yearold international, widely regarded as one of the finest talents in world football, at Barcelona until June 30, 2021, the club said in a statement.

“The player’s buy out clause has been fixed at 200 million euros for the first year of his contract, 222 million for the second and 250 million for the remaining three years,” the statement added. The previous buy out clause was 190 million euros.

The club said it will formally present the new deal in Barcelona on July 15, before Neymar joins up

He was persuaded to stay on for the Euro 2016 campaign, where Spain comfortably reached the last 16, but their hopes of a third straight European title ended in a 2-0 loss to Italy.

with the Brazilian national side for the Olympic Games.

Neymar was already under contract until 2018 with Barcelona, having transferred in 2013 from Brazil’s Santos.

That transfer deal has haunted the club because of alleged hidden payments that have sparked legal action. But the prolific Brazil striker has played brilliantly for the Catalan club as part of a much feared attacking trident alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

Speculation had mounted around whether or not Neymar would extend his stay at the Camp Nou or make another lucrative move. Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, United and Manchester City had been named as possible suitors. l

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Rain-hit Wimbledon considering play on Sunday n AFP, London

QUICK BYTES Ben Arfa signs for PSG France international midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa has signed a twoyear deal with Paris Saint-Germain from Ligue 1 rivals Nice, the French champions announced yesterday.

“Paris Saint-Germain is happy to announce the signing of Hatem Ben Arfa’s contract until June 30, 2018,” the club said on its Twitter account.

The former Newcastle and Marseille winger becomes the club’s first recruit since new Spanish coach Unai Emery replaced Laurent Blanc this week.

–AFP

Demichelis to leave Manchester City Defender Martin Demichelis has left Manchester City at the end of his contract, the Premier League club said in a statement yesterday. The 35-year-old made 17 starts for City last season as he struggled to make an impact, with former manager Manuel Pellegrini preferring Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi to cover for the injured Vincent Kompany. A 2014 World Cup finalist with Argentina, Demichelis was fined 22,000 pounds ($29,000) and warned by the Football Association in May for breaking betting rules.

–REUTERS

France’s Mandanda signs for Crystal Palace Marseille’s French international goalkeeper Steve Mandanda has signed a three-year deal with Crystal Palace, both clubs announced yesterday. France’s number two keeper arrives in England after nine years in southern France where he won the Ligue 1 title in 2010 and three League Cup titles.

–AFP

DAY’S WATCH FOOTBALL SONY ESPN 1:00AM Euro 2016: QF 3 Italy v Germany

TENNIS STAR SPORTS 1 6:00PM Wimbledon Championships 2016

CRICKET STAR SPORTS 1 3:28 PM Sri Lanka Tour of England 5th ODI

SONY SIX 6:50 AM Caribbean Premier League T20 Trinbago Knight Riders v Barbados Tridents

Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro in action against Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka at Wimbledon yesterday

Del Potro knocks out fourth seed Wawrinka n Reuters, London Juan Martin Del Potro proved that multiple wrist surgeries had not robbed him off his flowing racket skills as he knocked out fourth seed Stan Wawrinka with a 3-6 6-3 7-6(2) 6-3 in the second round of Wimbledon yesterday.

The Argentine, making his first appearance at Wimbledon since reaching the semi-finals in 2013, held aloft his arms in triumph after condemning twice grand slam champion Wawrinka to his earliest defeat at the All England Club for

three years.

Wawrinka broke once to take the first set but by the time the players swapped serves for four successive games at the start of the third set, the Swiss knew he was in for a torrid afternoon against the 2009 U.S. Open champion.

Playing under a closed Centre Court roof, Wawrinka whipped a backhand wide on match point to complete another miserable outing at the only major in which he has yet to reach at least a semi-final.

Meanwhile, Andy Murray produced the kind of imperious form

REUTERS

that has propelled him into two grand slam finals this year as he beat Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun 6-3 6-2 6-1 in the Wimbledon second round on Thursday.

Lu, the son of a chicken farmer, ruffled a few feathers on Centre Court when he jumped out to a 2-0 lead before extending it to 3-1 in the opening set.

