17 Aug, 2016

SECOND EDITION

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

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Bhadra 2, 1423, Zilqad 13, 1437

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 112

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

NEW YORK CITY MURDERS

Bangladeshi community in shock Samira Sadeque, n Syeda from New York

NY man charged in slaying of Muslim imam, assistant n Reuters, New York

Last Saturday, in a quiet neighbourhood in Queens, New York, Alauddin Akonjee’s wife prepared lunch and waited for him to come home from the mosque.

He couldn’t make it.

While his wife began worrying about his delay, Alauddin lay dead only a few blocks away, where he had been shot to death by an unknown assailant.

Fifty-five-year-old Alauddin, from Habiganj, Bangladesh, was with his assistant Thara Miah, 64, who was also shot and later succumbed to his injuries. They both had been returning home from Al-Furqan Jame Masjid, a nearby mosque where Alauddin had been an imam for the past few years.

A day after the murder, police charged Oscar Morel, 35, who

A New York City man was due in court yesterday to be charged with second-degree murder in the deaths of a Muslim imam and his assistant who were gunned down in New York over the weekend, police said.

Oscar Morel, 35, of the borough of Brooklyn, was charged just hours after hundreds of mourners gathered for the outdoor funeral of the two men on Monday. The killings in the borough of Queens shocked the neighbourhood’s Bangladeshi community.

Morel was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Imam Maulama Akonjee, 55, and Thara Uddin, 64, on Saturday a spokesman for the New York Police Department said.

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

New York Imam Alauddin Akonjee’s son Saif Akonjee (left) and his nephew Mohammad Moklesur Rahman outside Alauddin’s home in Queens on Sunday

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PHOTO: SYEDA SAMIRA SADEQUE

DHAKA TERROR ATTACK

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

PM: We knew fate of parents 20 days later

Marjan involved with CU Shibir n BSS Jamil Khan and n Mohammad FM Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong Nurul Islam Marjan, the alleged operation commander of the grisly terror attack on Gulshan's Holey Artisan Bakery on July 1, was involved with Islami Chhatra Shibir when he was a student at Chittagong University (CU), according to both university and police sources.

CU authorities confirmed his identity after consulting the university's student records, officials told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

They said he enrolled in the Arabic department in 2012-13 academic session. He became irregular in his second year and went missing on February 14, 2015 during his second year final exams.

Calling him a drop-out, CU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Iftekhar Uddin Chowdhury told the Dhaka Tribune: “Marjan's studentship  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Twenty days after the brutal killing of Bangabandhu, his two surviving daughters came to know from former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi that none of their parents and other family members in Dhaka were alive.

"We were in compete darkness about the gravity of massacre on August 15, 1975, except the information of a coup. As we arrived in New Delhi on August 24 from Germany and called on Indira Gandhi on September 4, she (Gandhi) told us that none of my parents were alive," said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday.

She was addressing a memorial meeting marking the 41st anniversary of Bangabandhu's martyrdom, organised by Bangladesh Awami League at Krishibid Institution, Bangladesh.

Sheikh Hasina, eldest daughter of Bangabandhu and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana survived the brutality as they left the country

for Germany 15 days ago. "My last conversation with my parents over phone was on August 13 from the Netherlands when I shared with him the land reclamation process of that country," she said.

Hearing the military takeover in Dhaka, Sheikh Hasina said the then Bangladesh ambassador in Belgium denied extending any help to them. "We became a burden on him, though he was politically

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gets emotional while recalling her murdered family members yesterday at Krishibid Institution, Bangladesh in Dhaka during a National Mourning Day discussion of Awami League BSS

appointed by Bangabandhu," she said.

Sheikh Hasina said as they wanted to return to Germany, the ambassador even denied giving his transport to them. With the help of the first secretary of the embassy and Bangladesh ambassador in Germany Humayun Rashid Chowdhury, they came back to Germany.

The prime minister said Yugoslavia President Marshal Tito enquired about them at that time and expressed his desire to give them shelter. Germany also wanted to give them shelter while India Gandhi sent them a message to come to New Delhi.

Sheikh Hasina said on August 15, she was staying with her husband in the residence of Bangladesh ambassador in Belgium. A telephone call conveyed the message to her husband about the coup in Bangladesh.

"From television news, Sheikh Hasina said, they came to know the death of Bangabandhu. But no information was available about the  PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

Marjan involved with CU Shibir was cancelled as he was absent for a long time and did not get re-admitted.”

Marjan’s name was found on the list of Shibir leaders and activists in CU, which was retrieved from a laptop owned by CU Shibir general secretary, seized during a raid at the university’s Abdur Rab dormitory last year, said an assistant proctor of the university, asking not to be named.

Asked about it, CU Proctor Ali Asgar Chowdhury said police told them that Marjan was involved with Shibir activities. But he did not give any further information.

With Marjan, the number of CU students who were found to have militant links now stands at seven, sources said.

Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, Monirul Islam, chief of police’s Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crimes (CTTC) unit, said they had primary information on Marjan and confirmed that Marjan was from Pabna.

“We were able to verify the information with the help of his neighbours in Pabna,” he said, adding that police were now working to gather more information on him.

Monirul further said his unit would interrogate Marjan’s family members and speak with his neigh-

bours as well as people from his schools, madrasas and university.

“We have also been tracking his social media activities. We have information that he was spotted in several places in Chittagong district.”

Meanwhile, the CU administration has instructed all the departments of the university to submit the names of the students who have been suspiciously missing for a long period of time.

CU VC Prof Chowdhury confirmed the matter and said: “I ordered them to provide the lists of absent students by Sunday. The Arabic department has been given extra time and must submit the list

by Wednesday.”

An excellent student

According CU registry, 21-year-old Marjan passed his Dakhil exams from Darul Ulum Markaziya Madrasa in Pabna in 2010 and his Alim exams from Ariful Jamiul Fazil Madrasa in Pabna in 2012. He excelled in both the examinations with the score of GPA 5.

After he enrolled into the Arabic department of CU, his academic excellence continued in the first year: he scored a CGPA of 3.48 out of 4 in his first year finals.

He used to live in a cottage on the university campus while wait-

ing for a place in a student dormitory. He was placed in Suhrawardy residential hall, but never lived there, said campus sources.

His classmates said he used to dress in panjabis and kurtas and was polite in nature.

He also had a good command in Arabic language.

But things started to go awry in second year – Marjan became irregular in classes and went missing in the middle of his second-year final examinations.

A rising militant star

According to investigators, Marjan is the youngest militant commander on the new faction of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), which is largely known as NEW JMB. He has close connections with the top leaders of the militant outfit.

Asked if Marjan was involved in any major attacks other than Gulshan, Monirul said it could only be confirmed after he was arrested.

But a CTTC high official, requesting anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune that Marjan had been involved with possibly all big militant attacks and killings in Bangladesh since April this year.

“We suspect that he made big changes in how the JMB operates,” he said. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

New York man charged in slaying of Muslim imam, assistant Morel was also charged with two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Robert Boyce, the New York Police Department’s chief of detectives, told a news conference on Monday that surveillance video showed the suspect getting into a black GMC sport utility vehicle after the shootings.

That vehicle was then involved in a hit-and-run three miles away in Brooklyn shortly afterward. After officers located the SUV, the suspect rammed a detective’s car several times in an attempt to escape, but was arrested, Boyce said.

“Motive right now has not been determined. We’re still drilling down,” he said. Asked if it was being considered a hate crime, Boyce said that is “still certainly on the table.”

“It’s possible it’s a hate crime, or some other motive,” he told the news conference.

Asked about Morel’s employment, Boyce said the suspect is believed to have worked at a warehouse in Brooklyn.

Akonjee and Uddin were shot in

the head at close range after leaving Saturday prayers at the Al-Furqan Jame Mosque in the Ozone Park neighbourhood of Queens.

Police said there was no known connection between the man being questioned and the murder victims.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, addressing the funeral, promised the city would bolster the police presence in the neighbourhood even though the motive behind the killings was still unclear.

Police had said there was no evidence the men were targeted because of their faith but nothing was being ruled out.

Akonjee, 55, was a devout and humble preacher beloved by the area’s Bangladeshi Muslim community, according to those who knew him. Many locals wondered what could have prompted his killing.

A father of seven, Akonjee emigrated to the United States from Bangladesh several years ago, said Badrul Khan, the founder of the Al-Furqan Jame Mosque. He described the slain imam as a man who lived and breathed his religious faith. l

against Muslims, our laws had discriminated against the community way before his presence,” she says.

“Many people like the imam who wear traditional garb or women who wear hijab are sadly targeted, as well as others like Sikh community who are mistaken to be Muslims,” Chaumtoli, the activist who is of Bangladeshi origin, added.

A similar fear was expressed by quite a few others in the community following the imam’s murder.

“Usually when I come to the masjid, I always dress in Islamic garb, with my jubba and topi on, and now I’m beginning to feel threatened,” says Noman. “Especially our mothers and sisters, who dress in full Islamic garb- it’s a growing fear for them as well.”

“He was in his jubba when it happened; he was targeted because of his attires, his identity,” said Md Abdul Quayum, 50, a local store clerk.

At the same time, there are members of the community who feel that this same stigma should not befall the community the attacker belongs to.

“We can’t go out and look at the attacker’s nationality and start condemning all of them,” he says. “It’s just one person in the community who’s committed the crime and he’s the one responsible,

not his race, not ethnicity, not his community.

“And that’s something that needs to be stressed – it’s very easy to take something like this and start blaming the whole community, just as is being done with Muslim communities. We can’t do that.

We have to show that we’re above that.” l

Bangladeshi community in shock had been arrested for a separate offence. Police later traced various details of the murder scene to Morel’s home in Brooklyn, such as a revolver and clothes similar to the ones seen in the video footage of the murders.

Alauddin’s murder – both of the person that he was and the figure he represented in the Bangladeshi, Muslim community in New York – came as a huge blow to the locals.

Following the murders, relatives, friends, acquaintances expressed shock and anguish over the loss of such a figure from the community.

“Our community is totally broken; we’re very scared,” said Milat Uddin, 57, a retired lawyer.

“He was like a family member to me,” said Badrul Khan, secretary of the Al Furqan Jam-e-Masjid. “I’ve lost such a great imam; he was perfect at this job.”

Trump’s fingerprints

As the community mourned the murders, questioned arose as to the motive, the perpetrator and the driving force behind such an attack.

“We’re looking at it as a hate crime,” said Alauddin’s nephew Mohammad Moklesur Rahman, 39.

“You can’t blame us for thinking that it’s a hate crime,” added Noman Hossain, 22, a college student

in New York.

They are not the only ones to feel so, and even though the police officials have said the motive is unclear, Robert K. Boyce, the Police Department’s chief of detectives, has told the New York Times that hate-crime as a motive is definitely “on the table.”

Moklesur, a cab driver who has been living in New York for 15 years, says he has never felt this threatened or unsafe.

He says he believes the current election rhetoric and the hatred spewed by the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign has encouraged such crimes.

“It’s especially since Trump’s election correspondence that we’re noticing these crimes more and more,” said Moklesur. “We may not be able to claim it – but we feel it.”

“This year’s election rhetoric has perpetuated such hatred to some extent,” added Noman, whose father was close friends with the slain imam. “I can’t be definitive, but I think Trump’s rhetoric) has a part to play. It’s not just over here, it’s all over America.”

Trump has been in the news for his fascist views regarding not only Muslims, but minority populations across America. Last year, he called for a blanket ban on all Muslims

from entering the United States, causing quite a bit of heat in an already intense election campaign.

“A lot of times people in the public do not know how to interpret those words and they just assume that all Muslims are his targets,” Zead Ramadan, of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said while addressing a protest rally following the murder.

“And therefore they target common Muslims walking down the street.

And this sort of Islamophobia and the hatred towards Muslims is now mushrooming.”

A bigger problem?

However, Trump’s election rhetoric against Muslims has come to the limelight only since last year.

Following the murder, while many in the Bangladeshi community in Queens felt that Trump’s election rhetoric had a role to play in propagating such hate crime as this, some others have felt the threat from much earlier.

“Trump definitely exacerbated the problem that led to this senseless murder, but the climate had begun to worsen way before his campaign,” says Chaumtoli Huq, a civil rights lawyer and activist based in New York, who was arrested in 2014 while attending a protest rally for Gaza.

“While Trump is openly bigoted

PM: We knew fate of parents 20 days later fate of others and we had no clear picture of what actually happened in Dhaka,” she said.

Responding to the repeated call from Indira Gandhi, Sheikh Hasina said they arrived at New Delhi on August 24. They wanted to come home and tried to know from international agencies the extent of damage as she at least hoped that her mother was alive.

Sheikh Hasina said she and her sister could not return home from New Delhi as the new government which captured power after assassination of Bangabandhu had imposed restriction on their return.

They took political asylum in India as Ziaur Rahman had made arrangement to prevent them from entering the country. l

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Citycell to go offline anytime n Ishtiaq Husain The government has started the process to shut down the country's first private mobile phone operator, Citycell.

The operator has been asked to serve its 150,000 subscribers in an alternative way.

State Minister for Posts and Telecommunications Tarana Halim made the disclosure at a press briefing at the Secretariat yesterday.

The phone company owes the government Tk477.51 crore as spectrum and licence renewal fees and other charges.

To finalise the matter, the Posts and Telecommunication Division

will hold a high-level crucial meeting today. Tarana Halim will preside over the meeting.

Telecommunications Division Secretary Faizur Rahman Chowdhury, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Chairman Dr Shahjahan Mahmood and Citycell CEO Mehboob Chowdhury, among others, will attend the meeting, according to sources.

On July 31, telecom regulator BTRC in a surprising move served a notice to Citycell asking the operator to pay all its dues, including regulatory fees and fines, by August 16.

“BTRC cannot ask the subscribers to switch their connections all of a sudden. They should have con-

sulted me before serving any such notice,” Tarana Halim said while talking to reporters on Sunday.

“The high-level meeting [today] will decide whether Citycell will be shut down or not. As far I know, Citycell will get an additional time to pay all its dues and to switch their subscribers to another operator. But, the government may ultimately shut down its operation,” a Telecom Division official said seeking anonymity.

According to the BTRC, the Citycell has not paid the second and third instalments of the renewal fees of Tk229 crore for 8.82 megahertz spectrum since its renewal in 2012, which is a breach of the licens-

ing terms.

The other dues include Tk10 crore annual licence fees, Tk27.14 crore annual spectrum fees from 2013 to 2016, Tk27.84 crore revenue sharing from 2014 to 2016, Tk8.92 crore corporate social responsibility fund from 2011 to 2016, while Tk39.92 crore VAT and Tk13.5 crore late fees.

Citycell's parent company Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited acquired licence for telecom services in 1989. It is the only CDMA network operator in the country.

Some 45% of its shares are owned

by Singapore-based Singtel and the remaining by Pacific Group and Far East Telecom. l

Gulshan attacker linked to Joggeshwar murder n Tribune Desk Shafiqul Islam Uzzal, one of the five militants who killed 23 people – mostly foreigners – at a Gulshan eatery on July 1, was a mastermind behind the murder of a Hindu priest in Panchagarh in February.

Identified by the Islamic State as its member Abu Muslim al-Bangali, Uzzal was a master's student at Bogra Azizul Huq College, and later took a job in a kindergarten at Ashulia. He remained missing for around six months, family members said.

On February 21, militants shot dead priest Joggeshwar Roy of Sonto Gaurio Temple in Debiganj of Panchagarh and then slaughtered him. International terrorist group Islamic State took credit for the murder, but the government brands them as New JMB. Uzzal is not named in the case.

But on February 24, he published a statement on a website named justpaste.it describing the murder of the Hindu priest as legitimised in Islamic State's norms.

According to the charge sheet pressed in the case on June 28, at least 10 militants were involved in the attack. Of them, two militants slaughtered the priest while another was waiting outside the temple on a motorcycle.

Six of the accused are now in jail while two key accused – Nazmul Islam alias Bike Hassan and Shafiul Islam Sohan alias Shariful alias Don alias Abu Muktadil – have been killed in alleged gunfights with the law enforcers. Police claim Bike Hassan was wanted in 11 cases while Muktadil – held after the July 7 Sholakia attack – took part in two other murders claimed by IS. l

Members of RAB produce the four detained suspected JMB women in front of the media yesterday at the RAB 4 office in Dhaka MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

4 female JMB suspects held n Kamrul Hasan Four suspected members of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh’s female wing were detained yesterday by Rapid Action Battalion from different areas of Dhaka.

Among the detainees, Istisna Afroz Oishee is a Dhaka Medical College Hospital intern. The other three – Khadija Parvin Meghna, Israt Jahan Mou and Aklima Rahman Moni – are fourth year students of pharmacy department at Manarat International University.

RAB 4 Commander Officer Lutfor Kabir confirmed the detention of the four females in a press conference held at RAB 4 office yesterday afternoon.

RAB said after receiving information provided by alleged JMB southern unit ameer Mahmudul Hasan alias Hasan, who was arrest-

ed on July 21, the elite force kept Aklima under surveillance and detained her from Signboard area under Tongi upazila of Gazipur around 2am on Monday.

RAB then picked up Oishee around 8:15am from her residence at Moghbazar area following a confessional statement given by Aklima in primary interrogation.

Later, another RAB team detained Mou and Meghna from a sublet house of Janata Housing in Mirpur 1 around 10:30am.

The team claimed that Mou destroyed the memory card of her mobile phone soon after sensing the presence of RAB. The RAB 4 commanding officer said that JMB ameer Hasan had directed Aklima to form a female unit of JMB. Aklima then motivated Oishee, Meghna and Mou to join.

A large number of jihadi books,

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notes, documentaries, and, audio and video files linked to Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir were found in their possession.

Lutfor said that during questioning, Oishee confessed that she was introduced to this female unit through one of her friends, who is staying abroad. Later, she started communicating with other militants of the group using the online messaging application Telegram.

Oishee soon became one of the major decision makers for the unit along with Aklima.

RAB suspects that the four were working to forge a group and they had already provided a good amount of money to Hasan. They have been collecting money from other girls in the name of teaching Arabic and during the tuition, they would motivate them to join. l

‘7-8 kingpins of New JMB identified’ n Mohammad Jamil Khan Investigators claimed to have identified seven to eight top leaders of New JMB, apart from Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury and Nurul Islam Marjan, for their involvement in the Gulshan terror attack.

“We have already got the possible organisational names of the masterminds of Gulshan restaurant. They belong to a new faction of banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), known as New JMB,” said Monirul Islam, chief of Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit.

“If we can collect their photos, hopefully we will get their real names and addresses too,” he said, citing the example of Marjan.

While talking to some reporters during an informal briefing at the DMP media centre, Additional Commissioner Monirul said: “We have already got details of Tamim and Marjan. They are staying inside Bangladesh.”

He added that the suspected eight New JMB leaders were also staying in Bangladesh.

Monirul hinted that the group might have foreign connection.

“But it needs more investigation and verification to say anything clearly about it.”

Regarding the Gulshan attack probe, he said that former NSU teacher Hasnat Reza Karim was the only accused arrested in the case.

In the remand prayer, police mentioned that Hasnat was an active member of banned Hizb utTahrir and Tahmid Hasib Khan his associate.

Asked whether they had found Hasnat’s involvement in the attack, Monirul said: “He was shown arrested in the case for his previous link to a militant organisation, his presence at the crime scene and his pictures that surfaced in media in close position with an attacker.”

