05 Sep, 2016

SECOND EDITION

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

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Bhadra 21, 1423, Zil-Hajj 2, 1437

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 131

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www.dhakatribune.com

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32 pages

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Price: Tk10

Mastermind of attacks on Dipan, Tutul held Rahman Rabbi and n Arifur Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A top leader of banned militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team who allegedly masterminded the attacks on publishers Faisal Arefin Dipan and Ahmedur Rashid Tutul was placed on a six-day police remand yesterday.

Members of the Detective Branch (DB) of police arrested Md Abdus Sabur alias Raju alias Saad alias Salman alias Samad alias Sujon from Tongi Railway Station area on Saturday night.

From a press briefing held yesterday, chief of Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit Monirul Islam said that they had arrested Raju based on information given by two Ansarullah

leaders, arrested earlier in connection with the attacks.

Hailing from Nangolkot of Comilla, Sabur, 23, was a student of Jatrabari Faridabad Madrasa, Monirul said. He was a member of the group's military wing.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police declared Tk2 lakh bounty on Raju, who is believed to be one of the four military wing commanders of Ansarullah – responsible for carrying out machete and gun attacks on a dozen of war crimes trial campaigners, secularists and rights campaigners since 2013.

The government banned Ansarullah on May 23 last year. The outfit is believed to be representing al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) under the name of Ansar al-Islam.

Earlier, detectives arrested Ansarullah leaders Sumon Hossain Patwari on June 15 and Moinul Hasan Shamim on August 23. Both of them involved in the two attacks conducted on October 31 last year.

On that day, Dipan was hacked to death at his Jagriti Prokashoni office at Aziz Super Market of Shahbagh. Another team of militants attacked Shuddhashar publisher Tutul at his Lalmatia office.

Two writers – Ranadipam Basu and Tareq Rahim – who were at his office at that time were also injured in the attack.

Meanwhile, a Dhaka court yesterday granted the police six days to interrogate Raju in the attempted murder of Tutul.

DB Inspector Md Bahauddin  PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

Detectives take Abdus Sabur, alleged mastermind of the murder of publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan and the attack on publisher Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury Tutul, to the Detective Branch headquarters in Dhaka yesterday MEHEDI HASAN

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Not even offered a cup of tea Dhaka hands over strong protest letter to Islamabad n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan to Bangladesh Samina Mehtab was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to hand over a strong protest letter on the comment of Islamabad on the execution of Jamaat leader Mir Quasem Ali. Samina Mehtab was summoned

by Additional Secretary of the Foreign Ministry Kamrul Ahsan and he handed over the formal letter to her.

In the 20-minute meeting in the afternoon, she was not even offered a cup of tea.

After the meeting at the Foreign Ministry, Kamrul said Pakistan has no scope to make any comment on the internal affairs of Bangladesh.

The trial process of Mir Quasem Ali was conducted through a transparent manner and Quasem had the opportunity to make an appeal against the verdict and he did that, he said.

The highest court felt that death penalty was the proper punishment for his crime in 1971 and the court handed it over to him, he added.

A press release issued by the

Foreign Ministry said: “In the Note Verbale it was stated that by repeatedly taking the side of those Bangladesh nationals who are convicted of crimes against humanity and genocide, Pakistan has once again acknowledged its direct involvement and complicity with the mass atrocity crimes committed during Bangladesh’s Liberation War in 1971.”

The International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Mir Quasem Ali to death for planning, instigating and executing genocide, murder, and torture among other crimes in Chittagong during the Liberation

War of Bangladesh, the press release said.

The acting high commissioner was reminded that Pakistan continues to present a misleading, limited and partial interpretation of the underlying premise of the Tripartite Agreement of April 1974 which is totally unacceptable to Bangladesh.

She was also reminded that Pakistan had systematically failed in its obligation it owes to the people of Bangladesh and the international community to bring to justice, in compliance with relevant international norms and standards, those

of its nationals identified and held responsible for committing mass atrocity crimes in 1971.

This type of activities is an impediment to the bilateral relations and the acting high commissioner was told to take serious note of the points raised by Bangladesh and bring those to the attention of the competent authorities in Pakistan.

The government of Bangladesh expected that the quarters/authorities in Pakistan would act responsibly and would refrain from continuing such uncalled for statements, the press release said. l

Siam new envoy to the Philippines n UNB The government has appointed Asad Alam Siam as the next ambassador of Bangladesh to the Republic of the Philippines.