However, once Murray had levelled for 3-3, it did not take him long to clip his rival’s wings. From 3-2 up in the second set, Murray won seven games on the trot as Lu struggled to find a way. l

Wimbledon organisers admitted they were considering playing on the middle Sunday for the first time in 12 years in an attempt to get the rain-lashed tournament back on track, an official told AFP. “Sunday play is being considered but a decision won’t be made until tomorrow,” a spokesman for the All England Club said yesterday.

Play on the middle Sunday - the traditional rest day in the Wimbledon fortnight - last took place in 2004.

It has only happened on two other occasions: in 1991 and 1997.

This year’s Wimbledon has been badly affected by the weather with long delays on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Only one minute of action was possible on the outside courts yesterday and just a quarter of an hour on Court One with a resumption not expected before 3:00pm (1400 GMT).

Rain has seriously disrupted the schedules for the past four days.

Organisers had to pay out refunds of between 50 percent and 100 percent on Wednesday’s tickets for the open courts.

There were still 16 second round singles matches to complete yesterday - the day usually reserved for the start of the third round.

Play on Centre Court, featuring Juan Martin del Potro against Stan Wawrinka was continuing under the roof, with multiple Wimbledon champions Serena Williams and Roger Federer due to play later yesterday.

Scheduling during rain delays will ease in 2019 when a new roof over Court One will be in operation.

The last time matches were staged on the middle Sunday was in 2004. l

Lehmann urges ICC to prevent burnout n Reuters Australia coach Darren Lehmann has urged cricket’s governing body to help reduce the workload on players competing in all three forms of the game as he fears the current packed schedule is unsustainable.

As the Indian Premier League appears set to capitalise on recent International Cricket Council changes to the schedule through a “mini IPL” in September, Lehmann fears such a tournament would further restrict time off for his players.

In 2015, Australian cricketers

who played all three formats spent on average 280 days overseas.

Under Cricket Australia contracts, players are given a six-week break from commitments, which many use to sign lucrative IPL contracts.

Lehmann said while the financial incentive to play in India was tempting, it often wore players out and the ICC should use a common sense approach to future scheduling so that the toll on bodies was not too high.

“If it keeps going like this, with players playing IPL as well, they are inevitably going to break down,” Lehmann told Australian

media yesterday.

“Hopefully changes will happen at the ICC and then you will see a refined schedule which will be better.”

Lehmann said while players often consider setting themselves up for life by playing in the IPL, it was a “tough conundrum” for national selectors, as they are reluctant to advise players not to take on outof-contract commitments.

“If you look across a two-year cycle, all of our players have had to come home at some point,” he said, while referring to injuries Steve Smith (wrist) and Mitchell Marsh (hamstring) picked up in the most

recent IPL season.

Lehmann believes that while players may be primed to perform under matchday stresses, it was the constant travel, variable conditions and lack of adequate rest which was putting them most at risk.

“It’s not so much the cricket, it’s the travel to these places. You’re on the road, you have training and all that stuff,” he said.

The ICC is currently considering the introduction of a twotiered Test Championship and a one-day league, which would go some way to lightening the workload.l

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SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Turn aside abruptly (6) 5 Melody (3) 7 Tiny (3) 8 Essay on a theme (6) 11 Long-leaved lettuce (3) 12 Carpentry tool (5) 14 Yield (4) 16 Foot lever (5) 18 Decree (5) 20 Dissolve (4) 21 Raised platform (5) 23 Result of addition (3) 24 Clergyman (6) 27 Falsehood (3) 28 Arch (3) 29 Dense igneous rock (6)

DOWN 1 Drunkard (3) 2 Female sheep (3) 3 Esteem shown (7) 4 Disguise (4) 5 Give consent (6) 6 Outcome (6) 9 Pay attention (4) 10 Plant juice (3) 13 Retributive justice (7) 14 Stops (6) 15 Consternation (6) 17 Singing voice (4) 19 Faucet (3) 22 Festive (4) 25 Beverage (3) 26 Groove (3)

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

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

Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.

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

A B C DE FG H I J K L MN O P Q RST UVWXYZ

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SUDOKU How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

LRB releases new album

n Showtime Desk After a hiatus of four long years, LRB is back and kicking with their latest album, Rakhe Allah Mare Ke this Eid.

Robi Radio, a pocket FM radio for the subscribers of mobile operator Robi, released the album on Thursday, June 30 at its Gulshan office in Dhaka. In order to listen to the songs, subscribers

can simply dial 80805. “The service also enables listeners to listen to the stories behind the making of the songs,” said Mahmud Hasan Foysal, general manager of Robi Axiata Ltd Value Added Services.