Monirul also said that they had got some information about Tahmid and were verifying those.

A highly-placed source in the law enforcement agencies said that of the New JMB masterminds, they were searching for Ripon and Khaled, who had been closely involved with Marjan. After primarily investigation, it was found that Ripon hails from Jamalpur while Khaled from a northern district.

Monirul said that the JMB members were getting support from the Ahle Hadith community, who have a “strong base in the northern districts.”

The investigators have also found a Gaibandha sanitary businessman, Toufiqul Islam Sabuj, for maintaining good ties with Marjan.

He is now in jail. l

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PDB employees announce fresh protests n Aminur Rahman Rasel The agitating employees of Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) have announced a new, seven-day programme to protest the formation of a new power distributing company.

The protesters, united under the banner of Sramik-Karmachari Oikya Parishad, will begin their weeklong protest with a public awareness event, to take place today, and will continue with public rallies tomorrow and Saturday.

On Sunday, the anniversary of the grenade attack on an Awami League rally in Dhaka that took place on August 21, 2004, the Oikya Parishad members will hold a discussion on the event.

On Monday, they will hold a two-hour sit-in protest in front of all PDB offices in the country. The sit-in protests will be for three hours on Tuesday and four hours on Wednesday.

“The state minister for power sought two days on Sunday to discuss the issue with the prime minister. Since we did not hear from him after the two days, we announced the programme,” said Zahirul Islam Chowdhury, president of Bidyut Sramik League and a leader of the Oikya Parishad.

“If any accident takes place during the protest, the state minister will be responsible,” he told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

If the issue remains unresolved, the parishad will announce their

next course of action on August 27.

Meanwhile, the government appointed a new chairman to the

On Monday, they will hold a two-hour sitin protest in front of all PDB offices in the country

PDB as the incumbent chairman, Shamsul Hasan Miah, went into retirement.

Engr Rezaul Islam Khan, managing director of Bakhrabad Gas Distribution Company Ltd (BGDCL), speaks at a discussion held in Comilla in observance of National Mourning Day on Monday. Arranged by the BGDCL Sramik-Karmachari Sangsad, the discussion was also attended by Comilla city Awami League leader Arfanul Haque Rifat as chief guest and presided over by the company's Marketing General Manager Engr Ehsanul Haque Patwari. Other attendees included Company Secretary MA Hannan Azad, Deputy General Manager of Public Relations Naimul Alam Khan, CBA President Md Abul Khayer and General Secretary Md Humayun Kabir Sarkar Swapan

British Council, Cultural Affairs Ministry sign MoU for project Libraries Unlimited n Tribune Desk The British Council, in full partnership with the Bangladesh government, is implementing a nationwide project titled Libraries Unlimited, with an aim to develop the library sector in Bangladesh.

The project is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the British Council and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs (MoCA) yesterday at 3pm in the conference room of the Cultural Affairs Ministry.

On behalf of British Council, Barbara Wickham, director Bangladesh, and Ashish Ku-

mar Sarkar, director general (additional secretary) of Department of Public Libraries, Ministry of Cultural Affairs signed the MoU to implement a five-year project, including a pilot phase of 18 months.

The project will be implemented in full partnership with the Department of Public Libraries focusing three core areas of action: policy and advocacy, establishment of model libraries, and professional development of librarians.

Libraries Unlimited aims to greatly improve the lives of the citizens of Bangladesh through creating new and innovative models of libraries that will provide free access to information, resources and in-

ternet with a particular focus on reaching women, young people “not in education, regular employment or training” (NEETs) aged between 15-24 and micro-entrepreneurs.

The Libraries Unlimited project has been designed based on the findings of a nationwide research called Library Landscape Assessment of Bangladesh (LLAB).

This new joint initiative will support the development of public libraries in Bangladesh by modernising the library network, raising awareness and capacity of government officers, training library staff and building public awareness of and access to library and information services. l

The new chairman, Khaled Mahmud, is scheduled to join his new workplace today.

A Mymensingh native, Khaled joined the PDB as an assistant engineer in 1981.

Asked about the ongoing crisis, the new PDB chairman told the Dhaka Tribune that he wanted to do his job properly, with all the staff on board.

The staff and officials of PDB started their protest on August 2, a day after the PDB signed two deals with North-West Zone Power Distribution Company Ltd (NWZPDCL), a company which was formed over a decade ago and consists of some of PDB's distribution zones.

The first protest programme launched by the Oikya Parishad

ended on Sunday, when the protesters met with State Minister of Energy, Power and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid.

However, the meeting failed to reach a fruitful solution to the crisis.

PDB operations have been greatly hampered since the protest began.

Earlier on Sunday, Nasrul Hamid told reporters that the government wanted to transform PDB into a corporation similarly as Petrobangla and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation.

He said the PDB would from now act as an electricity generating company only, and the power distribution will be handled by new companies. l

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Bangladesh officials to meet Fed, US investigators over heist n Reuters

A team from Bangladesh will meet officials of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Department of Justice this week in New York in connection with the cyber theft of $81m from the South Asian country’s central bank in February, sources said.

Two people close to the Bangladesh central bank said the goal of the meetings starting on Tuesday would be to discuss what led to the heist, carried out by unidentified hackers, and how such events can be prevented in future.

A New York Fed official told Reuters the aim would be “to understand what happened, what re-

Bangladesh Bank officials believe the nudge from the New York Fed was one of the reasons the Philippines central bank last week slapped a record fine of 1bn pesos ($21m) on RCBC in connection with the heist, and that it was important to sustain the pressure. Bangladesh Bank holds RCBC accountable for letting most of the money out despite stop-payments requests from Dhaka.

But Maria Celia Estavillo, RCBC’s legal and regulatory affairs head, told Reuters her bank should not be held accountable for the loss and that they were “victims too”.

“The theft took place in Bangladesh and the money is not with RCBC,” she said in an interview last Tuesday. “They know where the

mediation steps have been taken by Bangladesh Bank to meet its contractual obligations, and to begin a path to normalize operations.”

In one of the largest cyber heists ever, hackers penetrated Bangladesh Bank’s systems and sent the New York branch of the US central bank dozens of payment requests from an account it maintained for Bangladesh. They sought nearly $1bn, and $81m was paid out and lost.

The New York Fed in June wrote to the Philippines’ central bank, prodding it to help Bangladesh Bank recover the money that was transferred to beneficiary accounts at the Manila-based Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) before most of that was laundered through casinos there.

money went. They should pursue them. We believe that people who received the funds should return the funds.”

Bangladesh Bank hopes the meetings in New York will prompt the Philippines to work towards retrieving the money, said the sources with direct knowledge of the meetings. Bangladesh’s central bank already has said it had a commitment from Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte that the money would be returned.

The meetings with the FBI and Justice Department will help to identify the hackers, who remain at large more than six months after the heists, said one of the sources.

The New York Fed declined to comment. Bangladesh Bank

spokesman Subhankar Saha could not immediately be reached for comment. The FBI and Justice Department, both of which are investigating, did not immediately respond to calls.

Bangladesh police have been working with FBI officials but this would be a rare meeting between Bangladesh Bank officials and the US agency.

The team from Dhaka will consist of Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Abu Hena Mohd. Razee Hassan, Abdul Rab from its financial intelligence unit, the bank’s lawyer Ajmalul Hossain, Debdulal Roy from its information systems development department and Zakir Hossain Chowdhury from its accounts department. l

HC scraps verdict against Ashiyan City n Ashif Islam Shaon The High Court yesterday scrapped its previous verdict against Ashiyan City Housing Project in Uttara’s Ashkona and Kaola area declaring it illegal.

A three-member bench of the High Court comprised of justice Syed AB Mahmudul Huq, Justice Naima Haider and Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque gave the order after allowing Ashiyan’s petition to be reviewed.

Several rights and environment organisations including Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) and Save the Environment Movement filed the writ petition

Activists of Progressive Students’ Front attempt to break a police barricade placed in front of Fine Arts Institute to restrict their protest procession brought out demanding the cancellation of Rampal power plant MEHEDI HASAN

Rampal protesters block Shahbagh n Arif Ahmed

Leaders and activists of Pragatishil Chhatra Jote, a platform of left-leaning student organisations, yesterday blocked Shahbagh intersection demanding cancellation of the proposed Rampal power plant.

The general secretary of Samajtantrik Chhatra Front, Snehardi Chakrabarti Rintu, said: “Police at-

public suffering,” he said.

During the blockade protesters announced a countrywide demonstration on August 18 demanding Rampal power plant be cancelled.

The platform’s Coordinator Naima Khaled Monika said: “our movement is not against the country’s development, it is for protecting the Sundarbans and the people of the adjacent areas.” l

tacked us and left six activists injured while trying to break the barricade.”

Rintu also said some where critically injured and were taken to DMC for treatment.

Officer-in-Charge of Shahbagh police station Abu Bakar Siddique denied allegations that protesters were assaulted by the police.

“We requested them not to block the intersection because of

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with the High Court seeking a ban on the project in December 2012.

The company was given permission for the residential project on 43.11 acres of land, although according to the Land Holding (Limitation) Order 1972 the limitation is 33 acres.

The project also includes filling in low-lying lands and small canals, the petitioners alleged.

The petition was heard and the High Court issued a rule in January 2015 and a year later declared the project illegal.

Ashiyan City filed a petition to review the verdict which was accepted yesterday.

Writ petitioners’ lawyers said that they will appeal the verdict. l

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Barisal

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:35AM

36.0ºC Sylhet

24.1ºC Srimangal

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Fajr: 5:00am | Zohr: 1:15pm Asr: 5:00pm | Magrib: 6:41pm Esha: 8:30pm Source: Islamic Foundation

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Erosion takes serious turn n Tafsilul Aziz, Kishoreganj Erosion has taken serious turn at different points of Saheberchar village under Sidla union in Hossainpur upazila of the district recently due to rise of water level in the Brahmaputra River.

According to local sources, more than 1000 families living on the bank of the river have lost their home due to unabated erosion. Arable land, bamboo bushes, academic and religious institutions were also devoured by the river.

Thousands of families living on the river bank were in serious panic and anxiety as their homesteads including the only primary school and mosque of the village were devoured by the river, said Md Siraj Uddin, chairman of Sidla union parishad.

The chairman said the river erosion was continuing and at least 500 homesteads of Saheberchar village including 1000 acres of arable land and several bamboo bushes of the village were devoured by the river of Brahmaputra in last two weeks.

Saheberchar village at Hossainpur in Kishoreganj facing eroding as the water level in the Brahmaputra River has risen. The picture was taken yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE Meanwhile, homeless Riaz Uddin, Rabi Mia, Nurul Islam, Jewel Mia, Bakkar Mia, Bahar Uddin, Nazim Uddin, Al-amin, Muksud Mia and Habibur Rahman who had taken shelter at nearby relative

Woman stabbed to death on Barisalbound launch Rahman Swapan, n Anisur Barisal A woman was stabbed to death allegedly by her husband and his friends inside a Barisal-bound launch in the early hours of yesterday.

Police arrested three people, including husband of the deceased Minara Begum, 28, a resident of Mohammadpur in Dhaka, in connection with the killing.

The arrested are Minara’s husband Anis Patowari, 22, an embroidery worker of Savar and his two friends – Kalam Patowari, 20, a laundry worker, and Md Tushar, 20, a shoe factory worker.

Launch staff said Anis and Minara rented a staff cabin situated on the second floor of the launch to go to Barisal.

Later, other passengers of the launch heard the scream of a woman which was coming from a cabin.

Staff of the launch entered the cabin, breaking open door and found Kalam and Tushar with blood stained body of Mina.

Later, Anis was detained from another side of the launch.

Launch staff handed over the

trio to police after anchoring the vessel at Barisal river port at about 4:30am.

Shah Md Awlad Hossain, officerin-charge of Kotwali police station, said Minara’s body was sent to Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital for an autopsy.

Passengers of the launch heard the scream of a woman which was coming from a cabin

The knife used for killing was also recovered from the spot.

During primary interrogation, they confessed to the killing, said police sources.

The arrested said they had killed Minara, as she married Anis concealing her identity.

They also alleged that she was a sex-worker and marred Anis trapping him. l

Worker burnt to death trapped inside cargo van n Nazmul Huda Nasim, Bogra A transport worker was burnt to death and seven others were injured critically, as a cargo van and a bus caught fire after a head-on collision between the two vehicles in Fuldighi area in the district on Monday night.

The identity of the deceased could not be known yet.

According to police and fire service sources, the driver of a bus of Hanif Paribohon lost control over the steering and hit the van from the behind. The two vehicles caught fire leaving one worker dead and seven injured.

On information, firefighters from Bogra town went to the spot and doused the fire.

Later, police went to the spot and recovered the burnt body of the worker and rescued the seven.

The injured were sent to Bogra Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College and Hospital in critical state.

Sub-Inspector Shah Alam of Bogra police station said the deceased might be the helper of the bus. l

houses, government road and other safer places of the upazila were passing days with hardship, he also said.

When contacted, Executive Engineer of WDB Md Shafiqul Islam

said they were trying to safe primary school building with sand bag.

After getting required fund, they would start development work to protect the river bank from the erosion, he said. l

Krishak League leader hacked to death

Five cops testify in seven-murder case

n Sultan Mahmood, Narail

n Tanveer Hossen, Narayanganj

A Krishak League leader was hacked to death by his rivals over previous enmity at Mollikpur village, Lohagora upazila, Narail on Tuesday.

The deceased was identified as Nur Islam Mridha, 50, secretary of Mollikpur union Krishak League unit.

Police said Nur Islam was hacked at his house allegedly by the members of Thakur group which was his rival group. He was admitted to Narail Sadar Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. l

A Narayanganj court yesterday took deposition of five cops in the seven-murder case in presence of the 23 arrested suspects in the case.

According to local sources, District and Sessions Judge Syed Enayet Hossain took the deposition of witnesses SI Abdul Awal, Ataur Rahman, constable Abul Khaer, Mahibulla and Harun Mian. They were involved to arrest the seven-murder case accused in several times.

The sources said the court had fixed August 22, for next hearing.

On April 27, 2014, Nazrul Islam, his three associates and driver were abducted from Fatullah area in the city. At the same time, senior lawyer of the Narayanganj District Judge’s Court Chandan Kumar Sarker and his driver were abducted on their way to Dhaka.

Three days into their abduction, the bodies of six people, including that of Nazrul and Chandan, were recovered from the Shitalakkhya and Dhaleshwari rivers on April 30.

The body of Nazrul’s driver Jahangir was recovered from the Shitalakkhya River on May 1.

Two cases were filed in connection with the murders. Nazrul’s wife Selina Islam Beauty filed a case against six people, including

Man to die for killing

n Md Ibrahim, Chandpur A Chandpur court yesterday sentenced a man to death penalty for killing.

Additional District and Sessions’ Judge Mamunur Rashid gave the verdict on Arif Miji, a resident of Aitpara village, Faridpur upzila of the district and also fined the convict Tk1 lakh.

According to the prosecution, Arif Miji hacked Shahdat Hossain Raju, a resident of the same village, to death on August 23, 2012. l

former councillor Nur Hossain, while Chandan’s son-in-law Bijoy Kumar Paul filed the other case against some unknown people.

Later, Shahidul Islam, Nazrul’s father-in-law, claimed that RAB officials had killed Nazrul and others in exchange for Tk6 crore from Nur Hossain, the prime accused in the murder case, and other accomplices.

The three former RAB officials were sent on forced retirement for their alleged involvement in the incident. They are now in jail. Lt Col Tareq is the son-in-law of Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya.

On June 14, West Bengal police arrested Nur Hossain and his aides from an apartment in Kolkata for illegal entry and possession of arms.

The government has been working to bring back Nur to Bangladesh.

Several investigation committees were formed to look into the sensational murders. On June 4 last year, the High Court directed RAB, the government’s seven-member probe committee, the inspector general of police and the CID to submit progress reports on their investigations.

The probe body formed by RAB found 27 of its members including three top officials of RAB 11 unit involved in the incident. l

‘Mass malpractice in solar power projects’ n Aminur Rahman Rasel The Solar Association of Bangladesh (SAB) has alleged that around 90% malpractices in implementing solar power projects were being conducted under test relief (TR) and food-for-work programmes.

Dulal Kumar Biswas, member of SAB and owner of DK Corporation, made the claim during a press conference at the National Press Club yesterday.

As per the directive of Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, the solar power project is being implemented across the country through state-owned Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) and its partner organisations.

The IDCOL's main partner organisations are NGOs that are spending 50% of the allocated resources on solar power projects, which include solar home system, solar mini grid, solar micro grid, nano grid, solar irrigation pump, biogas plant and improved and clean cook stove.

During the press conference, Dulal said, in 2014, the IDCOL fixed

price of a 50 watt peak solar system at Tk19,500, which has now increased to Tk28,700.

Dulal alleged that IDCOL officials had a hand in keeping this price high despite lower prices in the international market.

He expressed his doubt on the practicality of implementing the solar project because of the prevalence of malpractice. “IDCOL has

IDCOL officials had a hand in keeping this price high despite lower prices in the international market become a corrupt institution. No state-owned entity can provide this much chance to the NGOs for doing business.”

In a written statement, SAB Spokesperson Md Ali Ashraful Kabir said some corrupted partner organisations of IDCOL like Grameen Shakti has manipulated tender to embezzle almost two-thirds of project’s allocation, amounting to

hundreds of crores of taka.

Kabir said that some corrupt staffs of the Disaster Management Ministry were also in on this.

Answering a question, Kabir said IDCOL officials have created a syndicate of 57 partner organisations and had been preventing other businesses to take part in the project.

“This is unethical,” he said, adding that they would conduct a human chain and submit letters to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina against this discrimination.

Kabir claimed many of IDCOL’s partner organisations cannot conduct their work properly at upazila level. “Yet those are included in the project.”

He also placed a four point demand: enactment of separate act for solar-powered electricity, giving chances to other NGOs and organisations besides IDCOL’s 57 partner organisations to take part in TR and food-for-work through proper evaluation, bringing changes in the process of evaluation in fixing the partner organisations, and the formation of a regulatory body. l

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Father, daughter killed Serajul Islam, n Mohammed Sylhet A man and his daughter were killed at Companiganj upazila in Sylhet on Tuesday over family feud.

The deceased were Abdus Salam, 50, and his daughter Ruli Begum, 18, of Putermara village.

According to local sources, Salam, his wife Rushna Begum and their daughter Ruli went to Companiganj on Monday night.

After finishing the work, they were returning home by a boat.

At one stage, some miscreants attacked them from another boat on the way. They also threw Salam and Runi into the water, leaving

them dead on the spot.

The miscreants also beat up Rushna leaving her unconscious.

Meanwhile, she got back her sense and returned village rowing the boat. She informed the incident to the villagers. The villagers went to Companiganj police station and asked the law enforcers to recover the bodies.

A team of police led by OC Bayes recovered the bodies and sent those to Osmani Medical College and Hospital.

Bayes said Salam and Runi were killed by the men of Abdun Noor, the brother of Salam, as they had a long-standing conflict over a piece of land. l

SUST student dies falling off waterfall in Chittagong n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong A student of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) died falling off a waterfall at Mirsarai upazila, Chittagong.