Currently, Siam is serving as the chief of protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and will be replacing Maj Gen John Gomes, according to a press release.

Before this he was in charge of the Europe wing at the ministry.

In his diplomatic career, he served as the consul general in Milan, Italy and as the assistant high commissioner in Manchester, UK. He also served in Bangladesh missions in Jakarta and Bangkok. l

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Mastermind As the floodwater in Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj has started to recede, marooned people are coming back to their homes only to find severely damaged houses. Some houses were swept away by the flood into the Padma River. The photo was taken in Godagari upazila, Rajshahi yesterday AZAHAR UDDIN

Bangabandhu’s aide Abdur Rahim passes away n UNB M Abdur Rahim, a member of the constitution formulation committee and a close aide to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, passed away yesterday at the age of 90.

Abdur Rahim, also an organiser of the Liberation War, breathed his last at Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital in Dhaka around 11 am.

He is survived by two sons, four daughters and a host of relatives and well-wishers.

His first namaz-e-janaza was held later yesterday at the South Plaza of Jatiya Sangsad. Later, his body was taken to his home district Dinajpur by a helicopter, according to Dinajpur Awami League leaders.

He was buried at his Jalalpur village home after the second namaze-janaza at Gor-e Shaheed Boro Maidan in the district town and the third janaza at Jalalpur village.

President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed deep shock at his death.

In a condolence message, the president said the nation had lost an eminent politician at his death.

“His death is an irreparable loss to the nation and the country.

The nation will forever remember his contributions to the country’s Liberation War with gratitude,” he said.

In her condolence message, the prime minister said the country had lost a renowned politician, lawyer and social worker, while Awami League had lost a dedicated leader at his death.

“The people of Dinajpur will remember with deep respect the contributions of the renowned leader to the development of the region forever,” she said.

The president and the prime minister also prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed their profound sympathy to the bereaved family members.

The prime minister also placed wreaths at his coffin after his namaz-e-janaza at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban after Asr prayers yesterday. l

Faruqui, also the investigating officer of the case, produced Raju before the court of Dhaka’s Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Kaisarul Islam and prayed for a 10-day remand.

Monirul said that Raju used to motivate the Ansarullah members, mostly youths, in carrying out attacks on atheists. An expert in Arabic language and use of machete, Raju also trained the attackers.

Raju was not present on the scene of blogger Avijit Roy murder but the police have found his involvement in the attacks on Avijit’s publishers. “We can say that he is one of the masterminds of the two attacks,” Monirul said.

After Raju’s arrest, publisher Tutul – now staying abroad – in a Facebook post yesterday urged the law enforcers to find the kingpins, financiers and arms suppliers of the outfit. l

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

Does Quasem’s execution sound Jamaat’s death knell?

N E W S

ANALYSIS n Tanim Ahmed

NEWS

With the execution of 63-yearold Jamaat-e-Islami policy maker Mir Quasem Ali for 1971 war crimes, the “big trials” come to a close.

More than anything else, this execution probably marks the beginning of the end of purging the Jamaat leadership of the taint of criminality and collaboration during the Liberation War.

ANALYSIS

After coordinating for NGO Rabeta Alam al-Islami in 1980, Quasem Ali went on to set up Islami Bank and Ibn Sina Trust.

He has stakes in Keari Group and heads Diganta Media which boasts a newspaper and a television station.

Together, Quasem Ali’s interests span ventures in tourism, telecoms, shipping, pharmaceuticals, real estate, medical education, diagnostic centres, schools, colleges, madrasas and a host of other institutions that virtually sustain Jamaat as an organisation not just through finance but also through employment and services.

There is no reason, however, to believe that Jamaat would crumble from the loss of their senior leadership or that its finances would crumble with the execution of an individual.

Loss of a significant financier is an eventuality that an organised party like Jamaat would have contemplated and contingencies would almost certainly have been in place for such an eventuality.

As it is in politics, a lot hinges upon the general perception.

It has as much to do with the institution as with the individual. That is perhaps where this execution becomes significant since it brings an end to the trial of the ‘old guards’ of Jamaat.

Quasem Ali was not just instrumental in founding al-Badr during the Liberation War, he proved to be extremely successful in commerce and industry.

His personal success enabled Jamaat to see its financial interests grow and diversify.