This number has been set solely for the veteran band.

Motiul Islam Noushad, chief corporate and people officer, and Ikram Kabir, vice president of communications and corporate responsibility of Robi Axiata Ltd were also present at the event.

There are eight songs in the album of which, four songs can be heard initially by dialling 80805.

These are – “Rakhe Allah mare ke,” “Mon,” “Nacho” and “Tomra 11 jon.”

Sajjad Hussain has written the lyrics for the title song while Ayub Bacchu and Irfan have written the rest. “Tomra 11 jon” is designed to motivate the cricketers of Bangladesh.

The rest of the four songs will be available in a few days.

The Robi Yonder Music app also released LRB’s new song “Cholo Jai” on the same day.

The line-up of the band has changed since the band’s drummer Romel was replaced

by Shishir a few months ago.

The rest of the members remain the same as Ayub Bacchu (vocal and lead guitar), Shwapan (base guitar), Masud (second hand guitar and vocal) and Shamim (manager and sound engineer).

LRB celebrated its 25th year of journey this year. The band released its last album Juddho back in 2012.

Other albums of LRB include LRB -1 (1992), LRB-2 (1992), Shukh (1993), Tobuo (1994), Ghumonto shohore (1995), Shopno (1996), Amader (1998), Bisshoy (1998), Mon Chaile mon pabe (2001), Ochena jibon (2003), Mone achhe naki nai (2005), Sporsho (2008).l

n Showtime Desk Taylor Lautner was introduced in Hollywood as the next big thing when The Twilight Saga was at its peak. And then he just wasn’t there in the picture anymore, both literally and figuratively.

Lautner’s Twilight co-stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson were clever with their careers. While they were still attached to the franchise, they both starred in other films, like Adventureland (2009) and Water For Elephants (2011). As a result, the duo had an easier time transitioning to other roles

The 6 Pack Band featuring Rahat Fateh Ali Khan n Showtime Desk Rahat Fateh Ali Khan recently sang with the 6 Pack Band, the first ever trans musical group from India that also features the likes of Salman Khan and Anushka Sharma in their music video.

The band consisting of six transgender singers has already become an internet sensation when their rendition of Pharrel William’s “Happy,” went viral.

Now, the are willing to release their sixth music video.

Y-Films is sponsoring the band, which is the youth wing of Yash Raj Films. According to media, the band was formed in 2015 by Y-Films as an initiative to establish gender equality in the country.

“For the last song, we have

SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016

WHAT TO WATCH

Lautner is still just Jacob post-Twilight. Lautner, however, had only a small role in the starstudded lineup of Valentine’s Day (2010) to tide him over until the franchise was over. A source told The Hollywood Reporter, that it’s not easy to move out of the shadow of a hit like Twilight.

There’s still time for Taylor to become more than just Jacob.

Other rumours suggest that producers just don’t see Lautner as being worth the money he thinks he deserves, and they might as well be right. A source told Vulture, “William Morris has done a brilliant job of convincing Hollywood that he’s the next big movie star.” Unfortunately, William Morris didn’t convince audiences of the same. Lautner demanded $5 million for Abduction.

When that bombed, studios could no longer justify the $7.5 million he asked for to star in Stretch Armstrong (yes, that Stretch Armstrong), and a whopping $10 million to star in the re-telling of the Biblical story of David and Goliath. Both movies got shelved indefinitely.

Another source told Vulture, that Lautner can be very demanding, based on the success of the Twilight franchise.

We sincerely hope the actor makes his decisions wisely and think about solidifying his position in the industry. l

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Showtime

an epic campaign,” shared Ashish Patil, vice president, Y-Films, Brand Partnerships and Talent Management. They are expecting it to be the biggest one with great public exposure.l

Final Destination 5 WB 4:00pm Survivors of a suspensionbridge collapse learn there’s no way you can cheat death.

Cast: Nicholas D’Agosto, Emma Bell, Arlen Escarpeta, Miles Fisher, Ellen Wroe Real Steel Star Movies 6:50pm In the near future, robot boxing is a top sport. A struggling promoter feels he’s found a champion in a discarded robot.