Animesh Dey, 28, son of Niranjan Dey, a resident of Fatikchari upazila in Chittagong, has graduated recently from Petroleum and

Mineral Resources Department of the SUST. Local sources said Animesh was having bath at the waterfall with his two friends on Monday afternoon. Suddenly, he slipped and fell into a ditch.

Later, firefighters recovered the body from Noyduaria area around 7:30pm. l

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Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi is heading to China on Wednesday for what is likely to be her government’s biggest diplomatic test, with the fate of a suspended dam project, backed by China but opposed by many people in Myanmar, in the balance.

-REUTERS

INDIA

Arun Jaitley unlikely to attend Saarc meet in Islamabad Indian Finance minister Arun Jaitley is unlikely to visit Pakistan to attend the 2-day conference of Saarc finance ministers later this month mainly due to political reasons. The conference is scheduled on August 25 to 26 in Islamabad.

-TOI

CHINA

China seeks closer military ties with Syria A senior Chinese officer Guan Youfei said that China wants to have closer military ties with Syria during a rare visit to the war-torn Middle Eastern country.

While relying on the region for oil supplies, China tends to leave Middle Eastern diplomacy to the other permanent members of the UN Security Council. But China has been trying to get more involved, including sending envoys to help push for a diplomatic resolution to the violence there and hosting Syrian government and opposition figures. -REUTERS

ASIA PACIFIC

Indonesian minister sacked for dual citizenship Indonesian President Joko Widodo sacked his energy minister late Monday just weeks after filling the key cabinet post, following revelations his new appointee improperly held Indonesian and United States passports. Arcandra Tahar, a former oil and gas executive who lived in the US for 20 years, was dismissed as a cabinet minister following days of controversy surrounding his dual citizenship.

-AFP

MIDDLE EAST

Saudi-led air strike kills 9 Yemeni civilians An air strike by the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen killed 9 civilians east of Sanaa on Tuesday, the third deadly air raid reported to have to hit civilian targets since Saturday. The attack outside the capital hit the home of a local leader of Yemen’s armed Houthi group while he was out, killing his father and 8 members of the family. -AFP

Russia stages Syria strikes from Iran in rare show of military co-operation n Tribune International Desk In a first, Iran has allowed Russia to use one of its bases to stage and take off for attacks inside Syria — something unheard of in modern times in the Islamic Republic.

Iran’s constitution, ratified after its 1979 Islamic Revolution, bans the establishment of any foreign military base in the country. However, nothing bars Iranian officials from allowing foreign countries to use an airfield.

In a move underscoring Moscow’s increasingly close ties with Tehran, long-range Russian Tupolev-22M3 bombers and Sukhoi-34 fighter bombers used Iran’s Hamadan air base to strike a range of targets in Syria.

Russia has never used the territory of another country in the Middle East for its operations inside Syria, where it has been carrying out an aerial campaign in support of President Bashar al-Assad’s government for nearly a year.

The Iranian deployment will boost Russia’s image as a central player in the Middle East and allow the Russian air force to cut flight times and increase bombing payloads.

The head of Iran’s National Security Council was quoted by state news agency IRNA as saying Tehran and Moscow were now sharing facilities to fight against terrorism, calling their cooperation strategic.

Both countries back Assad, and Russia, after a delay, has supplied Iran with its S-300 missile air defence system, evidence of a growing partnership between the pair that has helped turn the tide in Syria’s civil war and is testing US influence in the Middle East.

Relations between Tehran and Moscow have grown warmer since Iran reached agreement last year with global powers to curb its nuclear program in return for the lifting of UN, EU and US financial sanctions.

President Vladimir Putin visited in November and the two countries regularly discuss military planning for Syria, where Iran has provided ground forces that work with local allies while Russia provides air power.

Target: Aleppo

It comes a day after Russia’s defence minister said Moscow and Washington are edging closer to an agreement on Syria that would help defuse the situation in the besieged northern city of Aleppo.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the agreement

RUSSIAN AIR RAIDS ON SYRIA FROM IRAN Al-Bab TURKEY Aleppo Deir Ezzor

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Suu Kyi heads to China with dam project

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DAMASCUS JORDAN would “allow us to find common ground and start fighting together for bringing peace to that territory,” adding that Russian representatives are “in a very active stage of talks with our American colleagues.”

A US official said, however, that discussions with the Russians are still ongoing and no agreement is close. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media about the ongoing talks.

Russia and the United States have been discussing greater coordination for striking extremists in Syria, but they have been unable to reach agreement on which militant groups could be targeted.

Russia has criticised what it describes as US reluctance to persuade the Syrian opposition groups it supports to withdraw from areas controlled by al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria.

In Tehran, the state-run IRNA news agency quoted Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, as saying that Tehran and Moscow have exchanged “capacity and possibilities” in the fight against the Islamic State group.

“With constructive and extended cooperation between Iran, Russia and Syria and the resistance front (Hezbollah), the situation has become very tough for terrorists and the trend will continue until the complete destruction of them,” Shamkhani said.

Russia and Iran have been expanding their ties in the past months after most of the sanctions against Iran were lifted following the nuclear deal with world powers that put restricted Iran’s nuclear program from weapons-grade capability.

IRAQ

50 km

A still image shows a Russian Tupolev Tu-22M3 long-range bomber based in Iran dropping off bombs at an unknown location in Syria on August 16 REUTERS A top Russian lawmaker, Adm Vladimir Komoyedov, said Russia’s decision to use a base in Iran will help to cut costs, which is “paramount right now.”

The Russian ministry’s statement issued said Su-34 and Tu22M3 bombers took off earlier in the day to target Islamic State and the Nusra Front militants in Aleppo, as well as in Deir el-Zour and Idlib, destroying five major ammunition depots, training camps and three command posts.

The Nusra Front is al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria. However, the group recently announced it was changing its name to Fath al-Sham and severing ties with the global terror network in an apparent attempt to evade Russian and US-led airstrikes. Russia and the US have dismissed the name change as window-dressing.

The Russian Defence Ministry released a video showing a Russian Tu-22M3 long-range bomber dropping bombs in strikes described as “terrorist objects in Syria.”

The nearest air base to Hamedan is Shahid Nojeh Air Base, some 50km north of the city. The base has seen Russian aircraft land there before. A report in December by the American Enterprise Institute, based off satellite imagery,

suggested the air base saw a Russian Su-34 “Fullback” strike fighter land there in late November. It said a Russian Il-76 “Candid” transport plane also landed there around the same time before both took off, suggesting the Su-34 may have suffered a mechanical issue.

The report described the air base as “quite large with a 15,000foot runway, extensive taxiways and multiple hangars and bunkers — all seemingly in good repair.” It said it is “ideal for providing covert ground support to Russian combat missions.”

The announcement from Russia marks the first significant stationing of its troops there since World War II, when allied British and Soviet forces invaded Iran to secure oil fields and keep Allied supply lines open.

Russia says its bombing campaign in Syria is focused on extremist groups but it has frequently struck other, including more moderate rebels fighting Assad’s forces.

Last week, Russian bombers launched a wave of airstrikes on the city of Raqqa, the Islamic State group’s de factor capital in northern Syria, killing at least 20 civilians according to Syrian opposition activists. l

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ANALYSIS

USA

Trump blasts nation-building but wants Iraq oil n Tribune International Desk Donald Trump says that as president he would end “our current strategy of nation-building and regime change” because they don’t work.

His dislike for nation-building is shared by many, including none other than the target of his criticism, President Barack Obama, reports The Associated Press.

In fact it was Obama’s predecessor, Republican George W Bush, who committed the US to large-scale nation-building projects in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Obama discarded that strategy while trying to keep enough US influence there to prevent those two countries from crumbling.

Obama’s approach may not have worked, but it’s not Bush-like “nation-building.”

And while the Republican presidential nominee argued against nation-building in a foreign policy speech Monday, he advocated for something even more grandiose: seizing Iraq’s oil wealth in the af-

termath of the US invasion in 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein.

“I have long said that we should have kept the oil in Iraq,” he said in Youngstown, Ohio. “I said, ‘Keep the oil. Keep the oil. Keep the oil. Don’t let somebody else get it.’” It would have required US troops to protect the oil, he said, but the benefit would have been clear today.

“If we had controlled the oil like I said we should, we could have prevented the rise of ISIS in Iraq, both by cutting off a major source of funding and through the presence of US forces necessary to safeguard the oil and vital infrastructure products necessary for us to have the oil.”

Rather than nation-building, this would have been nation-grabbing, making Iraq a de-facto American colony.

In the final months of his administration, Bush negotiated an agreement with the Iraqi government that called for all US troops to leave the country by December 2011. Obama stuck to that schedule, believing that the Iraqis needed to stand on their own while the US turned its attention

Donald Trump

REUTERS

to other pressing needs at home and abroad, what he called “nation building at home.” Obama, supported by his first secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, saw Bush’s nation-building effort as a proven failure.

Iraqi politics, however, never overcame sectarian divisions, undermining the Iraqi army and leaving an easy target for IS. Trump is right that the Islamic State capitalised on the political and security vacuum in Iraq in 2014, but it’s not clear that a long-term US military occupation to hold and exploit Iraqi’s oil resources would have led to a more stable outcome.

Trump says he would have used money from the sale of Iraqi oil to pay for the care of wounded

soldiers and the families of those Americans killed in the war.

“This proposal by its very nature would have left soldiers in place of our assets,” he said. “We would have had soldiers there guarding this valuable supply of oil. In the old days, when we won a war, to the victor belonged the spoils.”

After major military victories, the 240-year-old United States has tended to pour money and aid back into countries it has fought to help re-establish governments and services. It was, in fact, a kind of nation-building approach. The US still has troops in Germany and Japan, with the permission of those nations, but it never confiscated their natural resources.

In his speech, Trump said that as president he would discard “nation-building.” In its place would be what he called a new approach, which he described simply as halting the spread of “radical Islam.” He said that if elected he would convene an international conference on the topic and work closely with Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Russia, the Nato alliance and “all others who recognise this ideology of death that must be extinguished.” l

UK preacher Anjem Choudary convicted of supporting IS n Tribune International Desk Anjem Choudary, one of the most notorious hate preachers living in Britain, is facing jail after being found guilty of supporting Islamic State, The Guardian reports.

Having avoided arrest for years despite his apparent sympathy for extremism and links to some of Britain’s most notorious terrorists, Choudary was convicted at the Old Bailey after jurors heard he had sworn an oath of allegiance to IS. The 49-year-old, who has links to one of Lee Rigby’s killers, Michael Adebolajo, and the Islamist militant Omar Bakri Muhammad, also urged followers to support IS in a series of talks broadcast on YouTube.

Choudary and his co-defendant, Mohammed Rahman, 33, told their supporters to obey Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the IS leader, who is also known as a caliph, and travel to Syria to support IS or “the caliphate”, the court heard.

They were convicted in July but details of the trial, including the verdict, could not be reported until now.

Choudary and Rahman face up to 10 years in jail for inviting support

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for a proscribed organisation. They will be sentenced in September.

Commander Dean Haydon, head of the Met’s counter-terrorism command, said: “These men have stayed just within the law for many years, but there is no one within the counter-terrorism world that has any doubts of the influence that they have had, the hate they have spread and the people that they have encouraged to join terrorist organisations.

Haydon said 20 years’ worth of material was considered in the investigation, with 333 electronic devices containing 12.1 terabytes of storage data assessed.

It can now also be revealed that Choudary was encouraged to support IS by a notorious British IS fighter who fled to Syria while on police bail.

The court heard that shortly after IS was proscribed as a terror group Choudary was in contact with an individual named as Subject A. It can now be revealed Subject A was Siddartha Dhar – known on social media as Abu Rumaysah – who was arrested alongside Choudary before he fled to Syria to fight with Isis while on police bail.

Dhar encouraged Choudary to

WHO IS ANJEM CHOUDARY? Ü As an acolyte of the extremist cleric Omar Bakri Muhammed, who fled the UK for Lebanon, Anjem Choudary, a British lawyer turned preacher, has been one of the most outspoken voices behind radical Islam in Britain for at least a decade. Ü In the mid-1980s, Choudary and Bakri founded al-Muhajiroun, a shadowy network that espoused a hard-line version of Islam, calling for sharia law in the UK. The radical group also cheered the 9/11 attacks, eventually leading to it being proscribed by the home secretary in 2010 under new legislation outlawing the “glorification” of terrorism. Ü Choudary, the son of a market trader from Welling, Kent, and former Southampton University student, re-emerged as a key figure in a number of other groups under names such as al-Ghurabaa, Islam4UK and Muslims Against Crusades. In 2010, he controversially called on Muslims to protest in Wootton Bassett, a town where deceased British soldiers were being honoured. Ü In 2015, Choudrary was charged with inviting support for the terrorist group Isis after allegedly promoting them through lectures which were published online. express support for Isis on social media. Following on from Dhar’s encouragement, both defendants made their position on the newly declared caliphate clear in the “oath of allegiance”.

Prosecutor Richard Whittam QC said: “The prosecution case is

that whichever name is used, the evidence is quite clear: when these defendants were inviting support for an Islamic state or caliphate they were referring to the one declared in Syria and its environs by Ibrahim [Abu Bakr] al-Baghdadi at the end of June 2014.” l

15 Guantanamo detainees sent to UAE Fifteen prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre were sent to the United Arab Emirates in the single largest release of detainees during the Obama administration. The transfer of 12 Yemeni nationals and three Afghans to the UAE comes amid a renewed push to whittle down the number of detainees held at the US prison in Cuba that President Barack Obama aims to close.

-AP

THE AMERICAS

El Chapo’s son presumed kidnapped in Mexico The son of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin El Chapo may be among the half-dozen men abducted by a squad of gunmen at a restaurant in the Mexican beach resort of Puerto Vallarta, according to authorities.

Authorities in the western state of Jalisco earlier said that 10 to 12 men had been kidnapped from the upscale restaurant.

-REUTERS

UK

May reassures UK-China relations Theresa May has written a letter delivered by hand to the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and the country’s premier, Li Keqiang, promising closer business and trade ties between the two countries. The move comes after Beijing expressed disquiet about a decision to delay approval of the proposed £18bn Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. -THE GUARDIAN

EUROPE

Turkish court orders closure of pro-Kurdish newspaper A Turkish court ordered the closure of a leftist pro-Kurdish newspaper on Tuesday for spreading terrorist propaganda, saying it had acted as the de facto news outlet of the Kurdistan Workers Party militant group. Ozgur Gundem, whose print version has a daily circulation of around 7,500, focuses on the conflict with Kurdish militants in Turkey’s southeast and has faced dozens of investigations, fines and the arrest of correspondents since 2014.

-REUTERS

AFRICA

150 arrested in Zambia over poll protest Zambian police had arrested 150 opposition demonstrators on Tuesday over protests that erupted after President Edgar Lungu was declared the winner of a highly-contested vote. Supporters of opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema took to the streets in Southern Province, blockading roads with logs and burning tyres, as Hichilema has rejected Thursday’s poll.

-AFP

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INSIGHT

Most IS recruits ignorant about Islam n Tribune International Desk The jihadi employment form asked the recruits, on a scale of 1 to 3, to rate their knowledge of Islam. And the Islamic State applicants, herded into a hangar somewhere at the Syria-Turkey border, turned out to be overwhelmingly ignorant.

The extremist group could hardly have hoped for better.

At the height of Islamic State’s drive for foot soldiers in 2013 and 2014, typical recruits included the group of Frenchmen who went bar-hopping with their recruiter back home, the recent European convert who now hesitantly describes himself as gay, and two Britons who ordered “The Koran for Dummies” and “Islam for Dummies” from Amazon to prepare for jihad abroad. Their intake process complete, they were grouped in safe houses as a stream of Islamic State imams came in to indoctrinate them, according to court testimony and interviews by The Associated Press.

“I realised that I was in the wrong place when they began to ask me questions on these forms like ‘when you die, who should we call?’” said the 32-year-old European recruit, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. He said he thought he was joining a group to fight President Bashar Assad and help Syrians, not the Islamic State.

The European, whose boyish demeanour makes him appear far younger than his age, went to Syria in 2014. He said new recruits were shown IS propaganda videos on Islam, and the visiting imams repeatedly praised martyrdom. Far from home, unschooled in religion, having severed family ties and turned over electronic devices, most were in little position to judge.

What the leaked IS documents reveals

An AP analysis of thousands of leaked Islamic State documents reveals most of its recruits from its earliest days came with only the most basic knowledge of Islam.

A little more than 3,000 of these documents included the recruit’s knowledge of Shariah, the system that interprets into law verses from the Quran and “hadith” - the sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad.

According to the documents, which were acquired by the Syrian opposition site Zaman al-Wasl and shared with the AP, 70% of recruits were listed as having just “basic” knowledge of Shariah - the lowest possible choice. Around 24% were categorised as having an “intermediate” knowledge, with just 5%

considered advanced students of Islam. Five recruits were listed as having memorised the Quran.

The findings address one of the most troubling questions about IS recruitment in the United States and Europe: Are disaffected people who understand Shariah more prone to radicalisation? Or are those with little knowledge of Islam more susceptible to the group’s radical ideas that promote violence?

The documents suggest the latter. The group preys on this religious ignorance, allowing extremists to impose a brand of Islam constructed to suit its goal of maximum territorial expansion and carnage as soon as recruits come under its sway.

Islamic State’s most notorious new supporters appear to have an equally tenuous link with religion.

Mohamed Lahouaiyej Bouhlel, who killed 85 people by plowing a truck into a Bastille Day crowd in Nice, France, was described by family and neighbors as indifferent to religion, volatile and prone to drinking sprees, with a bent for salsa dancing and a reported male lover.

Unlike Omar Mateen, the Orlando attacker, Bouhlel did not make a public declaration of allegiance to Islamic State, much less prove he had direct ties to extremists in the war zone. Still, the group was quick to claim both as foot soldiers.

Lack of knowledge on Islam

The AP analysed the IS entry form documents of around 4,030 foreign recruits who crossed into Syria when the group was rapidly expanding and seizing territory in Iraq and Syria in 2013 and 2014.

At that time, the CIA estimated the extremist group had between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters across Iraq and Syria.

Among the documents were forms for nine of 10 young men from the eastern French city of Strasbourg, all recruited by a man named Mourad Fares. One of them, Karim Mohammad-Aggad, described barhopping in Germany with Fares. He told investigators that IS recruiters used “smooth talk” to persuade him.

He’d travelled with his younger brother and friends to Syria in late 2013. Two died in Syria, and within a few months, seven returned to France and were arrested. Mohammad-Aggad’s brother, 23-year-old Foued, returned to Paris and was one of the three men who stormed the Bataclan in a night of attacks Nov. 13 that killed 130 people.

IS data shows Karim and his brother Foued were among eight in the Strasbourg group listed as having “basic” knowledge of Sharia.

Expressing a common senti-

ISLAMIC STATE IS AT A GLANCE IS, also known as The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or just Islamic State (IS), is an Islamic extremist group and an unrecognised militant state with territory in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Lebanon. Although Al-Qaeda was one of the first terrorist organisation to successfully leverage social media for widespread communication. the effectiveness of IS’s current social media tactics is unprecedented in the history of jihadist movements.

Recruiting and propaganda efforts span all the way from locations in the Middle East to the Western world.