Despite efforts against religion-based politics in general and Jamaat-e-Islami in particular, to the extent of banning Jamaat altogether, commercial establishments and financial institutions with pro-Jamaat leanings continue to do business as usual.

And despite the almost cosmetic changes at the top echelons of banks and trusts, there is little to indicate that they have ceased to provide the sustenance for Jamaat as before. l

NEWS ANALYSIS NEWS ANALYSIS QuasemNEWS Ali went DT on to set up Islami

ANALYSIS Bank and Ibn Sina Trust. He has stakes in Keari Group and heads Diganta Media

The war crimes tribunal has so far hanged two assistant secretaries general of Jamaat, Abdul Quader Molla and Mohammad Kamaruzzaman, secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed and Jamaat chief Motiur Rahman Nizami. The spiritual head of the party and former party chief Ghulam Azam, sentenced to 90 years in prison, died in jail.

Although not a frontline politician, Quasem Ali has long been a Jamaat stalwart and was very much a party insider.

Said to be instrumental in founding the al-Badr militia and leading the vigilante group’s activities in Chittagong, Quasem Ali was third within the al-Badr command structure. But those dubious credentials hardly reflected the knack for commerce which Quasem proved later in life.

NEWS ANALYSIS NEWS

Several men are detained by police from in front of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in Dhaka yesterday while they were preparing to launch a rally to protest the execution of Mir Quasem Ali DHAKA TRIBUNE

ANALYSIS

NIKHIL MURDER

Accused Sohel gives confessional statement n Mohammed Afzal Hossain, Tangail

Moslem Uddin alias Sohel, who was arrested for his involvement with the murder of Hindu tailor Nikhil Chandra Joarder at Dubail village under Gopalpur upazila of Tangail, has confessed his involvement with the killing.

Superintendent of Police Md Mahbub Alam said: “Sohel, 22, gave confessional statement before the court of Senior Chief Judicial Magistrate Ashikuzzaman on Sunday.”

He confessed that he along with Rafiqul Hasan, Bike Hasan, who was killed in a gunfight with police in Rajshahi, and a few more people were involved in the killing, the SP added.

Earlier, a team of police led by DB Inspector Ashok Kumar Singha in a drive arrested Sohel, son of Abdul Gani Mia, a resident of Gopalpur upazila of the district, from Elenga Bus Stand area in Kalihati upazila of the district on Saturday evening.

On Sunday morning, police produced him before the court where the gave his confessional statement.

SP Mahbub Alam said: “Sohel was trained by Abdul Hakim Naym, 33, who was killed in Kallyanpur raid in Dhaka on July 25. On April 30, 2016, Nikhil was hacked to death near his workplace. Two cases were filed in the connection. l

Case filed over Sylhet Iskcon temple attack n Tribune Desk

The authorities of an Iskcon temple in Kajalshah area of Sylhet city have filed a case against more than 1,000 people in connection with the attack by Muslim devotees that injured 10 people on Friday.

Temple Principal Gaurango Brahmachari filed the case naming 35 persons and 1,000 unnamed others with Kotwali police on Saturday night following a meeting with the district administration and the police.

In the case, Gaurango also claimed that the attackers had damaged properties worth Tk30 lakh, SI Fazle Azim Patwari said.

The meeting organised to tame the communal strife decided that those detained over the attack would be released and the devotees of both the communities would practice restraint.

Sylhet Metropolitan unit Awami League General Secretary Asad Uddin Ahmed said that they had a fruitful meeting and had been able to quell the tension.

Gaurango on Saturday afternoon, however, claimed that the police were dilly-dallying over registering the case. He also threatened to go to court seeking necessary directives.

He expressed resentment as the police had released some accused identified from CCTV footage.

Meanwhile, the two separate probe bodies formed over the inci-

dent by the administration and the police have been asked to submit reports in one week. The committees also collected footage of the attack from the temple.

According to police, Muslim devotees of different ages attacked the temple with sticks on Friday for playing devotional songs during a competition that coincided with the Jumma prayers. They also threw bricks at the temple from the road and damaged the entrance and an adjacent dental clinic.

The temple authorities were asked to stop the programmes when the prayers are held, police said. Situation was calm after the police went to the spot and fired several blank shots.

The incident took place only two months after a communal tension between Muslim devotees and Hindu worshippers in Gendaria area of Dhaka allegedly over grabbing the land of a temple.