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lilly, Anthony Mackie, Kevin Durand American Sniper HBO 7:10pm Navy S.E.A.L. sniper Chris Kyle’s pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and turns him into a legend. Back home to his wife and kids after four tours of duty, however, Chris finds that it is the war he can’t leave behind.

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Kyle Gallner, Cole Konis, Ben Reed, Elise Robertson Constantine WB 7:20pm Supernatural detective John Constantine helps a detective prove her sisters death was not a suicide, but something more Cast: Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Djimon Hounsou, Max Baker Transformers: Dark of the Moon Zee Studio 11:10pm The Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the moon, and race against the Decepticons to reach it and to learn its secrets.

Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Tyrese Gibson, John Turturro, Josh Duhamel

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SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016

Second Hindu priest killed ‘Attack on Hindus to anger India’ in Jhenaidah in a month Alleged mastermind of Madaripur n Nayan Khondoker, Jhenaidah

A Hindu temple priest was hacked to death by unidentified assailants at Uttar Kashto Sagra village in Jhenaidah early yesterday.

Shyamanondo Das, 50, was a priest of Shri Shri Radhamodon Gopal Math in the area. He is the second Hindu priest to be killed in the district in a month.

Jhenaidah sadar police OC Hasan Hazijur Rahman said: “Shyamanondo was collecting flowers near his temple for religious rituals when three assailants coming on a motorcycle attacked him with a machete around 6:30am. They hacked him and fled the scene.”

Locals took him to Jhenaidah Sadar Hospital, where the duty doctors pronounced him dead.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal hoped that the police would be able to unearth the mystery behind the murder easily since they have an eyewitness.

Police suspect that members of Islamic Chhatra Shibir were behind the attack.

In the evening, international terrorist group Islamic State claimed the murder of Shyamanondo, according to the group’s Amaq News Agency. It also announced that they had killed an Awami League leader from Naikkhyangchhari in Bandarban on Thursday.

On June 7, IS claimed that their men had killed Hindu priest Ananda Gopal Ganguli, 64, in Jhenaidah.

A Shibir leader has already confessed before a court admitting his involvement in the murder.

With the latest ones, IS militants have claimed 24 attacks in Bangladesh since September

teacher attack tells police after arrest press conference at the DMP media n Mohammad Jamil Khan centre yesterday.

Relatives of Shyamanondo Das break into tears following the murder of the Hindu priest, seen in the picture on the left, in Jhenaidah yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

last year that claimed the lives of 22 people mostly non-Muslim and non-Sunni preachers.

In Jhenaidah, IS earlier claimed the murder of two homoeopaths – Chhamir Uddin Mandal on January 7, and Abdur Razzaq on March 14.

Shibir behind the murder

Meanwhile, Jhenaidah Sadar Circle ASP Gopinath Kanjilal claimed that Shibir activists had killed Shyamanondo.

Asked if the murder was a stray incident, Gopinath replied in the negative. “It is a part of the series of murders taking place across the country,” he said.

Refuting the involvement of any militant group, the ASP blamed

Shibir for the murder of Shyamanondo.

Eyewitness threatened

Dipali, the lone eyewitness to the murder who gave only one name, said that she had gone to the nearby field around 5:30am and saw Shyamanondo plucking flowers near the temple.

At that time, three men came to the spot on a motorcycle and started to hack him with machetes indiscriminately.

“I jumped into the nearby pond as they threatened to attack me too seeing me watching the incident.

They later went towards Magura after confirming his death,” she said. l

IS claims murders in Jhenaidah, Bandarban n Tribune Desk

International terrorist group Islamic State claimed that their members had killed an Awami League leader in Bandarban on Thursday night and a Hindu priest in Jhenaidah early yesterday.

Mong Sanu Marma, 55, was hacked to death by unidentified assailants around 10pm on Thursday when he was returning to his Daponkhali Para house from Baishari Bazar, police said.

He was the vice-president of ward 7 unit Awami League under Baishari Union. Police primarily said that he might be killed over a land dispute with his elder brother Uthalha Marma.

IS earlier claimed the murder of a Buddhist monk, Maung Shue U, 70, of Chakpara temple at Baishari of Naikkhyangchhari on May 13.

The latest IS claims were confirmed by US-based SITE Intelligence Group that monitors jihadi activities quoting IS' Amaq News Agency yesterday evening.