WHAT DO THEY AIM TO DO? Recruit to their cause, with a focus on children and teens

Establish a single Islamic State for all Muslims

Spread propaganda to incite fear and recruit members, especially in the Western world

Consolidate local support and increase territorial control

Raise funds

Manipulate the military tactics of their adversaries for their own agenda

THE LARGEST FOREIGN FIGHTER ARMY IN THE WORLD

20,000 foreign fighters 2,000 of them come from Western Countries

ment shared by many Europeans of North African descent, Mohammed-Aggad told the court he felt like an immigrant in Algeria and “a dirty Arab” in France. After just a few months in Syria, he said he left IS because he was treated by the extremists as an “apostate” someone who had renounced his religion.

When pressed by the judge on his knowledge of Shariah and how the IS group implements it, Mohammad-Aggad, a former gas station attendant, appeared dumbfounded, saying repeatedly: “I don’t have the knowledge to answer the question.”

One of his co-defendants, Radouane Taher, was also pressed by

the judge on whether beheadings carried out by the IS group conformed to Islamic law.

He couldn’t say for sure, answering: “I don’t have the credentials.”

That’s where Amazon comes in.

The trial of longtime friends Mohammed Ahmed and Yusuf Sarwar, from the British city of Birmingham, revealed the 22-year-olds had ordered “The Koran for Dummies” and “Islam for Dummies” books in preparation for their trip to join extremists in Syria. They were arrested on their return to Britain and convicted in 2014 of terrorism offences.

Patrick Skinner, a former CIA case officer with extensive experience with Mideast extremist organ-

izations, said some people claim allegiance to IS out of religious belief, but that most who join, including those from the West, are people “reaching for a sense of belonging, a sense of notoriety, a sense of excitement.”

“Religion is an afterthought,” said Skinner, who is also director of special projects at security consultancy the Soufan Group.

Those who truly crave religious immersion would go to Al-Azhar in Cairo, he added, referring to the thousand-year-old seat of learning for Shariah and Quranic studies.

In its recent English language magazine Dabiq, dedicated largely to bolstering its own Muslim credentials, Islamic State dismissed Al-Azhar as part of an “approach to subdue Muslims through appeasement,” with the West.

Mohammed Abdelfadel, an Islamic scholar who heads a German-language unit at Al-Azhar that tracks Islamic State propaganda and statements, said the group spews superficial notions about what is “halal and haram,” or what is permissible and forbidden in Islam. He says the group’s propaganda videos lionize IS fighters as masculine, strong martyrs going to heaven for the sake of God - counter to Islamic laws that forbid terrorism, the murder of non-combatants in war, the imposition of Islam on non-Muslims and other criminal activity.

The recruits’ Shariah knowledge is important because IS not only needs soldiers and suicide bombers, but administrators and Shariah officials to oversee its local courts and judges, who in turn promote IS ideology.

It also matters because those who’ve claimed advanced knowledge in Shariah on the IS entry documents were less likely to want to become suicide bombers, according to a study by the US military’s Combating Terrorism Center, an academic institution at the United States Military Academy.

However, despite the religious justification that IS uses for suicide missions, “those with the most religious knowledge within the organisation itself are the least likely to volunteer to be suicide bombers,” the study found.

Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan said a close look at the IS group’s top commanders shows that many had no religious credentials but, instead, they once held senior positions under Saddam Hussein’s secular Baathist government.

Ramadan teaches Islamic Studies at Oxford and has written numerous books on Islam and the integration of Muslims in Europe. He says Muslim scholars must demonstrate that what IS teaches is wrong. l

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World

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

Protests intensify in Indian Kashmir as security forces kill 5 n Reuters, Srinagar Indian security forces on Tuesday killed 5 protesters and injured 10 in clashes that erupted after crowds angered by the killing of a separatist militant in disputed Kashmir pelted them with stones and defied a curfew, officials said.

Indian-ruled Kashmir has witnessed violent protests since July 8, when security forces killed a field commander of Pakistan-based Islamist militant group Hizbul Mujahideen who enjoyed widespread support in the Muslim-majority region.

Kashmir also saw an upsurge in violence around India’s Independence Day holiday on Monday, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country would not bow to terrorism and accused neighbour and archrival Pakistan of glorifying it.

A senior police official said hundreds of protesters threw stones at security forces as they tried to restore order on the streets

of Budgam, a district 30km south of Srinagar, the state’s summer capital.

The latest casualties came as security forces opened fire with automatic rifles, a step up from their earlier use of shotguns, whose pellets are meant to incapacitate but not kill. Locals say the shotguns have inflicted severe injuries, and even blinded, hundreds of people, among them innocent bystanders.

Indian troops killed a total of seven militants on Monday in two incidents, five of them gunmen who had attempted a cross-border incursion and two more, who had attacked a Srinagar police station.

One officer died in the police station shootout.

At least 64 people have been killed and thousands injured during 39 days of protests, while schools, shops, banks and offices remain closed in much of Kashmir as paramilitary troops patrol arterial roads, residential areas and mosques.

Kashmir is at the centre of a

decades-old rivalry between India and Pakistan, which also rules its northern part, and backed an insurgency in the late 1980s and 1990s that Indian security forces largely crushed. Both countries claim Kashmir in full.

New Delhi has rejected Pakistan’s invitation to hold talks on the future of Jammu and Kashmir, India’s northernmost state, and Modi said he had received messages of support from leaders in restive parts of Pakistan.

In a speech on Monday, Modi accused Pakistan of committing atrocities in its own province of Baluchistan, escalating a war of words that Islamabad said was intended to divert attention from the troubles in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Modi’s defence minister, Manohar Parrikar, raised the temperature further on Tuesday, saying Indian troops had “sent back five terrorists yesterday”.

He told a rally, “Going to Pakistan is the same as going to hell.” l

Kashmiri villagers shout slogans during a funeral of civilians, who according to local media were killed during clashes between police and protesters, in Beerwah, north of Srinagar on August 16 REUTERS

DT

12 Business

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

RMG factories to get funds for workers’ dorms n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi A total of 13 apparel manufacturers have recently got approval from Bangladesh Bank for low-cost funds to construct dormitories for their workers in order to provide them with better living facilities, said a BGMEA high official.

According to an agreement signed between Bangladesh Bank and Bangladesh Garment Manufactures and Exporters Association, the central bank will provide loans at 1.5% interest. The loan will be repaid in 15 years.

Of the construction cost, BB will provide 60%, which would be calculated on the basis of land price and construction cost.

If the land prices amount to 40% of the total cost, the factory owners would not have to pay any amount while Bangladesh Bank will pay the full construction cost.

The dormitories have to be built on the land owned by the factory owners.

“Currently, RMG workers are living near their workplaces. Providing them with transport facility to bring them to workstations is time-consuming and expensive.

The housing will give the workers a better living solution as it will incorporate sanitation and other living facilities,” Shah Golam Rahman Biplob, general manager (Finance) of Horizon Fashion Limited, told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said his factory has got the approval of low cost loan.

It will definitely increase work-

Currently, RMG workers are living near their workplaces. Providing them with transport facility is time-consuming and expensive ers’ productivity as they will be able to easily turn up at their workplace, even walking down the way, besides reducing workers’ migration from one factory to another, a common scenario witnessed in the RMG industry, said Biplob.

“It is a good start, which is necessary for the sector. I think it will give a better living opportunity for the workers,” BGMEA Vice-President Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu told the Dhaka Tribune.

He urged the government to al-

DSEX edges up n Tribune Business Desk The benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange Stocks closed marginally higher amid volatility yesterday as investors played both sides of the fence.

The key index swung between positive and negative throughout the entire session before gaining modestly in the wee hour, pulled up by mainly Telco and Banking stocks.

The DSEX rose over 9 points or 0.2% to finish at 4,586 after rising only about 3 points in previous session.

The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, lost only over 2 points to 1,773. The DSE Shariah Index, DSES, inched just over 1 point to 1,123.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX gained over 24 points to 8,588.

After spending public holiday on Monday, investors participated in trading with an increased number as the DSE turnover in value

moved up 26.7% to Tk425 crore.

Engineering had the highest contribution of 18.3% to the turnover.

State-run Bangladesh Submarine Cable and Company Limited (BSCCL) came into the spotlight following its earnings declaration and new talks on exporting internet bandwidth to Bhutan.

On the DSE, BSCCL rally helped the Telco sector rise 1.2%, which is the highest gain by any sector on the day.

Some selective scripts also got concentration as the government was set to bring in major changes to the incentive structure for some export items.

Among other major sectors, the market bellwether, banks, surged almost 1%.

On the other hand, cement sector and mutual funds suffered the most on profit booking as both of them declined more than 1% each. l

locate more funds for the sector so that each and every factory owner can erect hostel for their workers with the low-cost fund.

“It is a good initiative for the apparel workers as housing is a big problem for them because they have to spend a lion’s share of their wages on house rent,” Nazma Akter, president of Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation, told the Dhaka Tribune.

The facilities should be free of cost, and if not possible, there

should be a minimal charge, suggested Nazma.

But the housing facilities should be entitled not only to the single workers but also those living with their family members, she said.

The dormitory must include all the facilities including entertainment, eduction for children and healthcare, Nazma said, urging the authorities to ensure safety and take measures to avert untoward incidents.

According to the BGMEA, the $28 billion RMG industry employs

DHAKA TRIBUNE

40 lakh workers, of which 80% are women, mostly from rural areas.

According to trade union leaders, workers have to spend about 25% of their wages on house rent.

Now, they are compelled to live in unhygienic slums or in houses far away from their factories.

The single male and female workers find it hard to rent a house while the cost is higher for them.

Most of the single workers live sharing their rooms with their fellow colleagues to minimise cost. l

Muhith: BB heist report by Sept n Tribune Business Desk

Finance Minister AMA Muhith said the probe committee report on Bangladesh Bank’s reserve heist will be made public by next month.

“The probe report of the committee led by Mohammed Farashuddin will be disclosed to the media within September,’’ he said while visiting the under-construction head office of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) at Agargaon in Dhaka yesterday.

But last week Muhith said he was “not interested in making the report public.” He claimed that steps were being taken as per the recommendation made in the probe report.

But, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Finance last week expressed its dissatisfaction over the ministry’s decision not to release the probe report on Bangladesh Bank heist to the public. The

committee also called for the release of the report immediately.

Following a meeting held last week, Standing Committee Chairman Abdur Razzak said: “Bangladesh’s global image was more important than the stolen US$81 million.”

“The probe report should be published. People should know the names of the masterminds be-

hind this heist and they should be brought to book,” he said.

Former Bangladesh Bank governor Farashuddin ha earlier submitted the probe report on the hacking and robbery of $81 million from the central bank’s foreign currency reserve account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in February to the Ministry of Finance on May 30. l

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13

Business

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

Maplecroft’s BD raking irks economists n Tribune Business Desk Economists and financial sector analysts criticised Verisk Maplecroft, a UK-based global risk and strategic consulting firm, for putting Bangladesh on a list of the world’s “extremely risky” countries for business.

Such labelling demonstrated that the Verisk was not sufficiently aware of the country’s current major economic indicators, inflation rate and the political situation, they said.

According to them, this is quite irrational that the list included a relatively peaceful and economically stable Bangladesh along with a host of politically unstable and war-ravaged countries like Syria.

On the Maplecroft’s list which also included Syria and Yemen, Bangladesh was put at the sixth place. Syria, which has been suffering from a ravaging civil war and whose GDP growth rate is zero, topped the list. But Pakistan has been kept out of the list this year.

According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), Bangladesh’s average inflation rate dropped to 5.92% in the fiscal year 2015-16 -- lowest in 12 years and even lower than the government’s budgetary target of 6.2%.

Ranking of Bangladesh among the riskiest countries for business irked the local economists as the country’s economic indicators taken into account by the firm were during politically peaceful time after the 5 January general election

Banglades export and import activities remain normal since 2014. Economists say this is quite irrational that Bnagladesh has been put on exteremely risky countries’ list by a UK-based firm DHAKA TRIBUNE in 2014.

“It’s not reasonable that Bangladesh’s economic situation is almost like the war-torn Syria whose GDP is now at negative growth while Bangladesh achieved 7% economic growth last year after growing within 6% for several years in a row,” Dr Shamsul Alam, Planning Commission member and senior secretary, told Dhaka Tribune.

He said the country’s inflation rate is also not too high to create any civil unrest in the country.

“So I would say Versik Maplecroft’s ranking of Bangladesh among

riskiest countries failed to consider real facts of the country’s economy,” said Dr Alam.

He said the World Bank already elevated the status of Bangladesh to a lower middle-income nation.

“Bangladesh is now at its takeoff stage from the least-developed country to a lower middle-income nation status. So the ranking was not a rational one.”

Former Caretaker Government Adviser Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam said such report cannot be accepted as it compared Bangladesh economy with the war-torn econo-

mies like Syria and Iraq.

He said: “Despite recent terror attacks, the country’s macro-economic situation still remains good compared to other countries in South Asia while foreign investment inflow increased last fiscal year.”

Mirza Aziz urged the government to ignore such wrong report about the country’s economy and strictly deal with the current terrorist threats.

“Bangladesh is not an extremely risky country for business. However, the government’s main task should be strong handling of ter-

3 state-run banks get new MDs

Huawei P9 named as European consumers’ smartphone for 2016-17

n Tribune Business Desk

The European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) has named Huawei P9 as the “European Consumer Smartphone 2016-17” under its mobile device award category.

The device from Huawei, under the category, gets the recognition for the fourth consecutive years, a press release said yesterday.

Designed in a way to reinvent smartphone photography, the Huawei P9 is the first smartphone co-engineered with the global iconic brand, Leica Camera AG. The P9’s dual-lens camera takes smartphone photography to the next level, allowing people to capture both vivid colors and striking black and white images of unmatched clarity, richness and authenticity.

“Sometimes the value of getting the important stuff right cannot be understated, and that’s precisely what the Huawei P9 does…. Huawei makes history by being the first

The government has appointed new managing directors (MDs) to three state-owned banks as the posts remained vacant for over a month.

The Bank and Financial Division under the Finance Ministry yesterday issued a circular over the appointment the new MDs. According to the circular, Karmasangsthan Bank Managing Director Md Obayed Ullah Al Masud has been appointed as Sonali Bank MD while Ansar VDP Unnayan Bank Managing Director Mohammad Shams-Ul Islam as Agrani Bank MD, while Probashi Kallyan Bank Managing Director Ataur Rahman as Rupali Bank MD. Earlier on June 29, Bangladesh Bank dismissed Syed Abdul Hamid from his post of managing director in Agrani Bank over a loan scam. l

n Tribune Business Desk

manufacturer to introduce Leica’s photography know how to mobile devices,” the EISA judges announced while awarding Huawei P9 as European Consumer Smartphone for 2016-17.

The handset is equipped with dual lens camera that can capture more light and provides better clarity for both photos and videos.

Sporting a 5.2-inch IPS-NEO LCD with Full HD resolution, octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 955 SoC and Android OS 6.0 with Emotion UI 4.1, the P9 is available in an impressive choice of finishes produced from a wide variety of materials.

Huawei Consumer Business Group (BG) chief marketing officer Glory Zhang said: “We are honored to receive this award from EISA for the fourth year running. This accolade is testament to Huawei’s commitment to creating new mobile innovations that offer new experiences to users.”

The exquisite design of the P9,

praised by the EISA judges, is the result of exhaustive development and attention to detail from the world’s top industrial designers, and their tireless efforts have culminated in a visually stunning design, he added.

Global shipments of the P9 and P9 Plus already exceeded 4.5 million as of July, with strong sales recorded across many European countries including France, Finland and Britain.

The Huawei P9 is available to purchase now from a range of retailers and network providers. The price is Tk47,990 for the 3GB + 32GB version.

This handset is available in Jamuna Park, Bashundhara City experience stores and in all its brand stores across the country.

Huawei’s products and services have covered over 170 countries and a third of the population in the world, ranking third in the world in mobile phone shipments in 2015. l

rorism and improving the country’s image abroad.”

Verisk Maplecroft ranked Bangladesh 6th in the list of the countries losing out on business opportunities due to civil unrest.

The Civil Unrest Index, that ranked almost 200 countries in terms of their exposure to protests, mass demonstrations, ethnic or religious violence, came after a World Bank report this year put Bangladesh at the 174th position in the ease of doing business rankings.

The index released by Verisk Maplecroft early this month accommodated war-torn countries Syria, Yemen and Libya in the first three spots.

It also included Bangladesh though the country was found to be safer for conducting businesses than that of the neighbouring country.

The report examined the dynamics of the latest about of terrorist attacks in Bangladesh and the serious implications for export-orientated businesses, particularly the ready-made garment sector.

To compile its ranking, Verisk Maplecroft put together a host of indicators, including inflation levels in every country, whether or not certain social groups are marginalised, and how often there is political unrest, before putting the countries into a ranking.

Pakistan used to dominate the top-10 chart in the past but this time it remained outside the top list. The report ranked Syria as the riskiest country for disrupting businesses. l

Wall Street dawdling gives opponents a push n Antony Currie Wall Street’s procrastination only gives opponents another reason to act. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and other banks want the Federal Reserve to give them until 2022 to offload investments banned by the Volcker Rule. They have already had six years to do so, during which time the stock market has doubled. Asking for such a long delay may lead to unwanted consequences.

The request may have its merits.

Many of the holdings are harder to get rid of than run-of-the-mill stocks and bonds. They also may be subject to contractual obligations that limit how and when they can be sold. And there’s a chance that next summer’s deadline might force banks to accept discounted prices. l

Business

DT

14

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

Gas suppliers Linde, Praxair discuss merger n Reuters, New York US industrial gas supplier Praxair Inc and German peer Linde AG have held initial talks about a merger to create a market leader with a value of more than $60bn, people familiar with the matter said, sending shares in Linde more than 7% higher.

An agreement would accelerate consolidation sweeping the industrial gas sector where slower economic growth has weakened demand in the manufacturing, metals and energy sectors and put pressure on smaller players to compete.

A combination of Praxair and Linde would face scrutiny from regulators in a year when other major deals, such as US oilfield services provider Halliburton Co’s $34.6bn acquisition of Baker Hughes Inc, were shot down due to antitrust concerns.

Details of the talks, which were first reported by the Wall Street Journal, were not immediately clear.

One person familiar with the matter said Praxair was considering a takeover of Linde, while two other sources said Linde wanted a merger of equals.

A fourth person, who is close to Linde, said there had been talks but that no agreement had been reached.

One of the sources said a share swap was one possible structure of a deal but that talks were still very preliminary.

Fears rise that negative research being muffled

n Reuters, Hong Kong

The ejection of an analyst from a company briefing in Hong Kong last week has laid bare the pressure on negative research in the Asian financial hub, fuelling concern that critics of companies are being muffled amid a broader clampdown on freedom of speech.

Macquarie analyst Timothy Lam was told to leave an earnings briefing by China’s Pax Global Technology on Wednesday after a heated exchange with chief financial officer Chris Lee that was videotaped and circulated on social media. Lam was the only analyst at the time covering the stock with a ‘sell’ recommendation, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon data.

In social media posts, Lee said the analyst’s reports had inaccuracies, though he later said he “welcomed all diverse points of view and perspectives toward the company”. Pax Global said the “oneoff ” incident did not represent the standpoint of management. Macquarie declined to comment. l

Linde Group logo is seen at its headquarters in Munich, Germany Shares in Linde jumped almost 9% to an eight-month high and were up 7.4% to 149.70 euros by 0920 GMT (5.20 am ET), making them the top gainer on Germany’s blue-chip index, which was down 0.3%.