Moreover, Iskcon’s Dinajpur unit President Birendra Nath Roy survived a gun attack on November 30 last year while militants launched bomb and gun attack on an Iskcon temple in the district on December 10.

Since last year, around a dozen Hindu priests and devotees have been killed and several others injured in attacks across the country. Some of the attacks were claimed by militants linked to Islamic State. l

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‘Declare families of war criminals unfit to contest polls’ n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong The activists of Gonojagoron Moncho demanded family members of war criminals be declared unfit for contesting elections.

The demand was made at a programme yesterday after the notorious war criminal Mir Quasem Ali was hanged on Saturday night.

The Chittagong chapter of the Gonojagoron Moncho brought out a jubilant procession from the city’s Cheragi Pahar area after Quasem’s hanging.

The activists of the pro-liberation youths’ platform also demanded that the government confiscate

the sizeable wealth amassed by Mir Quasem Ali, the fourth top leader of Al-Badr. He was hanged for committing war crimes during 1971 War of Liberation in the name of saving Islam and undivided Pakistan.

The activists and organisers of the progressive platform also demanded that the infamous Dalim Hotel, where freedom loving Bangladeshi people were brought in and tortured to death led by Quasem, be acquired for preserving the torture cell as a memorial of Liberation War. Sharif Chowhan and Dr Chandan Das, Chittagong chapter coordinator and member secretary of the platform, Delwar Majumder,

India proposes to install solar street lights in BD n Aminur Rahman Rasel India has proposed to implement a large-scale project of solar street lights in Bangladesh to ensure energy efficiency as well as promote renewable energy, via Energy Efficiency Services Limited.

A delegation of officials from the Indian company and Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Harsh Vardhan Shringla placed the proposal before State Minister for Energy, Power and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid during a meeting at the Secretariat yesterday.

The Indian high commissioner proposed to start a pilot project of installing solar street lights in any particular area using Indian fund.

In reply, Nasrul said Indian authorities could sign a mem-

orandum of understanding (MoU) with the ministry’s Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority in this regard.

The state minister also asked for a trilateral meeting among Bangladesh, India and Bhutan next month to put emphasis on power generation from renewable energy sources.

The Indian high commissioner earlier invited the state minister on behalf of the Energy and Power Ministry of India to a visit to the country on October 3-5. When Nasrul asked to include Bhutan in the discussion, Shringla said a trilateral meeting could be finalised at the October 3 meeting.

Shringla told Nasrul that India would always stay beside Bangladesh to ensure its sustainable development. l

Kazi Nabil: PM trying hard to turn youths into skilled manpower n Touhid Zaman, Jessore Kazi Nabil Ahmed, Awami League lawmaker from Jessore 3 constituency, has said: “Honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is working hard to turn our youth into skilled manpower. Her efforts will be fruitless if students fail to develop themselves as skilled workforce through education.”

He made the remark while addressing a discussion with the principals, vice-principals and the members of board of directors of the colleges under the constituency at Jessore Circuit House on Sunday.

“Eminent personalities of Dhaka congratulated me, as the students of Jessore colleges earned the best results in this year’s Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations, but I know all the credit goes to the teachers, who worked relentlessly to achieve the results,” said the lawmaker.

He would try his level best to develop the infrastructures of the educational institutions in Jessore with limited resources, he assured.

Nabil also expressed his keen interest in working with the people of all walks of life for the development of Jessore. l

presidium member of Khelaghar, recital artist Rashed Hasan, Sunil Dhar, vice president of Chittagong chapter of Udichi and journalist Pritom Das, were present among others, at the programme.

Bangladesh celebrates execution of war criminal Quasem

Hundreds of people from all walks of life yesterday celebrated the long waited justice served after war criminal Mir Quasem Ali was executed on Saturday night.

When news broke of his hanging people from all walks of life across the country including war crimes trial campaigners and ruling party

members came together as justice was finally served.

Different political parties, socio-cultural organisations, and organisations representing freedom fighters expressed their relief with the execution of the war criminal by distributing sweets and bringing out joyous processions.

Just after the execution of the condemned war criminal, Ganajagaran Mancha activists gathered at Shahbagh in Dhaka and brought out a procession.

Meanwhile, ruling party Awami League members and its supporters brought out a joyous procession across the country including

Rangpur, Khagrachari, Jessore and Faridpur. The Dhaka city (North) Awami League members brought out a procession with its general secretary Mohiuddin Ahmed.

Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee members held a joyous procession in Mymenshingh while Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangshad members brought out procession and distributed sweets in Sylhet city.

Convicted war criminal Mir Quasem Ali is the fourth top AlBadr commander executed for crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 Liberation War. He was hanged at Kashimpur Jail 2 on Saturday night. l

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JnU students want confirmation from PM n Rafikul Islam Even though the Minister of Education Nurul Islam Nahid yesterday said that construction of Jagannath University (JnU) dorms in Keraniganj will begin in 2017 the protesting students want direct confirmation from the PM about their housing crisis.

The minister made the announcement at a meeting with a delegation from JnU Teachers’ Association led by its president Dr Kazi Saifuddin at the seminar hall of the Education Ministry.

Secretary of Education Ministry and General Secretary of JnUTA Noor Alom Abdullah were present at the meeting with the education

he hopes the PM will confirm.

The students on Saturday gave the ultimatum to government and university authorities that they want a direct announcement from the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina about solving their housing crisis otherwise they will stage a tougher movement from September 19.

As the part of their movement a human chain will be organized across the country on September 15.

JnU representative of agitating students Imrul Shahed Badhan read out a written statement at a roundtable meeting at Reporters Unity with civil society, on Saturday.

Dhaka University Professor Tanjim Uddin Khan, Economist Anu Mohammad, Barrister Jotirmoy Ba-

minister.

Raisul Islam Nayon, JnU student movement representative said: “The education minister has said the same thing back in 2014 and his promise never materialised, we want a direct statement from the prime minister herself about our housing crisis.”

“We will continue our movement until she confirms publicly that our housing will be located in the vacated premise of the old central jail,” he added.

He also said that they want accommodations for the entire student population which is more than 20,000 students while the proposed plans for the housing crisis only addresses about 1000 students which

rua, Educationist A N Rasheda, Dr Mostaque Ahmed, Journalist Rabin Ahsan and Obaidul Al Noman amongst others were also present at the meeting.

Earlier, students of the university staged demonstration boycotting classes and examinations in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2014 demanding the authorities solve their accommodation crisis after the college turned into a public university in 2005 by passing Jagannath University Act in the parliament.

The proposed project by the education minister is over Tk274 crore.

It is said to be completed by 2020 consisting of a 10 storey dormitory for 1000 students on 25 bigha of

land, the minister also said.

The proposed project will also include a teachers’ housing project, a 17 storey hostel for female students and new land is being sought in Jhilmil and Purbachal area to solve the accommodation crisis.

On August 1 JnU students were again staging demonstrations, boycotting classes and exams demanding their accommodation crisis be solved.

The university authorities had sent a letter to the ministries concerned with a proposal for a multi-storey dormitory, a cultural centre, a research centre and a museum to be constructed at the site of the old jail if the land is allotted to JnU. l

Biman staff jailed for luggage theft n Arifur Rahman Rabbi A Bangladesh Biman staff has been jailed for a year after he was caught stealing from a luggage at the Shahjalal International Airport.

Members of the Armed Police Battalion (APBN) manning the CCTV monitors at the airport noticed Biman security guard Saddam Hossain sneaking out a tablet PC and two mobile phones from a bag in the Lost and Found Department yesterday morning.

Police detained Saddam and found the goods in his possession, said Assistant Superintendent Tanjina Akhter of Airport Armed Police.

Executive Magistrate Muhammad Yusuf of airport mobile court sentenced him to one year in jail in the evening.

The mobile court also sent a letter to Bangladesh Biman, the national flag carrier, to take necessary steps about his job.

According to court sources APBN member Sajedur Rahman, who spotted Saddam’s act, kept watch on him for about an hour.

Then he spotted him stealing again and rushed from the CCTV room to Lost and Found and caught him red-handed.

The court examined the CCTV footage and took Saddam’s confession.

The magistrate said it was unfortunate that Saddam had stolen from the very luggage he had been assigned to guard.“We have asked the authorities to reward the policeman and take necessary steps about Saddam’s job,” he added. l

Students and general people together form a human chain in Shahbagh, Dhaka yesterday demanding a change of name for the oldest children’s park in Dhaka, which is officially called Shahid Zia Children’s Park MEHEDI HASAN

July sees only 0.56% ADP implementation n UNB

the Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED), only Tk78 crore (0.11%) was spent from the government fund during the first month, while Tk 596 crore (1.49%) in July from project assistance. Besides, Tk 20 crore (0.16%) was spent from the organisation’s own fund during the first month of the current fiscal year.