The Hindu man killed in Jhenaidah is Shyamanondo Das, a priest of Sri Sri Radhamodon Gopal Math in Jhenaidah town. He was hacked to death with machetes by three assailants coming on a motorcycle at Sagra village around 6:30am.

Shyamanondo is the fifth IS victim in the district since January.

With these two, the militant group has claimed the murder of 22

people in Bangladesh in 24 attacks perpetrated since September last year.

IS claimed their last attack on June 10, several hours after killing Nityanando Pandey, a sexagenarian staff of Sri Sri Thakur Anukulchandra Satsang Ashram, in Pabna town.

On the other hand, al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) claims their members have killed 11 people in 13 attacks since 2013.

The government while denying the presence of IS militants in the country claims that local banned groups including Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh and Ansarullah Bangla Team are behind the targeted killings. l

JMB sleeper cells have been targeting religious minorities to anger foreign countries into taking action against the Bangladesh government, a top recruiter of the banned militant outfit has told the police.

Khaled Saifullah, a Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) recruiter who allegedly masterminded the attack on a Hindu Madaripur college teacher, admitted this to police after he was arrested from Dhaka’s Demra in the early hours yesterday, said police’s CTTC unit chief Monirul Islam.

During questioning, Saifullah said the JMB believed that attacks on the Hindu community would anger India while attacks on Christian and other religious communities would anger the US and other donor countries.

Such attacks would create a critical situation for the Bangladesh government and show the world that it was unable to protect the religious minorities, the suspected militant told the police.

This is why Madaripur Government Nazimuddin College maths lecturer Ripon Chakrabarty was attacked on June 15, said Saifullah, who also goes by the aliases Jamil, Afif Kayfi and Pothbhola Pathik.

After analysing two phones found in Saifullah’s possession, the police discovered that he had recruited at least 49 JMB members who are now parts of sleeper cells positioned at different places across Bangladesh, said Monirul, who leads the Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of police.

Saifullah is the son of Belayet Hossain, who is a colleague of victim Ripon. Following a month of planning, Saifullah sought the help of three other militants, including college student Fahim who was caught by locals and later died in a crossfire, to participate in the attack.

The weapons for the attack – two machetes, one Chinese machete and a knife – were bought from Madaripur’s Kumar Patti Bazar for Tk2,700, the suspect told the police.

By using an encrypted messenger app called Telegram – which is frequently used by the sleeper cells for communication – the militants received permission from the JMB chief on June 12 to attack the Madaripur teacher, Monirul told a

The CTTC chief said the police were still working to find out the exact plans of Saifullah’s 49 recruits as well as identifying whether those were newly recruited or veteran militants.

The only thing the police knew so far was that the militants were planning to target law enforcers and religious minorities including the Shia community, but there was no mention of specific targets or individuals in the Telegram correspondences, Monirul added.

Regarding the identity of deceased militant Ghulam Faizullah Fahim, Monirul said the college student used to be a Hizb ut-Tahrir member but later became active with the JMB after communicating with Saifullah on Facebook.

‘Picked up on Monday’

Although the police said Saifullah was arrested yesterday, the suspect’s family claimed that he had been detained on Monday while he was working as an imam for Madaripur’s Kalkini Upazila Boro Mosque.

But CTTC chief Monirul said militants like Saifullah go into hiding after carrying out attacks; so staying in hideouts did not mean that they were in police custody at the time.

Meanwhile, Saifullah’s father Belayet Hossain has also been missing since Tuesday afternoon.

Nazma Akhter, Belayet’s wife, said her husband went to the police on Tuesday to ask for information about Saifullah’s arrest, but there has been no trace of him since then.

Madaripur Superintendent of Police Sarowar Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune that he had no knowledge of such an arrest.

Five-day remand

Following Saifullah’s arrest, a case was filed with the Demra police station under terrorism act.

Yesterday, Saifullah was placed before a Dhaka court by CTTC Inspector Shirajul Monir, who sought a 10-day police remand for the suspect. Metropolitan Magistrate Md Nur Nabi granted a five-day remand.

Saifullah used to be a student at Shibchar’s Jamiatus Sunnah Madrasa, the same place where Abu Jafar, an alleged member of Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, was arrested in July 2009. l

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