Linde has a market value of around 27bn euros ($30.4bn), compared with about $33.7bn for Praxair.

Representatives for Danbury, Connecticut-based Praxair could not be immediately reached for comment. Munich, Germany-based Linde declined to comment.

Analysts said talks may have

been spurred by French Air Liquide’s acquisition of smaller US peer Airgas Inc for $10.3bn this year, making the world’s leading industrial gases group a strong second player in North America behind Praxair.

Linde has a strong position in healthcare gases in North America, while Praxair is more focused on industrial on-site production, which means a market share of close to 50% resulting from a merger should not spark opposition from US anti-trust regulators, analysts said.

Baader Helvea analyst Mark-

REUTERS

us Mayer said overlaps in the rest of the world could help generate synergies of up to 800m euros in a merger.

“Asset disposals are hardly crippling in a business of regional oligopolies, and the transaction could fix strategic challenges for both companies,” Jefferies analysts said in a note.

They said they estimated that Praxair could pay a 26% premium over Linde’s market value to gain control of it and still achieve an 8% return on invested capital in the full year and improve its free cash flow per share by $1.70. l

German investor sentiment rises as Brexit shock eases n AFP, Berlin Investor confidence in Germany rebounded slightly in August, as the shock over Britain’s vote to leave the European Union began to wear off, a leading survey showed yesterday.

The investor confidence index calculated by the ZEW economic institute gained 7.3 points to stand in positive territory at 0.5 points in August, recovering from a massive 26-point slump in July that had brought the index to minus 6.8 points.

The index shows a “recovery somewhat from the Brexit shock,” said the institute’s president Achim Wambach.

“As before, political risks within and outside of the European Union are weighing on an optimistic economic outlook for Germany. In addition, there are further uncertainties with regards to the ability of the EU banking sector to withstand shocks,” he added in a statement.

Britain sent financial markets plunging over its referendum on June 23 in which 52% of the population voted to leave the EU. In a sign that investor fears are easing, the ZEW’s sub-index measuring financial market players’ view of the eurozone economy showed a sharp improvement, jumping 19.3 points to 4.6 points. l

OPEC deal a tough task as oil output freeze expectations rise n Reuters, London

OPEC will probably revive talks on freezing oil output levels when it meets non-OPEC nations next month as top exporter Saudi Arabia appears to want higher prices, according to OPEC sources, although Iran, Iraq and Russia present obstacles to a deal.

Riyadh sharply raised expectations for a global production deal between on Thursday when Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said Saudi Arabia will work with OPEC and non-OPEC members to help stabilize oil markets.

“The comments by the Saudi energy minister give a positive indication that they are willing to go for a freeze deal but the question remains: on what level?” said an OPEC source from a key Middle Eastern producer.

“Will the freeze be at January levels? And what about Iran? And then there is Nigeria, which has lost a lot of production since January,” the source added.

Only days after Falih’s remarks, Energy Minister Alexander Novak was quoted as saying Russia is consulting with Saudi Arabia and other producers to achieve oil market stability, adding that the door is still open for more discussions on output freeze, if needed.

Saudi Arabia, together with Russia and the United States a rival for the position of the world’s top oil producer, boosted output to 10.67 million barrels per day in July from 10.2 million in January, when the freeze idea first emerged.

Since 2014, Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s de facto leader, has been raising output to drive higher cost producers out of the market and win back share from rivals such as the United States, where output soared on the back of the high oil price of the past decade.

As a result, oil prices LCOc1 collapsed to $27 per barrel in January from as high as $115 in mid-2014, capping output of the United States but also hitting hard Saudi Arabia’s budget and resulting in a record fis-

cal deficit for Riyadh.

A previous attempt to freeze output at January levels to support prices collapsed in April after Saudi Arabia said it wanted all producers, including regional rival Iran, to join the initiative.

Tehran argues it needs to regain market share lost during years of Western sanctions, which have been only softened in January.

Over the past few months, Iran, OPEC’s third biggest producer, has boosted output close to pre-sanctions levels and has repeatedly signaled it has no plans to join the freeze initiative.

“I do not see any real chance,” a source familiar with Iranian oil thinking said on Saturday in reference to the prospect of a freeze deal in September.

OPEC members will meet on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum (IEF), which groups producers and consumers, in Algeria on Sept. 26-28.

“However, if prices go down further, some OPEC members will try

to send positive signals to the market to keep prices at least at current levels,” the source added.

Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh said in parliament last week he wanted to take the country’s output to 4.6 million bpd within 5 years - much above the current 3.6 million bpd and pre-sanction levels of 3.8-4.0 million bpd.

But since the collapse of freeze talks in April, Iran is no longer the only obstacle to the deal.

Iraq, OPEC’s second largest producer, which in April was saying it would support the deal, has since agreed with oil majors on new contract terms to develop its massive fields, which will allow output to rise further next year by up to 350,000 bpd.

Nigeria and Libya could present further complicating factors, delegates said. Nigeria’s output hit its lowest in over two decades this year due to attacks on oil sites and Libya is pumping a fraction of the pre-conflict level - raising the question of what level they should limit supplies at. l

Fed’s Williams urges new policies to combat low interest rates n Reuters Central bankers and governments must come up with new policies to buffer their economies against persistently low interest rates that threaten to make future recessions deeper and more difficult to avoid, a top Federal Reserve official said.

Setting higher inflation targets, tying monetary policy directly to economic output, instituting government spending programs that automatically kick in during economic downturns, and boosting investment in education and research are all policies that should be considered, San Francisco Fed President John Williams said.

Without such changes, Williams warned, policymakers will find themselves hamstrung.

“There is simply not enough room for central banks to cut interest rates in re-

sponse to an economic downturn when both natural rates and inflation are very low,” Williams said in the latest issue of his regional Fed bank’s Economic Letter.

Williams’ push for broad policy change well beyond the writ of the central bank is not unprecedented - Fed Chair Ben Bernanke used to regularly admonish lawmakers to get their fiscal house in order.

But the timing of Williams’ call, in the midst of a US presidential election where economic policy is taking center stage, is noteworthy given central bankers’ usual penchant for keeping a low political profile, particularly as both candidates say they want big changes at the Fed. Globally, central bankers have been frustrated at the persistence of low growth and inflation even after years of super-easy monetary policy. l

CORPORATE NEWS

Best Electronics Ltd has recently held a dealer conference, said a press release. The company’s managing director, Syed Asaduzzaman launched a glass-door deep fridge at the conference

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited has recently observed 41st death anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by holding discussions and doa mahfil, said a press release. The bank’s managing director, Mohammad Abdul Mannan presided over the programme at the presence of its chairperson, Engr Mustafa Anwar

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Business

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

Soros Fund Management slashes gold stake n Reuters Soros Fund Management LLC sharply cut its shares in gold in the second quarter, when bullion prices rose to two-year highs, regulatory filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission showed yesterday.

The fund, which returned to the

world’s biggest gold exchange-traded fund SPDR Gold Trust in the first quarter of 2016 after a three-year absence, sharply cut his stake in the second quarter.

Billionaire financier George Soros’ fund reduced its holdings in SPDR Gold Trust to 240,000 shares worth $30.4m, from 1.05 million shares

worth $123.5m in the first quarter.

Soros also drastically cut its stake in Barrick Gold Corp to 1.07 million shares worth $22.9m, from 19.4 million shares in the first three months of 2016, the filing showed.

“It may not suggest that they are necessarily bearish gold but rather taking opportune profit.” l

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Feature

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

What will people say? Farah Billah doesn’t care Rapid fire with the fiery Farah Your project in three words.

Eclectic. Individual. Female.

Your favorite lines from a poem.

I couldn’t choose.

One person, living or dead, that you’d like to exchange lives with.

That’s a hard one. MIA, probably.

One phrase that defines how you live your life.

Openly.

One vice you wish you could give up.

Laziness.

If you had an autobiography, what would you name it?

“As we Rust” Your personal style in one word.

Eclectic.

If you could teach one subject at school, what would it be?

History of ancient civilisations.

Three things no one knows about you?

Well, that’s why no one knows!

Any guilty pleasures?

Binge watching television.

The Bangladeshi-American woman who broke free from cultural stereotypes

n N Anita Amreen Fiercely independent and unapologetically bold, Farah Billah is a force to reckon with. This 25 year old Bangladeshi-American took the Internet by storm with Coriander Cats: Bengali Girls in the Wild, a photoseries depicting deshi-American women as they break free from stereotypes and social expectations. “These Photos Show The Badassery Of Bengali-American Girls Raised In A Tradition Clash,” reads the BuzzFeed article featuring some of the bold photos by the Bengali belle and her friends. One photo shows Billah in a mint Anarkali, seated atop the pivot point of a seesaw, nonchalantly munching on a half-eaten burger. With a large black teep and flared anarkali, she looks like a typical deshi girl until you notice the bold black lips and bright green converse shoes dangling from her feet. “I’ll show you my son’s biodata,” reads the text above her head, while below, there’s a simple “No, thanks.”

The series goes against the unnecessary commentary on deshi women’s lives: “When are you getting married?,” or “smile pretty!” or even the classic “what will people say?”. What started off as a fun photo session with her friends has now graced news

outlets around the world. From Tumblr to BuzzFeed to NBC news - her series has been featured over and over for its in-your-face response to some of our most nagging stereotypes.

“I made this for us, for me.

And then one day it went viral and before I knew it, people started reaching out to me from magazines and media outlets, and most importantly- from girls around the world.” These girls reached out to Billah with similar stories, but one letter in particular, was especially moving – from a fellow South Asian origin girl from New York.

“She was surprised I responded to her. She told me about her life and how all the stresses in her life come from being stuck between two worlds. There are different, conflicting expectations and it’s difficult to know which is right, or if both are right, which is right for her. Or if that matters. Or if it doesn’t. Her letter hit home,” Billah shared.

Identifying herself as a Bengali-American, Billah was raised in Oregon, USA, where her Bangladeshi parents immigrated 25 years ago, but lived in California for most of her life. A blogger and painter, as well as author of Wrong Turns Lead Here, Billah identifies herself as simply being an “artist.”

When asked which identity she feels closes to - a poet, painter or a writer, she said - “I consider myself an artist only because all of the above fall under the arts and they make up who I am.”

“As Deshi-American women, we deal with a lot of unnecessary commentary on our lives, and I threw that in here because, well, why not. More importantly, I noticed that these vibrant souls I grew up with defied stereotypes, broke rules, and still came out on top. I’ll give you that they’re beautiful, strong, and independent. I’ll even give you that they’re intelligent and drivenbut what I love about them the most is that they’re all inexplicably insane. These girls are the silliest, most unexpectedly disgusting, most vulgar cats and that’s what I wanted to show you. If you’re looking for a blooming, delicate flower of a woman, you won’t find one here,” reads Billah’s blog post introducing her series.

Growing up in America with her friends, Billah was also surrounded by a large Bengali community that taught them about their language and culture.

This multicultural identity that they were socialised into comes “with both perks and downfalls for any first generation American,” she believes.

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“I have done my best to capture the beauty of being from the Indian subcontinent while fighting to show that as women, as first generation Americans, as a people from a small country on the other side of the world we are strong.

That both worlds come with stereotypes. They come with walls and barriers telling us who to be and where we stand but I don’t care for that. I want to make things, art, words and combat the negativity through the resilient quiet of something grand and beautiful. Coriander Cats was made because there is something so soft in a fight like that. That art can reach the other sides of the world like that. That beauty and strength can be felt through a screen. That I am you and you are me and we are fighting together,” reads a post by Farah Billah titled "Remembering Coriander: The photo series from my life to yours."

“For me, it was a subtle and not so subtle oppression of my female identity while also having very high expectations of me, regardless of my female identity.

I wanted to combat this through art, through something fun and humorous, so I created Coriander Cats,” she shares.

Despite the social and cultural advancement of female rights, Billah believes women are still fighting against the social pressures and stigmas that are imposed on them, all across the world. “This photo series depicts us as our exaggerated selves, kindly but aggressively saying we

will be individuals regardless of what is said to us.”

Interestingly, every quote in the series is inspired by real questions and comments. “All the quotes that are written in the photos are real and have been said to us and from the first generation American woman’s perspective, it is all too familiar.”

With several photos featuring her closest friends, Billah said they are all “powerful women, incredibly intelligent and individual,” and that she is proud to have them as part of her work.

Her favourite photo from the series too, is one that states “You

shouldn’t be friends with girls like her.”

“This is very important to me because there has been so much control over our lives at times, even with regard to who we can be friends with. But despite all of that, we have stuck together and that means everything.”

When asked about future plans, Billah says she will continue to work and make art in California.

As a woman who believes in the power of being a woman, she will strive to “make things to keep herself sane, and won’t apologise for any of it.” And we are the last ones to complain. l

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Feature

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

Bangladeshi wins $5000 grant from Women Deliver leadership program n Feature Desk: Young Bangladeshi researcher Rakibul Hasan will join the cohort of 20 inspiring global Young Leaders to improve the lives of thousands of girls and women through his leading idea, “Peacempire” project in Bangladesh.

Women Deliver, a leading global leadership program, has recently announced a class of 20 fellows from 15 countries and has provided a seed grant of $5000 each to implement projects in their communities.

“With the new Women Deliver seed grants, 20 inspiring young leaders from 15 countries can catalyse action and improve the lives of thousands of girls and women in their communities,” says Katja Iversen, CEO and President of Women Deliver in a Press Release.

The 20 grants are part of the Women Deliver Young Leaders Program, which provides opportunities for exclusive youth advocates to build and strengthen their capacity and skills and finds platforms for themselves to share their voices and experiences.

The grants are funded by Johnson & Johnson, a founding partner of the Women Deliver Young Leaders Program and long supporter of youth advocacy.

“They are powerful voices and agents of change for their own needs, transforming policy, programs, cultural norms and their communities for the better,” said Lauren Moore, Vice President, Corporate Citizenship, Johnson & Johnson.

As a leading global advocate for girls’ and women’s health, rights and wellbeing, Women Deliver (USA) brings together diverse voices and interests to drive progress, particularly in maternal, sexual, and reproductive health and rights. It builds capacity, shares solutions, and forges partnerships, together creating coalitions, communication, and actions that spark political commitment and investment in girls and women. Women Deliver believes that when the world invests in girls and women, everybody wins.

Among 200 global Young Leaders, a total of 20 youths have been finalised from 15 countries to receive this prestigious grant.

Three fellows hail from Nigeria.

India, Zimbabwe and Kenya have two grantees each, and the

rest have gone to Bangladesh, Australia, Croatia, Botswana, Nepal, Philippines, Ghana, Jordan, Cameroon, Malawi and Indonesia.

Earlier in 2015, Rakibul became one of 200 Global Young Leaders, a three-year long fellowship program of Women Deliver in USA. As part of the fellowship, he recently attended the 4th Global Women Deliver conference, held from May 14-20, in Copenhagen, Denmark.

In the conference, he successfully represented Bangladesh in a number of events, among others, regional caucus, country meeting, panel sessions,

They are powerful voices and agents of change for their own needs, transforming policy, programs, cultural norms and their communities for the better

cross-cultural activism and young dialogue in the Danish capital of Copenhagen.

During the conference, Curious Minds Ghana, a popular West African radio station, invited Rakibul, along with noted

journalists and writers in a continental panel of broadcasting youth voices titled “Leveraging the Power of the Media to Promote Young People’s SRHR” on Wednesday May 18, 2016 at Bella center.

This unique radio session was broadcast live to a global audience, and later played on national radio in Ghana during the end of the conference.

The Women Deliver fellowship program required him to attend an eight-month long mentorship course online. While continuing the E-Course in early 2015, Rakibul started rigorous research on the issues of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) of young adolescents in Bangladesh and later, he mainstreamed major outcomes in international conferences and journals. He still contributes articles, Op-Eds and columns to major newspapers home and beyond.

Through the fellowship, Rakibul initiated a project called Peacempire, which is designed to train young people to be citizen journalists in the fields of storytelling, reporting, blogging on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights to break the taboo of ages and create social awareness against early forced marriage and violence against women involving young advocates, aged 15 to 25, from 3 colleges, 10 secondary schools and 5 madrasas in underprivileged areas of Rupganj, Narayanganj.

Through advocacy workshops and campaigns, a number of 35 community reporters, 25 peer educators, 700 young advocates and 1000 campaigners will play their roles to minimise the rate of early forced marriage and violence against women in the subdistrict.

The mega campaigns will be held once in every two months bringing 500 people each time, 1500 in total by the end of the project. Thus the projected reach of the program is 2022 adolescents, with an indirectly outreach to more than 17402 people and 50,000 virtually in selected 34 villages.

This youth-led project technically forms a coalition bringing together local SRHR experts, traditional leaders, political quarters, administrative bodies and victims in a quest to implement enduring practices in the society.

It tries to build capacity of young advocates to effectively respond to early marriage and gender violence via digital media, and other available social media outlets to ensure legal interventions and public engagements in the cases. l

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| talk |

| observance |

Public Library Department and British Council sign agreement on library modernisation

Milestone College observes National Mourning Day The 41st death anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and National Mourning Day was observed at Milestone College on August 15, 2016. The program included hoisting of national flag at half-mast, wearing black badges, dua mahfil and memorial discussion. Founder and advisor of Uttar Bangla University College Prof Mozammel Haq was present as chief guest. Founder and advisor

On Tuesday, August 16 2016, a mutual agreement was signed between the Public Library Department and British Council (BC) at the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, regarding greater digitalisation and access to e-books at 30 libraries across the country, including the Central Public Library. This project, titled “Libraries Unlimited”, will be implemented by British

Council, and is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Director General of Public Library Department Ashish Kumar Sarkar and Country Director of British Council Barbara Wickham represented their organisations at the signing.

Minister of Cultural Affairs Asaduzzaman Noor and Culture Secretary Aktari Mumtaz, as well as staff from both organisations,

of Milestone College Colonel Nurun Nabi (retd), as well as principal Prof Md Shahidul Islam, administrative principal Lt Colonel M Kamaluddin Bhuiyan (retd) and administrative director Md Masud Alom were present as honourable guests at the program. Students, departmental heads, teachers and a large number of officers and staff attended the discussion.

Students took part in the admission test. l

were present.

“If we want a new generation that is truly committed to creating a progressive and enlightened society, we need them to read and be properly educated, not just schooled. We need accessible libraries, and we need to encourage the habit of reading – there is no alternative,” said Culture Minister Noor. l

| competition |

| observance |

Country’s only maritime university observes National Mourning Day

Team Green Competition at UIU

On National Mourning Day 2016, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University, Bangladesh observed the 41st death anniversary of the Father of the Nation at its temporary campus at Pallabi, Mirpur-12.

The university organised a milad and doa mahfil on August 15, as well as an essay competition, a discussion session and short film presentation on the life of Bangabandhu. The vice-chancellor

From the people behind HR HULK and the first ever HR competency competition in Bangladesh, Team Green is another step forward by these students of United International University (UIU). This interuniversity competition was held

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Biz Info

at UIU Auditorium on August 13, 2016, with 18 teams participating, and involving buzzer rounds, case solving and presentations testing their human resource management skills. Among them, the top three (Team MYM, Team Dazzling and Inferno) will

directly participate in HR HULK 2016. Rupak Nasrullah Zaidi, Head of HRD of PFI Ltd, attended as chief guest and judge, and vice-chancellor Rezwan Khan and director of CCC and DSA Manjurul Haque Khan were also present in the competition. l

rear admiral A S M Abdul Baten was present as chief guest, and distributed prizes to the best essay-writers on Bangabandhu’s life and work. In his speech, the VC urged all to work hard together towards creating a strong maritime human resource base of the nation and contributing towards the ‘blue economy’.

All faculty members, students, officers and staff of the university also attended the event. l

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20 Editorial

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

TODAY

Hanif Mohammad’s epic innings Hanif Mohammad’s colossal innings was exceptional. Not only did he surpass every other player in terms of mental dedication, but he was also able to pull off the most unlikely of outcomes PAGE 21

Jamaat and the sunk cost fallacy India may compromise for a middle ground, taking back its blank check to the AL, but only if they are assured of a decent third force. It is in a shambolic situation like this that a no-objection pledge could be crucial for the party PAGE 22

BIGSTOCK

Why Bangladesh’s future is virtual It’s part of the Bangladeshi DNA to trade and be entrepreneurial -- why not encourage this inherent characteristic and let the market decide how it wants to use the new information superhighway channels?

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.

Bring our children home

T

hirty-six Bangladeshi children being illegally detained in an “observation home” in South Dinajpur, West Bengal is a human rights travesty.

Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), a West Bengalbased human rights organisation, has said these children have not been taken back to their respective hometowns despite the fact that the criminal cases against them have been settled.

It is a sad day indeed when innocent children are forced to stay away from their homes without due process.

Ramjan Haque is only about six years old. Many like him are being detained indefinitely, with little hope for repatriation any time soon.

This is beyond reprehensible.

In times such as these, India and Bangladesh -- neighbours and close allies -- need to work together to ensure the rights of children are protected. These children should be returned to us as soon as possible, and the authorities responsible for this gross violence of child rights should be taken to task.

It is also important that there is transparency during the process, so that families are aware of what is happening to their children, and that channels of communication are open to avoid violations of the law.

Children are our most valuable and most defenseless group, and it is up to all of us to ensure their safety. We, as a nation, must demand that these illegally detained children are repatriated to Bangladesh, to their rightful homes.

We cannot afford to fail them.

Children are our most valuable and most defenseless group, and it is up to all of us to ensure their safety

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Opinion

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

Hanif Mohammad’s epic innings The original Little Master’s score of 337 may have been the greatest ever innings played in Test cricket

n Sal Imam

T

he boy had the best possible view of the cricket from high on a tree. It was January 20 in 1958, the third day of the first ever Test match between Pakistan and the West Indies, held in Barbados.

Hanif Mohammad had just come in to bat, with Pakistan in a hopeless position, when the boy slipped and fell. He was in a coma for more than three days, but when he finally came around his first thought, being committed as only a West Indian supporter can be, was of the state of the match.

“Hanif Mohammad is still batting.” And the poor boy went straight back into a coma.

This charming legend, known to every follower of cricket, was much referenced in the obituaries of Hanif Mohammad this week, which all pointed out that this epic innings of his was the longest ever played in the 140-year history of the game.

There have been only 28 scores of over 300 runs in all the cricket Test matches ever played (roughly 2,200 and counting). In other words, this is already considered a rare, exceptional feat which has been achieved at an approximate frequency of less than 1% of the time.

However, no less than 26 of these scores have been made in the first innings of a match.

There are only two exceptions -- one of them being that of Hanif Mohammad, who scored 337 in the second innings of this Test against the West Indies. Let us try to understand the significance of this achievement.

Most of the other 26 first innings scores of over 300 were made without any great pressure on the batsman in question, especially on the 18 occasions in which this occurred when either his team was batting first or when, even if batting second, the team was in a comfortable position, having skittled out the opponents for a small score.

This is the nature of the game.

Batting in the first innings of a match is like taking on a clean slate and every so often it happens that a great batsman finds he is in the groove, and everything seems easy, destined, the runs flow because it is his day.

It could be also that the pitch is particularly conducive to batting that day. The point is, the batsman on such occasions is under relatively little emotional or psychological stress. While

no doubt playing at an elevated level, he is not feeling the absolute necessity of making a huge score.

If it happens, that is a bonus. If he doesn’t make it for any reason, he is not unduly censured, and does not feel personally crushed.

Hanif Mohammad did not have this luxury, because when he stepped out to bat in the second innings that day, any failure by him would have had the direst possible consequences for his team.

The West Indies had won the toss and batted first. Their batting

Hanif Mohammad’s colossal innings was exceptional. Not only did he surpass every other player in terms of mental dedication, but he was also able to pull off the most unlikely of outcomes

One of cricket’s all-time greats line-up reads like a galaxy of the greatest cricket stars of the decade to come -- young guns like Conrad Hunte, Rohan Kanhai, Gary Sobers, along with the seasoned veterans Everton Weekes and Clyde Walcott, and they duly put up a massive total of 579 runs.

In their demoralised state, Pakistan was quickly bundled out for a measly 106 and made to follow on. So when Hanif came to the crease, Pakistan was facing a deficit of more than 450 runs with another three and a half days to go (it was a six-day Test).

By all objective standards of the game of cricket, it seemed an insurmountable problem. But there were, in addition, certain subjective conditions which tended to make it even more difficult.

There is always a built-in disadvantage to playing away from home, and this was accentuated because the Pakistani players had never been to the West Indies before. All the surroundings, the heat, the beaches, the laid

back culture, were so foreign to them that they must have been thoroughly disoriented.

Playing in front of the extremely combative, though highly knowledgeable, crowds of the West Indies was another challenge. Not to mention the fast bouncy pitches of a kind the Pakistan team had never encountered.

Hanif was the opening batsman of the team, and so had no respite from the new ball (without the helmet or thigh/arm guards which are standard today). From the first ball he faced in the second innings, he must have felt assailed from all sides.

Everything must have seemed hostile, from the alien environment to the West Indian bowlers, chief among them Roy Gilchrist, one of the fastest bowlers ever produced by that country and so lavish with bouncers and beamers that he ended up being expelled from his own team the following year for excessive aggression!

Throughout his long stay at the crease, Hanif Mohammad had to counter not only the minefield of the West Indian attack, but also the inner struggle to avoid a defeatist attitude in the face of the cricketing long odds against his side.

We could note in passing that cricket is a particularly unforgiving game. Even the best golfers or tennis players can make numerous errors in the course of an outing and yet end up winning.

But in cricket you have only one chance. The first time the batsman makes an error he is punished by being immediately cast out of the action. No wonder cricketers have the highest suicide rates among all professional sportsmen.

This is just to highlight the monumental skill and technique with which Hanif Mohammad -- this time with fine support from his team’s fellow batsmen -- negotiated the second innings so that, towards the end of the sixth day of the Test, Pakistan was able to declare at 657 for 8, and

the match ended in an honourable draw.

There are two major aspects of cricket which distinguish it from other games. One is the level of sustained concentration that is required to succeed. The other is the opportunity which the players are given to shape their responses by sheer force of will to the circumstances of the match.

That is why the “heroic fightback” is the lifeblood of cricket. Hanif Mohammad’s colossal innings was exceptional on both of these counts. Not only did he surpass every other player in terms of mental dedication, he was also able to pull off the most unlikely of outcomes.

This is why Hanif’s 337 in 970 minutes in the second innings of a Test match can be characterised as, if not the greatest innings ever played in Tests, probably the single innings which most glorifies and honours the game of cricket itself. l Sal Imam is a concerned citizen.

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

Long Form

Jamaat and the sunk cost fallacy Is the BNP a lost cause? This is the concluding part of yesterday’s long form

Can the BNP find a way to stay afloat?

NASHIRUL ISLAM

n Faham Abdus Salam

N

o one in the party seems to have a proper answer to the simple question: “What benefits might the Islamist party bring to BNP through the alliance?”

In recent polls, Jamaat has commanded a support base of only 4%, nationally.

The mythical street power of the party has been proven insufficient time and again to cause not even a stir in the capital. Does it have a great ally somewhere in the East or West?

Evidently not.

What exactly is the formidable strength of Jamaat seems to be a question that can only be answered by astrologers and “security experts.”

In the current geopolitical reality, the party which vows to fight Islamist terrorism claims to be centrist, but aligns with an Islamist party, is a congregation of amateurs at best.

India may compromise for a middle ground, taking back its blank check to the AL, but only if they are assured of a decent third force.

It is in a shambolic situation like this that a no-objection pledge could be crucial for the party

BNP must remember that it is not a revolutionary political party capable of inducing violence. It should do what it did pretty well for the last 40 years -- regular politics at the middle ground.

Fortunately, the BNP has rightly realised the dangers of Islamist terrorism looming over the country. To that end, its call for an all-party anti-terrorism alliance is indeed commendable. Given the fact that they have a better track record than AL in tackling Islamist terrorism, and ruling parties in Bangladesh never pay heed to the

opposition, their call for unity is likely to fall on deaf ears.

This actually offers the BNP a great opportunity to rebrand their politics.

Instead of severing their ties with Jamaat, they can abolish the 20-party electoral alliance altogether, which has lost its purpose. Electoral alliance is a strategy for winning a fair election.

It is a pointless exercise when the polls are blatantly rigged. They couldn’t stop the no-holds-barred rigging in 2013, what makes them confident that they’ll be able stop

the next one?

Few would dispute that the need of the hour is to form a coalition of political parties against terrorism.

If the BNP is honest and upright about their commitment, they should lead from the front and do it fast. A need-based alliance (ie the coalition against terrorism) without Jamaat, as opposed to the prevailing electoral alliance (ie the 20-Party Alliance) is an infinitely better option.

Needless to say, it will not transform the party overnight into

a darling of the West -- probably nothing will.

But it could be just enough to obtain, at least, a no-objection pledge. Under the current status quo, the external pressure against the current regime that BNP is desperately hoping for, if ever materialised, is unlikely to go in favour of the party.

India may compromise for a middle ground, taking back its blank check to the AL, but only if they are assured of a decent third force.

It is in a shambolic situation like this that a no-objection pledge could be crucial for the party.

The BNP may not win Western support in the foreseeable future, but the on-the-ground situation in Bangladesh is so bad that the party may do just well enough if they strategise well in this (quasi) great game. l Faham Abdus Salam is currently working in the Australian Government in Pharmaceutical Evaluation.

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Opinion

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

Why Bangladesh’s future is virtual There is tremendous ICT potential in the country waiting to be unlocked

Bangladesh can compete with countries like India and the Philippines in ICT/BPO

BIGSTOCK

It’s part of the Bangladeshi DNA to trade and be entrepreneurial -- why not encourage this inherent characteristic and let the market decide how it wants to use the new information superhighway channels?

n Martin Conboy

N

otwithstanding the recent terrible tragedies inflicted on the citizens of Bangladesh by the criminals associated with IS, the world cannot abandon one of the poorest countries in the world.

Now more than ever, Bangladesh needs international support and friendship.

International companies should still come to Bangladesh to do business, but they must do business in a fair way, in an ethical way that helps the country.

Unlike the garment industry that is manually intensive and mostly women with little or no education, the outsourcing sector attracts well-educated people and pays higher wages comparable with competing ICT/BPO nations like India and the Philippines.

The Bangladeshi workforce is traditionally renowned for its quick learning abilities.

The workforce, especially, has historically strong abilities in mathematical and logical analysis processes.

Bangladeshi students regularly appear as winners in a number of programming and mathematical competitions globally. “STEM”

is the new global outsourcing buzzword. It stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

There are clouds on the horizon and alarmingly, the offshore model for competitive advantage will be obsolete by 2018 as 43% of outsourced services leverage smart machine technologies, according to Gartner, a leading international research house.

Gartner says that for more than a decade, the use of offshore business models has been a “go to” option in sourcing strategies, but the analyst firm now maintains that the rise of smart machines will send organisations “back to the drawing board with regard to their long-standing arsenal of sourcing approaches.”

“For the business and IT services industry, this translates to a new source of fuel for the industry - namely virtual talent.

It’s faster, cheaper and more predictable.”

The industry association for the outsourcing industry (BACCO) has been tireless in its efforts to carve out a niche for its fledgling outsourcing industry and the recent terrorist setback will only spur them on to try even harder to get a seat at the international BPO table.

Though India and the Philippines dominate the IToutsourcing, BPO (Voice) and shared services markets, the search for affordable and skilled talent now stretches to practically every location in the world. Except for countries in the grip of war or some major disaster, every nation has the opportunity to compete in the global market for skills, including Bangladesh.

Global demand for high quality, lower-cost BPO services, combined with operational and cost improvements in international telecommunications is allowing more and more countries to compete and participate for outsourcing projects.

Numerous countries have made inroads into the market, including Bangladesh, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore in Asia; Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, and Romania in Europe; and Argentina, Brazil and Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Mexico in Latin America.

The ICT/BPO industry in Bangladesh is relatively new in comparison to other business sectors and the Bangladesh government is very well aware of what BPO- ICT has done for the Philippines, lifting it from

abject poverty to be the second fastest growing economy in Asia after China, with a growth rate of 6.8%.

Bangladesh’s opportunity is that the world outsourcing market is shifting to non-voice knowledge processing from voice related lowend transactional-based activity.

The good news for Bangladesh is that the future is virtual.

The Bangladeshi workforce has higher competencies in English compared to countries like China and Vietnam; however, the language proficiency is to some extent skewed towards professionals with better schooling.

I am sure that there are many other things to consider including business grade English skills, and cross cultural training to improve soft skills that need to be addressed very quickly so that Bangladesh can move forward while its window of opportunity is open.

Over 300,000 young Bangladeshis have voted with their feet and are actively participating and competing for employment and project opportunities offered by these freelancer platforms.

It is estimated that 30,000 new micro sourcers per month are joining these platforms, and being rewarded with work and projects that see them earning more than they would in regular employment.

Many of these young people will be self-taught and thus there is a need for increasing skill and proper training so that they can pitch for more complex and high-

value work whilst at the same time offering quality.

This is exactly where the global BPO industry is headed and Bangladesh can be a serious player with a digital savvy workforce showcasing their visual and digital talents.

I believe that the Bangladeshi talents are better suited for visual communications like web design, web development, animation, and other digital-related skills.

It’s part of the Bangladeshi DNA to trade and be entrepreneurial -- why not encourage this inherent characteristic and let the market decide how it wants to use the new information superhighway channels as have the micro sourcing group referred to above?

In my view, Bangladesh would be best served by offering free high-speed broadband internet access to its people and allowing people at an individual level to participate in the knowledge economy in any way that they see fit.

Bangladesh needs to be more innovative, there is a need to create businesses in software, in innovation.

Bangladesh needs to become a STEM outsourcing destination.

A recent study by Ilan Oshri, professor of globalisation and technology at Loughborough University in the UK, highlighted how quite a number of US and UK companies had re-shored work in the past three years. These companies were leaving high volume transactional activity with offshore service providers but bringing higher-value elements back home.

In summary, there is a magnificent opportunity for Bangladesh to start to play to its strengths and become a serious player in BPO by unleashing the intellectual and entrepreneurial power of its young and tech savvy workforce, and looking for opportunities in the new and very fast growing virtual digital sector.

If the government can play its part by making access to the Internet free or very low cost, they will be rewarded by creating an environment that will create income for many of their citizens, which in turn will create a trickle down multiplier effect for their economy. l Martin Conboy was voted into the top five most influential and respected people in the global outsourcing industry in Nov 2014 and is Founder and Former President of The Australian BPO Association.

DT

24 Sport

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

ECB delegation arrives today

TOP STORIES

n Mazhar Uddin

The three-member England and Wales Cricket Board delegation will reach Dhaka today.

The ECB’s security advisor Reg Dickason, Professional Cricketers’ Association chief executive David Leatherdale and ECB director of cricket operations John Carr are in the team which is currently inspecting venues in India.

“As per its routine activity before every series, a three-member ECB security team will arrive in Dhaka on [today]. They will inspect the security measures of Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur and the Chittagong venues,” said BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury yesterday.

“The ECB security team will also hold a meeting with the US, Australia and British High commissions along with the home ministry of Bangladesh,” he added.

England are scheduled to reach Bangladesh on September 30 to play three ODIs and two Tests in Dhaka and Chittagong. But there is some uncertainty after ECB showed concerns over security following the terrorist attack in Dhaka on July 1.

The BCB has taken quite a few notable security measures including increased security personnel, installation of many CCTV cameras around the venue and stringent checks of anyone entering the BCB headquarters while the foreign employees are also provided personal security.

Earlier last year Cricket Australia postponed its scheduled tour of Bangladesh over security concerns while months later, Cricket South Africa also postponed its women’s team tour of Bangladesh citing the same reason.

While Australia pulled out from the 2016 Under-19 World Cup in January this year, England, Scotland, Ireland and New Zealand participated. l

Klopp bringing the A-game to Anfield With the exception of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, there has only ever been one German manager in the history of the English Premier League. Perhaps Klopp’s appointment is a sign of things to come. PAGE 25

Biles falls back down to earth Simone Biles’s name won’t be perched alone on top of the list of women’s Olympic gymnastics greats after the Rio Games yesterday but the American warned she is planning on ending on a high. PAGE 26

Silva stretches lead against Australia Kaushal Silva scored a gritty half-century yesterday to stretch Sri Lanka’s lead to 163 against Australia’s persistent bowlers in the third and final Test in Colombo.

Sri Lanka were 187 for five at tea on the fourth day. PAGE 27

Brazil’s former FIFA boss dies Joao Havelange, the former president of FIFA, died in Rio de Janeiro’s Samaritano Hospital yesterday, the hospital said, without giving further details until authorized by his family. He is a former Olympic swimmer and water polo player for Brazil. PAGE 28

Thiago Braz da Silva of Brazil competes in the men’s pole vault final on Monday

REUTERS

Da Silva is Brazil’s new darling n Reuters, Rio De Janeiro Thiago da Silva won Brazil’s first athletics gold of their home Games on an extraordinary, unforgettable Monday night in Rio, producing an Olympic record of 6.03 metres in the pole vault to beat hot favourite Renaud Lavillenie and send the fans into raptures.

A roar to match anything from Sunday’s 100 metres final - produced by a crowd a quarter of the size - accompanied the 22-yearold as he sailed over the bar, leaving the French world record holder and defending champion one more chance to beat him.

Lavillenie failed and Brazil had a new, and totally unexpected, hero and their first male athletics gold medal winner since Joaquim

Cruz won the 800 metres in 1984.

There had already been drama aplenty on a night dogged by heavy rain that caused a brief suspension of action.

David Rudisha and Shaunae Miller showed that there are different ways to cross the line first, but their gold medals will be the

same after thrilling 800 and 400 metres finals.

Kenya’s Rudisha, who won the 800m in world record style four years ago, delivered a dominant last lap, striding home majestically to become the first man since New Zealander Peter Snell in 1964 to successfully defend the 800m title.

Bahamian Miller, conversely, was tying up desperately but hurled herself across the line, crashing to the track in the process, to just get the nod ahead of American Allyson Felix.

There were also golds for Poland’s Anita Wlodarczyk, with a world record in the women’s hammer and 19-year-old Ruth Jebet of Bahrain via Kenya in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase.

After the drama of Usain Bolt on Sunday, it looked as if the combination of a poor crowd and heavy rain would produce a flat atmosphere just 24 hours later.

The pole vault, so often the forgotten event of athletics as it chugs on relentlessly in the background with all the attention on the track, gradually became the prime focus. l

25

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

Raju emphasises on variations

Rahmatganj, Arambagh share spoils n Tribune Report

n Tribune Report

Rahmatganj MFS continued their unbeaten run in the Bangladesh Premier League as they played out a 2-2 draw against Arambagh Krira Sangha at Rafiq Uddin Bhuiyan Stadium in Mymensingh yesterday.

With nine points from five matches, the Old Dhaka outfit are now joint second in the points table, along with Muktijoddha SKC, while Arambagh moved to sixth position with six points from the same number of outings.

In-form Congolese striker Siyo Zunapiyo put Rahmatganj ahead with only five minutes into the clock. Midfielder Sajidur Rahman Sajid though equalised the margin for the Motijheel outfit just eight minutes later.

A minute after an Abdullah freekick was tipped away by the Rahmatganj goalkeeper, Shariful Islam Sajib put Arambagh ahead in the 21st minute, heading home from a corner.

Rahmatganj had to wait till the 64th minute to bring parity when Mehbub Hasan Nayan found the back of the net from a Dawda Cessay pass. l

RESULT Rahmatganj

2-2

Zunapiyo 5, Nayan 64

Arambagh Sajid 13, 21

TODAY’S MATCH Abahani v Brothers, 4pm

Former Indian left-arm spinner Venkatapathy Raju aims to work with the bowlers’ variations in the week-long camp with the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s High Performance spinners.

Raju, who had his first class with the bowlers yesterday, said he will not work with the actions but the basics of spin bowling which is getting lost with the modernisation of the game.

“Skill is already there, we are asking them to be a little more relaxed and have more variations. If you see most of them forget to get the revolutions on the ball, they just try to bowl quicker and quicker, and finish and go. We want them to still stick to the same basics where you get the revolution of the ball,” Raju told the media at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.

Raju, who picked up 93 wickets in 28 Tests and 63 wickets in 93 ODIs, will work in batches during his short stay in Dhaka. In the first five days, the former Indian spinner will work with the junior boys before working with the seniors in the second half of his stint.

“We are not trying to change their action. We are just telling them how they can become a good bowler. In higher levels, you need to think a lot. We are basically looking to teach them what they have to do when they bowl against high-

Former Indian spinner Venkatapathy Raju observes High Performance squad’s leg spinner Nur Hossain (L) during the spin bowling camp at National Academy in Mirpur yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK er class batsmen,” Raju explained.

“I think the difference is basically the mind. We are born and brought up on turning tracks because here the wicket helps you a bit. The same thing when you go outside, you can’t accept the ball that much. Because there is help

in the wicket here, we feel that its good.

“Outside there will be little turn.

We are so into playing here we get carried away. So I think line and length and variation are very important when you play outside,” he added.

Raju has worked with Associate Nations like Nepal, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates previously. He follows former Pakistani pacer Aaqib Javed, who conducted a week-long camp with the HP unit and the national team pace bowlers earlier this month. l

Klopp bringing the A-game to Anfield

n Rashad Banna With the exception of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, there has only ever been one German manager in the history of the English Premier League, which was Felix Magath.

Perhaps Klopp’s appointment is a sign of things to come. Talented German managers might fancy the Premiership in the future but one thing is for certain. No one will quite capture the English public’s imagination like Klopp, the tactician from the Black Forest.

The 49-year old has taken to Merseyside like a duck to water.

Appointed in October 2015, Klopp guided the Reds to two final appearances in his maiden season.

Liverpool lost both the League Cup and the Europa League final to Manchester City and Sevilla respectively but the Scousers liked

what they saw. After all, these days it’s not often that you see Liverpool contesting two finals in a season.

And even though the Reds finished eighth in the Premiership, it wasn’t the end of the world for the Kop who knew Klopp wasn’t present for the full season.

In his first full season in charge, Klopp would be looking forward to cement his ideas and philosophies upon his charges, who will only

have to deal with the domestic competitions – league, the FA Cup and the EFL Cup (also known as the League Cup).

In his pursuit of restoring the club’s glory days of the past, Klopp has started things off in some style this season as Liverpool got the better of Arsenal 4-3 at The Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

Going by the events in the Liverpool dugout during and after the

victory, it was a memorable start to the season for the animated Klopp, who nearly lost his glasses while celebrating.

However, despite his interminable energy and eccentricity, not everyone, apparently, is a fan of his tactics and actions on the sidelines.

His critics often say that his preferred style of play – “gegenpressing” to some and “heavy metal football” to others – is one-dimensional. Klopp is also sometimes referred to as a one-trick pony.

With that said, since this particular playing style - where the players press the opposition non-stop when without the ball – has served him so well in the past (just ask German outfits Mainz and Borussia Dortmund), it is only natural for him to persist with it. At Mainz and Dortmund, Klopp worked his magic with this specific method and ended up as the longest serving manager of both Bundesliga clubs.

He has a host of records to show for his time in Germany. He was adjudged Germany’s football manager of the year twice, having inspired Dortmund to consecutive top-flight titles in 2011 and 2012, a

rare feat for the club.

Klopp also led the Black and Yellows to the domestic double in 2012, the first time ever in the club’s history.

A year later, Dortmund reached only their second ever Champions League final where they lost narrowly to arch-rival Bayern Munich.

The BVB also secured the German Cup and the German Super Cup under the stewardship of the bespectacled coach.

Meanwhile at Mainz, he created a number of club records, besides achieving promotion to the top-tier.

However, Klopp is not just about the titles as Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana pointed out a few months ago.

“He is animated and emotional on match days and that makes him who he is. But when you come away from that on to the training pitch he is very affectionate, and has a laugh and a joke. He makes you feel wanted and appreciates the hard work you have just put into a game.”

Very few players, be it at Mainz, Dortmund or Liverpool, would disagree with Lallana. l

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26

Sport

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

Biles falls back down to earth

MEDAL TALLY COUNTRY UNITED STATES

27 24 26

77

GREAT BRITAIN

16

41

CHINA

15 14 18

47

RUSSIAN FED

11

36

GERMANY ITALY FRANCE

7

JAPAN

7

NETHERLANDS

7

2

3

12

AUSTRALIA

6

7

9

22

REP KOREA

6

3

5

14

HUNGARY

6

3

4

13

SPAIN

4

0

2

6

NEW ZEALAND

3

6

0

9

BRAZIL

2

4

4

10

KAZAKHSTAN

2

3

5

10

DPR KOREA

2

3

2

7

KENYA

2

3

0

5

CANADA

2

2

9

13

POLAND

2

2

3

7

COLOMBIA

2

2

0

4

CUBA

2

1

3

6

SWITZERLAND

2

1

2

5

BELGIUM

2

1

1

4

GREECE

2

1

1

4

THAILAND

2

1

1

4

CROATIA

2

1

0

3

UZBEKISTAN

2

0

4

6

17

8

12

13

9

7

6

22

8

9

6

23

9

9

25

4

16

27

Updated yesterday (9pm)

DAY TWELVE EVENTS TO WATCH EQUESTRIAN Team

Jumping (Round 2)

7pm

ATHLETICS Men Women

3000m Steeplechase 8:50pm Long Jump

6:15am

Women

200m

7:30am

Women

100m Hurdles

7:55am

BADMINTON Mized

Doubles

9:30pm

SAILING Women

470 (Dinghy)

10:05pm

Men

470 (Dinghy)

11:05pm

n AFP, Rio de Janeiro

United States’ Simone Biles performs on the balance beam during the artistic gymnastics women’s apparatus final at the 2016 Olympics on Monday AP

800m win for Kenya’s Rudisha n AFP, Rio de Janeiro Kenyan David Rudisha sealed a historic Olympic 800m double as Usain Bolt prepared for the next round yesterday in his quest for sporting immortality.

Rudisha eased to an 800m victory which made him the first man since New Zealand’s Peter Snell in 1964 to win the event at consecutive Olympics.

Bolt, 29, in his last Olympics, starts his campaign to add the 200m gold to his 100m title when he takes part in the heats.

Also yesterday world champi-

on Christian Taylor of the United States attempts to become the first man in 40 years to successfully defend his triple jump title.

And Darya Klishina, cleared at the last-minute following a doping ban, takes part in the long jump as the only competitor in Olympic athletics representing the drug-tainted Russians.

The highlight Monday in track and field was Kenya’s Rudisha who was all class in a smooth 800m victory.

Later came a stunning victory for Brazil’s little-known pole vaulter Thiago Braz that sparked an ugly

BOXING Men

Welter 69kg

1:30am

WRESTLING Women

Freestyle 48kg

2:05am

Women

Freestyle 58kg

2:50am

Women

Freestyle 69kg

3:35am

TABLE TENNIS Men

Team

4:30am

TAEKWONDO Women

49kg

7am

Men

58kg

7:15am

BEACH VOLLEYBALL Women

Tournament

8:59am

Simone Biles’s name won’t be perched alone on top of the list of women’s Olympic gymnastics greats after the Rio Games yesterday but the American warned she is planning on ending on a high with a record-equalling fourth gold.

The 19-year-old, who had seemed unbeatable over the past nine days in Rio with eye-popping routines which combined difficulty, power and beauty, suddenly slipped back among the ranks of mortals.

A wobbly landing coming out of a forward front somersault had the Texan unelegantly grappling to stay on the beam. Another gymnast might have tumbled off, but Biles held on.

But her result reflected the effort, throwing off her dream of a record five gold medals at the same Games.

She still managed to take bronze behind Dutch gymnast Sanne Wevers and US teammate Laurie Hernandez.

It was a fourth Olympic medal for Biles after her gold in the team, all-around and vault - but not the colour she wanted.

A gold would have seen her join Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina (1956), Czech Vera Caslavska (1968) and Romanian Ecaterina Szabo (1984) who all won four gold at the same Olympics.

Her coach Aimee Boorman said that only Biles could have managed not to fall off the beam.

Biles is now looking to wrap up with gold on floor in the Rio Olympic Arena yesterday, an apparatus on which she is the reigning threetime world champion.

Her leading challenge should come from teammate Aly Raisman, the Olympic floor champion, and looking for a sixth Olympic medal over two Games and fourth in gold.

The final day of competition also sees Oleg Verniaiev - who gave Kohei Uchimura a scare in the allaround before settling for silver behind the Japanese great - bid for gold on the parallel bars and the horizontal bar.l

Kenya’s David Rudisha (L) celebrates after winning the men’s 800m final during the athletics competition at the 2016 Olympics on Monday AFP

riposte from defeated defending champion Renaud Lavillenie of France.

He likened the atmosphere in the Olympic stadium to the 1936 Munich Games under Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime.

He later apologised, saying he was upset by the unexpected defeat on a night of heavy rain marked

by Rudisha’s double triumph and an amazing finish in the women’s 400m. Favourite Allyson Felix was denied on the line by a headlong plunge from Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas.

Earlier, a wobble on the balance beam ended Simone Biles’ bid for a record five gymnastics gold medals, and Rio had its latest safety scare when a giant suspended TV camera plunged to the ground, slightly injuring seven.

Miller remained lying on the track for some time after her unconventional dive left her in significant pain.

Her last-ditch plunge meant disappointment for America’s Felix, who has Olympic gold medals over 200m, 4x100m and 4x400m but who switched to focus on the longer distance.

Meanwhile Bolt is after an amazing “triple triple” 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay gold medal cleansweep at three consecutive Games.l

Egyptian judoka sent home for Israeli snub n AFP, Rio de Janeiro Egyptian judoka Islam El Shehaby was sent home from the Olympics on Monday after refusing to shake hands with an Israeli opponent, sports officials said.

El Shehaby was beaten by Or Sasson in their heavyweight first round encounter last week but at the end of the bout, he refused to either bow to the Israeli or shake his hand.

In judo it is customary to both bow to opponents - a sign of respect in Japan - and shake hands after a bout is over.

The 32-year-old El Shehaby, a world championship medallist in 2010, had faced pressure on social media and from hardline Islamist groups in his homeland to withdraw from the fight. l

27

DT

Sport

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

Saintfiet, Smalley set for BFF deals n Tribune Report

QUICK BYTES England drop Vince for Pakistan ODIs England dropped struggling batsman James Vince for thir one-day international series against Pakistan, it was announced yesterday. But they have recalled fit-again Durham duo Ben Stokes and Mark Wood into a 15man squad which also features a callup for Vince’s Hampshire team-mate Liam Dawson, yet to make his ODI debut. Vince failed to score a Test 50 after making his debut against Sri Lanka earlier this season and the recent Pakistan series saw the Hampshire captain manage just 158 runs in seven innings at an average of 22. Meanwhile fast bowler Steven Finn was not included after injuring his hamstring during England’s 10-wicket defeat by Pakistan in last week’s fourth Test at The Oval.

–AFP

Serena Williams pulls out of Cincinnati Top seed Serena Williams gave up a wild card entry into the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters tournament after complaining of a shoulder injury. The world number one, who is being chased in the rankings by Angelique Kerber, took a free entry only last week and was seeded atop the draw. But the 34-year-old American reversed course abruptly on Monday. “I’m very disappointed I’m not able to compete as I was really looking forward to defending my title,” Williams said. “My shoulder inflammation continues to be a challenge, but I am anxious to return to the court as soon as possible.”

–AFP

DAY’S WATCH OLYMPIC GAMES STAR SPORTS 1 5:30PM, 12:30AM Rio Olympic Games 2016 Daily live coverage

Sri Lanka’s Kaushal Silva plays a shot during the fourth day of the third and final Test against Australia at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo yesterday AFP

Gritty Silva stretches lead against Australia n AFP, Colombo Overnight batsman Kaushal Silva scored a gritty half-century on yesterday to stretch Sri Lanka’s lead to 163 against Australia’s persistent bowlers in a tight third and final Test in Colombo.

Sri Lanka, who resumed in the morning on 22 for one in their second innings, were 187 for five at tea on the fourth day at the Sinhalese Sports Club.

Silva, who is batting with six stitches on the webbing of his little finger after injuring himself while

fielding on Monday, was unbeaten on 78 with Dinesh Chandimal on 10 at the break.

Off-spinner Nathan Lyon, who has claimed two wickets, sent Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews trudging back to the pavilion for 26, ending a 58-run fifth-wicket stand.

His was the only wicket to fall in the afternoon session as Silva frustrated the Australian bowlers with some dogged defence nnd controlled aggression.

Silva, who survived an lbw appeal against Lyon after a successful

umpire review in the first session, regularly received medical aid for his injured finger during breaks.

3RD TEST, DAY 4 SRI LANKA 355 & 312/8 (Silva 115, De Silva 44*, Lyon 4/123) v AUSTRALIA 379 Sri lanka lead by 288 runs Earlier Australia also benefited from a review after left-arm spinner Jon Holland had Kusal Perera caught off a top edge which took the pads and went into the wicket-

keeper’s gloves.

Perera, who scored 24, was undone by a side angle replay after a front-on view had been inconclusive.

Kusal Mendis hit a quickfire 18 off 14 balls with two sixes and a four but his counter-attack was halted when he was trapped lbw by Mitchell Starc.

Centuries from skipper Steven Smith and Shaun Marsh had given Australia hope of a big first-innings lead on Monday, but their departure saw the visitors lose their last seven wickets for 104 runs.l

Ancient Indonesian archery finds mark

FOOTBALL TEN 1 UEFA Champions League 12:45AM Celtic FC v Hapoel Beer-Sheva

n AFP, Yogyakarta

TEN 2 12:45AM UEFA Champions League FC Porto v AS Roma

TEN 3 12:45AM UEFA Champions League Villarreal v AS Monaco

CRICKET TEN 3 10:30AM Australia Tour of Sri Lanka 3rd Test, Day 5

Following a two-week vacation, Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet is set to arrive in Dhaka today morning to take charge of the Bangladesh football team.

Saintfiet is yet to sign the official contract with the Bangladesh Football Federation and nothing has been finalised. Newly-appointed technical and strategical advisor Paul Smalley, on the other hand, is expected to pen the deal soon. “Saintfiet will land in Dhaka at 4:45am in the morning. We will sit in a meeting with both Saintfiet and Smalley.

“Hopefully we can finalise a date of the signing [today],” said BFF general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag yesterday. The 43-year old coach will watch the sixth-round matches of the Bangladesh Premier League, starting from tomorrow.

The national team will begin their residential training camp this Sunday ahead of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers Play-offs against Bhutan, slated for September 6 and October 10.l

This picture taken on May 7, 2016 shows a young archer in traditional outfit taking aim during practice of the centuries-old Indonesian sport of “Jemparingan’, prior to the competition in Yogyakarta AFP

Sitting cross-legged, 68-year-old Supadmi fires an arrow across a field into a small stick target and sets a bell ringing, taking the lead in the game - an ancient form of Indonesian archery.

She was among sportsmen and women in colourful headdresses and sarongs who sent hundreds of arrows flying through the sky in unison at a recent tournament, in a festive atmosphere with blaring trumpets and tinkling percussion music.

This local archery known as “jemparingan” has been played for centuries around the ancient kingdom of Yogyakarta, Java island’s cultural heartland where Buddhist and Hindu temples sit amid bottle-green paddy fields.

After decades of decline, a revival is under way as a new generation of enthusiasts pick up bows and arrows for the first time.

“This sport is training for our character because we need to attain inner peace before we fire off the arrows,” said 68-year-old Supadmi. l

DT

28

Sport

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

Conte defends Chelsea match-winner Costa n AFP, London

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte celebrates after Diego Costa scored their second goal against West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on Monday REUTERS

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte defended Diego Costa after the snarling striker found himself at the centre of controversy once again in his side’s 2-1 victory over West Ham United.

Costa struck an 89th-minute winner in Monday’s game at Stamford Bridge to give Conte victory in his first Premier League match at the Chelsea helm.

But the Brazil-born Spain international was fortunate to be on the pitch, having earlier caught West Ham goalkeeper Adrian with a late challenge after he had already received a yellow card.

Chelsea were leading 1-0, courtesy of Eden Hazard’s 47th-minute penalty, when Costa launched into a challenge on the dawdling Adrian, appearing to catch him high on the right calf.

Referee Anthony Taylor had booked Costa for dissent in the first half, but on this occasion he kept his cards in his pocket.

West Ham centre-back James Collins equalised with a neat finish 13 minutes from time, but Costa had the final say when he gathered a flick-on from debutant Michy Batshuayi and rifled home a low shot.

The Croatian was magnanimous

enough to concede that Chelsea’s victory was “deserved”.

As well as a decisive late cameo by former Marseille striker Batshuayi, Conte also saw his summer signing from champions Leicester City, midfielder N’Golo Kante, turn in a typically industrious display on his competitive debut for the club.

The France international was booked in the third minute for an untidy foul on Andy Carroll, but he grew into the game and Conte hailed his “fantastic stamina”.

Kante’s inclusion meant that there was no place in the starting eleven for Cesc Fabregas, but Conte insisted that he was “happy” with the former Arsenal midfielder.l

TOP TEN Team

GP W D L GD PTS

Man United

1

1

0 0

2

3

Liverpool

1

1

0 0

1

3

Chelsea

1

1

0 0

1

3

Hull City

1

1

0 0

1

3

Man City

1

1

0 0

1

3

Swansea City

1

1

0 0

1

3

West Brom

1

1

0 0

1

3

Everton

1

0

1 0 0

1

Middlesbrough 1

0

1 0 0

1

Southampton 1

0

1 0 0

1

Brazil’s former FIFA boss dies n Reuters, Rio De Janeiro Joao Havelange, the former president of FIFA, died in Rio de Janeiro’s Samaritano Hospital yesterday, the hospital said, without giving further details until authorized by his family.

The former Olympic swimmer and water polo player for Brazil had been in and out of the hospital in recent months with respiratory problems.

Havelange, who was 100, was the first non-European to head the International Football Federation (FIFA), world soccer’s governing body. He helped to transform the group and its flagship event, the World Cup, into a multibillion-dollar enterprise.

After serving 24 years as head of FIFA, Havelange resigned as its honorary president amid corruption allegations against him and others in 2013. The Engenhao Stadium in Rio de Janeiro was named in his honor. l

Mascherano hopes Bravo will stay n Reuters Javier Mascherano said he hoped Claudio Bravo would remain at Barcelona but would respect any decision by the Chile captain to leave the Nou Camp.

Marca reported yesterday that Barcelona and Manchester City had reached an agreement for the 33-year-old goalkeeper to join the Premier League giants for an initial fee of 16 million euros ($18.3 million).

Bravo made 32 league starts last

season to help Barca defend the La Liga crown but faces stiff competition from Germany international Marc-Andre ter Stegen to be the team’s number one.

“All I can say is that Claudio has given us a lot in the past two seasons and I hope he stays here. He is an important part of this team,” Mascherano said.

“Both of them are great goalkeepers. “The ideal thing for us is to have both players continue.”

Bravo, who joined Barca from Real Sociedad two years ago, is un-

Defour Burnley’s for £7.5m n AFP, London Belgian international midfielder Steven Defour became Premier League newboys Burnley’s record signing yesterday with the English club spending a reported £7.5million (8.6m euros, $9.7m) to lure him away from Anderlecht.

The 28-year-old - capped 46 times and played for Belgium at the 2014 World Cup - signed a threeyear contract and his fee eclipsed the £6m paid for striker Andre Gray

last year.

“I hope I can bring my experience to the team and the club to stay in the Premier League,” said Defour.

“I’m looking forward to every game. The atmosphere around the league is fantastic and everyone across the world has seen the Premier League, so I am very proud to be a part of that. It is a new challenge for me, but I like that.

“It has been a long few weeks, but I am very happy to be here.” l

der contract with the La Liga champions until June 2018.

“Claudio is a great professional, he is one of the most experienced players in this team,” Mascherano said. “However, I will understand if he decides to leave if he thinks that is the best decision for his career.”

Mascherano also said he, too, had considered leaving Barcelona before signing a new contract extension last month that will keep him at the club for the next three years. l

Teen arrested after attacking goalkeeper n Reuters, Stockholm A masked fan ran onto the pitch, attacked a goalkeeper and said he had left a bomb in the stands of a top flight Swedish soccer match on Monday, forcing the game to be abandoned in the final minute.

Police arrested a 17-year-old after the incident at the clash between Jonkoping Sodra and Ostersund, whose keeper Aly Keita was

chased and knocked down before a security guard wrestled his attacker to the ground.

“I am shocked and angry. It is awful that something like this could happen,” the 29-year-old goalkeeper told reporters.

“He is under arrest, we have informed the prosecutor of the arrest and interviews will be conducted,” Jonkoping police commander Peter Nordengard told reporters. l

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Mineral spring (3) 3 Waver (6) 8 Association (4) 9 Metal-bearing rock (3) 10 Literary ridicule (6) 11 Oppose (6) 14 Comforts (5) 17 Take as one's own (5) 20 Wait on (6) 24 Bring into accord (6) 26 Fish eggs (3) 27 Criminal group (4) 28 Wise counsellor (6) 29 Strange (3)

DOWN 1 Cicatrix (4) 2 Performs (4) 3 Commotion (4) 4 Lessen (5) 5 Works hard (5) 6 Do wrong (3) 7 Emits fumes (5) 12 Finish (3) 13 Little devil (3) 15 Liable (3) 16 Vast age (3) 17 Apprehension (5) 18 Frequently (5) 19 Dance (5) 21 Lacerate (4) 22 Therefore (4) 23 Exploit (4) 25 Digit (3)

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Downtime

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 18 represents C so fill C every time the figure 18 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.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

Showtime

Rustom Vs Mohenjo Daro

n Nazia Lopa Akshay Kumar’s, Rustom and Hrithik Roshan’s, Mohenjo Daro are both done with the four-day weekend at the box office. While Akshay’s film has managed to earn around Rs65-70 crore during the long Independence Day weekend, Mohenjo Daro is lagging behind with around Rs40-45 crore in box office collection, according to trade estimates. None of the two films have managed to break into the Rs100 crore club yet, but Akshay’s Rustom is said to be a cert of finally making it. Mohenjo Daro is a period drama, while Rustom is

a court room drama based on 50s Nanavati murder case.

Mohenjo Daro helmed by Ashutosh Gowarikar is a period love story set during the days when the Indus Valley Civilisation was at its peak.

Hrithik Roshan and debutante, Pooja Hegde star in the film.

Rustom, directed by Tinu Suresh Desai features Akshay Kumar, Illeana D’cruz and Esha Gupta and is based on the Nanavati murder case.

Rustom is Akshay Kumar’s third film of 2016, and Mohenjo Daro is Hrithik Roshan’s first film in two years. So in that case it is clear that AK is ruling over Bollywood super

hero HR! Bollywood has already mentioned Mohenjo Daro as miss fire. One of the critics said, “The technical aspects of Mohenjo Daro prove to be a major disappointment. The brilliant purple robes, rustic stitching, and decoratively printed turbans, seen in the film had historians up in arms when the movie’s trailer was released — not to mention the backlash against the sequined bra, and feathered headdress sported by the movie’s female lead — are surprising gaffes, given the reputations of head costumers Neeta Lulla and Emmy winner, April Ferry. The visual effects are sub-par throughout, in obviously false background matte paintings or in poorly executed CGI animals.”

Based on the city at the heart of the Indus Valley Civilisation, the film is an ambitious attempt to paint a portrait of a relatively obscure slice of the past. But the same writer-director who set the bar for historical fiction 15 years ago doesn’t meet it even halfway now—bloated and tiresome, Mohenjo Daro is a struggle on many fronts. But Bollywood knows that the equation might get changed with coming weeks. At least Hrithik is praying to feel the change of wind towards his new film. l

Shunnota set to launch on Maasranga TV n Showtime Desk Shunnota, a new drama serial is set to launch today on Maasranga TV. Written by Pantho Shahriar

and directed by Amlan Biswas, the drama casts Afran Nisho, Shumaiya Shimu, Jovan, Shoshee, Najnin Chumki and Raisul Islam Asad, among others.

The story of the drama follows Zaman, a 35-year-old wide-eyed business manager of a travel agency who has good rapport with his neighbour Amzad. Amzad’s wife treats Zaman as if he’s her son and sometimes she sends food to his house, with the help of their daughter Trina.

Zaman starts liking their daughter, however, Trina seems to have her sights set elsewhere.

On the other hand, Zaman’s relatives from his native village become desperate to see Zaman married. Meanwhile, Zaman picks a girl for himself and goes on a few dates with her but as luck would have it, the marriage with the girl never takes place and Zaman becomes increasingly misogynistic.

The drama will be aired every Tuesday and Wednesday at 8pml

Pregnancy brings new work scope for Bebo n Showtime Desk The diva Kareena Kapoor may be expecting a baby but she is certainly not passing idle time or taking any breaks. Bebo’s work mode is on like never before. A magazine informed that Kareena will be flaunting her baby bump in her next film, Veere Di Wedding which stars Sonam Kapoor as well. Also, Begum’s recent fashion outings have left her fans amazed. Kareena’s dressing sense during her pregnancy has grabbed everyone’s attention, and it has even brought an endorsement offer. An online clothing brand is highly impressed with the actress’ latest fashion outing, and have decided to feature her in their special collection, ie only for pregnant women.

A source close to the actress spoke to a leading tabloid about this exciting offer. The source says, “They were so impressed with Kareena’s sense of dressing that they decided to come up with a line for expectant mothers. The brand wants her to endorse it. She is flattered by the offer. She is figuring out her dates, as she needs to start shooting for her next film in September.” The person also confirmed the tabloid that Bebo has been making

stylish appearances during her pregnancy, and she has got quite a lot of offers but it’s too early to talk about them. Indeed Mrs Khan, we are impressed!

Kareena will be wrapping her work till the end of September and then will be taking rest as her due date is in December. l

Lucky for you

n Showtime Desk Freedom fighter Lucky Akhand, who is also popular singer and composer of Bangladesh and an original artiste of Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra, has fought a long battle with lung cancer.

He has spent almost his entire life in this industry, and is now seeking help from the Prime Minister of Bangladesh for his own treatment. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in September last year, and has already gone through a surgery and a series of chemotherapy sessions abroad, but apparently refraining from taking five more chemotherapy sessions as prescribed by the physician due to a financial crisis.

Later he asked for help from the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

and also his fans. Lucky has been lucky enough because his fans have come together to stand beside him. Fans and friends of Lucky are arranging some events by which they can contribute to Lucky’s treatment for the next step.

Dhaka University Band Society has arranged a two day long concert at TSC Auditorium, University of Dhaka, titled “A tribute to Lucky Akhond,” and bands are performing. Tahsan and band, Avoid Rafa, Arbovirus, Old School, Ashes, Shohojia, Chatak, Doorgo, War sight, Unspecified, Apekhik, Arjon, Hash, Orb of Winter, Manab, Aggyatonama, and other bands along with Dhaka University Cultural Society are performing for two days. There is no fixed ticket price for the concert.

Anyone can donate any amount of money they want, but visitors have to pay Tk50 to enter the concert.

Artists from Toronto are also trying to collect funds for Lucky.

They organised a musical evening on July 30, through which they tried to collect funds for the singer. Talented and creative optimiser is arranging another concert at Oxford house, London, on August 30. Artists who live in London will be attending this concert only for Lucky.

Apart from the concert,

Multiple Grammy Award-winning singer Adele says she turned down an offer to perform at the 2017 Super Bowl halftime show.

However, according to the NFL, they never made the singer an official offer. The British singer told an audience Saturday at her Los Angeles concert that she was asked to perform at the event.

“First of all, I’m not doing the Super Bowl. I mean, come on, that show is not about music. And I don’t really -- I can’t dance or anything like that. They were very kind, they did ask me, but I said no,” Adele told the Staples Center audience, in response to rumours reported by British tabloid The Sun.

“I’m sorry, but maybe next time,” she added.

On the other hand, the NFL and Pepsi released the following joint statement on August 14.

“The NFL and Pepsi are big fans of Adele. We have had conversations with several artists about the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show. However, we have not at this point extended a formal offer to Adele or anyone else. We are focused on putting together a fantastic show for Houston and we look forward to revealing that in good time.”

The Super Bowl takes place at Houston’s NRG Stadium on February 5, 2017. Coldplay, Beyonce and Bruno Mars performed at 2016’s halftime show.l

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

WHAT TO WATCH Obscure - one of Bangladesh's leading bands has announced that they will donate their proceedings to Lucky. Tipu, vocalist of Obscure said, "Artists should stand for another artist. It is our duty to stay beside any artist and we are only fulfilling our duty."

Before them, Tahsan expressed the same sentiments on his social media account. Tahsan posted, “We are not here to ‘help’ Lucky Akhand, we are doing

our best to show him our respect.” Fahmida Nabi, another popular singer says, “It is our bad

luck that every time we become helpless when any artist needs such help.”

There are many artists who have stood by him from the very beginning. Lyricist Asif Iqbal is one of them. Kumar Bishwajit, Ayub Bachchu, Fuad Naser Babu, Fahmida Nabi, and Labu Rahman.

Tahsan and many more have extended a helping hand.

As we all know, Lucky Akhond is not only a singer, he is a composer and lyricist too.

Akhond started his career with the self-titled solo album Lucky Akhond in 1984. The record was released from the label Sargam.

Some of the notable songs on that album were “Agey jodi jantam,” “Amay dekona,” “Mamonia,” “Ei neel monihar” and “Hridoy amar”. He wrote songs for his brother’s album Happy Akhond, in which “Abar elo je shondha” and “Ke bashi bajaire” were sung by Lucky, and “Shadinota tomake niye,” “Pahari jhorna” were sung by Happy Akhand in a duet. “Nil nil shari pore” and “Hothat kore Bangladesh” were also sung by Lucky. “Abar elo je shondha” was used in the Bangla film, Ghuddi in 1988. l

Adele turned down an offer to perform at the Super Bowl n Showtime Desk

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Showtime

Waterworld Movies Now 9:30pm In a future where the polar ice-caps have melted and Earth is almost entirely submerged, a mutated mariner fights starvation and outlaw “smokers,” and reluctantly helps a woman and a young girl try to find dry land.

Cast: Kevin Costner, Dennis Hopper, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Tina Majorino, Michael Jeter Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome HBO 5:30pm After being exiled from the most advanced town in post apocalyptic Australia, a drifter travels with a group of abandoned children to rebel against the town’s queen.

Cast: Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Adam Cockburn, Tina Turner, Frank Thring

Despicable Me Star Movie 11am When a criminal mastermind uses a trio of orphan girls as pawns for a grand scheme, he finds their love is profoundly changing him for the better.

Voices: Steve Carell (Gru), Jason Segel (Vector), Russell Brand (Dr. Nefario), Julie Andrews (Gru’s Mom), Will Arnett (Mr. Perkins) Troy WB 12:56pm An adaptation of Homer’s great epic, the film follows the assault on Troy by the united Greek forces and chronicles the fates of the men involved.

Cast: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Brian Cox, Sean Bean

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Back Page

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

RMG FACTORIES TO GET FUNDS FOR WORKERS’ DORMS PAGE 12

DA SILVA IS BRAZIL’S NEW DARLING PAGE 24

RUSTOM VS MOHENJO DARO PAGE 30

Mysterious death of a student n Tribune Desk

Afsana Ferdous

A 24-year-old female student has been murdered in Dhaka city after allegedly being raped and strangled.

The body of Afsana Ferdous, a final-year student of architecture technology at Mirpur’s SAIC Institute of Management and Technology, was dropped off at a hospital in the city on Saturday by two unidentified men who fled soon after.

Primary signs suggested that Afsana had been strangled with a rope after being raped.

According to sources at Al-Helal Hospital, where her body was dropped off, two men arrived at the hospital on an autorickshaw and asked for a stretcher to have Afsana admitted to the Emergency wing.

As she was being lifted onto the stretch-

er, the men left saying they had to pay the autorickshaw fare, but never returned.

The on-duty doctor there confirmed that Afsana had died before arriving at the hospital. The Kafrul police was notified after the doctor found marks on the neck.

But a series of anonymous phone calls to the victim’s family deepened the mystery behind her death.

According to a relative, Afsana’s mother – who lives in Thakurgaon – first received a phone call from an unknown number on Saturday night and was told that Afsana’s body was being kept at Dhanmondi’s Bangladesh Medical College Hospital.

However, when her relatives in Dhaka went there in search of Afsana, they were told there was no body matching her description at the hospital.

Soon after, another anonymous caller

phoned the family and said Afsana’s body was actually at Mirpur’s Al-Helal Hospital. But authorities at the Mirpur hospital said the body was now in custody of Kafrul police station.

When the family went to the police and showed a picture of Afsana, the on-duty policemen told them someone looking like her was at the morgue of Dhaka Medical College.

Finally at 3am Sunday, Afsana’s maternal uncle and cousins identified her body at the DMC morgue.

A post-mortem examination was carried out on Afsana before she was taken to Thakurgaon for burial.

Police sources said they would file a murder case after getting the primary autopsy report - which is expected within a couple of days. l

‘Two-finger test unscientific’ n Tribune Desk

Forensic medical experts yesterday told the High Court that the two-finger test used to assess rape is a controversial and unscientific method that needs to be stopped.

The test is supposed to assess whether a woman has had sex but the state of the hymen does not always answer this question, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

It said the hymen may vary in size for many reasons unrelated to sex.

The High Court is hearing based on a writ petition filed by Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) and seven others in 2013. l

Left, an earlier photo of Banga Bahadur shows the elephant running through a field in Jamalpur. Right, a baby elephant was pulled out of a well in Sherpur yesterday before it was set free

Death of an elephant: An obituary n Abu Bakar Siddique

Following a saga that stretched two countries, hundreds of kilometres and almost two months, the elephant which was lovingly given the name Banga Bahadur died yesterday.

In June, the four-tonne elephant was swept down the Brahmaputra by flood waters from Assam. He entered Bangladesh through Roumari and travelled through Kurigram, Gaibandha, Bogra and Sirajganj before reaching Jamalpur.

Banga Bahadur was presumably trying to get back to his herd and swam across the Brahmaputra twice. But the strong current kept taking him further downstream.

Repeated efforts, from both Bangladesh and India, to facilitate his return home ended in failure.

The elephant – aged around 35 years – died at a shoal in Jamalpur's Sharisabari upazila around 7am yesterday, Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) Ashit Ranjal Pal said.

“The elephant was suffering from different complications,” he said. Banga Bahadur fell sick on Monday night but the efforts of a rescue team to give him treatment went in vain. “He died in the morning.”

Dr Sayeed Hossain, a member of the rescue team, told our Jamalpur correspondent Biswajit Deb that Banga Bahadur had been unable to stand up since Monday afternoon.

The elephant had an unusually high temperature.

Dr Tapan Kumar Dey, who led the rescue efforts, said a fivemember team headed by Forest Department's veterinary surgeon Dr Mostafizur Rahman will now

carry out an autopsy of the elephant.

The lack of food, state of mind in an unfamiliar place, loneliness, and physical exhaustion all played a part in the elephant's death, Dr Tapan said, adding that it is believed that Banga Bahadur finally died of a heart attack.

Earlier, the Forest Department started looking into the movement of stray elephants wandering into the shoals along the Brahmaputra only after a week of discovering this elephant.

The wildlife authority in Bangladesh, then, informed India about the issue so that the elephant could be taken back home.

Despite sincere efforts, the forest department could not solve the problem since it neither has the expertise nor the logistics for handling such a situation.

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Trapped elephant rescued Shahriar Milton, n SA Sherpur A baby elephant was rescued from a well in bordering Dudhnoi area, Jhenaigati upazila, Sherpur yesterday.

Local sources said the elephant which was three to four years old fell into the well when a herd of wild elephants entered the village on Monday night in search of food.

Local people found the elephant in the well in the morning and informed police as well as Forest Department

Finally, 37 days after Banga Bahadur entered Bangladesh, on August 3, a three-member Indian expert team arrived but left without him, two days later.

Since then, forest officials were

about the matter.

Later, Forest Department’s staff and firefighters managed to pull out the elephant from the well after digging a path beside the well and tying up the baby elephant with a rope.

Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Jinaigati Selim Reza, Officer-in-Charge of Jhenaigati police station Mizanur Rahman and Forest Officer of Rangtia range Kabir Hossain were present during the rescue operation.

Later, the elephant was set free in the Rangtia forest. l

trying to rescue the elephant, but failed due to lack of transport facility and the remoteness of the area, where it had been wandering for the last few days since it was tranquillised on August 11. l

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