Out of the 54 ministries and divisions, the IMED figures showed, the Cabinet Division witnessed the highest implementation rate of

Ministries and divisions could utilise only 0.56% of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) allocation in the first month (July) of the current fiscal year spending Tk694 crore.

The ADP implementation is Tk20 crore less than July of the last fiscal year when the expenditure was Tk714 crore with one percent implementation rate.

According to the latest data of

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY

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4.79 % during July, while 27 ministries and divisions could not spend any money in the month.

Out of the top 10 ministries and divisions, the IMED figures revealed that the Power Division spent the highest amount of Tk 455.22 crore (2.44%) in July followed by Local Government Division Tk 58.59 crore (0.33%), Ministry of Railways Tk 51.22 crore (0.58%), Ministry of Primary and Mass Education Tk 18.26 crore (0.24%), Ministry of Housing and Public Works Tk 11.60 Khulna

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YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:42AM

34.6ºC Jessore

25.0ºC Rajarhat

Source: Accuweather/UNB

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crore (0.24%c).

Some 1,365 projects are included in the ADP of the current fiscal year, including 126 technical assistance projects, 7 projects from the Japan Debt Cancellation Fund, 9 from block allocation and 155 projects from the organisation’s own fund.

In May last, the National Economic Council (NEC) approved Tk 110,700 crore for the ADP for the current fiscal year (FY 2016-17), giving top priority to the transport sector. l Sylhet

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Fajr: 5:05am | Zohr: 1:15pm Asr: 5:00pm | Magrib: 6:26pm Esha: 8:15pm Source: Islamic Foundation

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

Most Satkhira roads unfit for transport Most of roads in the district have been lying in dilapidated condition due to lack of repairs and maintenance.

A large portion of Newmarket-Munshiganj Road has turned into dilapidated condition surprisingly within one year after the completion of its repair works.

Around 64 kilometres of the road became unfit for vehicular movement, as gigantic potholes developed at major points.

Firoz Hossain, an auto rickshaw driver, said road accident was the common incident on the road as potholes had developed here and there.

“When it rains, it can be difficult to locate the potholes as it goes under water. So guru-some accidents

occur during rainy season,” he said.

A total of 20 primary schools, 10 secondary schools, seven madrsas, two colleges, a health centre and a family planning office are situated beside the road.

The students of schools and colleges and officers of the institutions alleged that they have to face very hazardous situation on the way due to dilapidated situation of the road.

They alleged that drivers charged money double from them taking the opportunity of the dire situation.

A trucker named Mofizuddin said: “The road is very important to go to other parts of the country from the district town. We have been compelled to use the road amid great danger.”

A bus driver namely Murad Hos-

sain said: “Let alone potholes, even we cannot properly see the vehicles come from opposite direction owing to the dense dust. The road costs around two hours to cross a distance of 20-minute. The road’s sorry state damage machinery and tyres of our vehicles and many people become victim of accident there as well.”

Locals alleged that asphalt and gravel started getting loose just some days after the end of the carpeting and since then its condition on the track of worsening in course of time.

As a result, major and minor accidents became prevalent on the road, even many of them were fatal.

During plying, drivers struggle to keep the control over their vehicles.

Some passengers opined that they used to face dense hazardous

dust and intolerable shaking during passing the road.

According to the local residents, the road also breaks the cars, which may cause accidents. Many people think that this road section needs capital repairs.

The road City College to Satkhira Medical College became unfit for vehicle as the bricks had been washed way with rain water.

27 kilometer path on the Nalta-Shyamnagar Road got damaged due to recent rain and the concern authorities have not taken steps to repair it, alleged locals.

The same situation is of 22 kilometer way of the Satkhira-Ashasuni Road. Though many tourist centres including Eco-tourism were built up in Shyamnagar area, the tourists are

not interested to visit the area due to dilapidated situation of the roads.

Pijush Bawlia, who is working on Sundarbans, said hundred of tourists came to visit Shamnagr Zamindar Bari and the Jahajghata of Raja Protipadhitha. But they express their dissatisfaction about the journey.

Executive Engineer of Roads and Highway Manzurul Karim said the roads in the district got damaged due to recent torrential rain.

A project of Tk16 crore had been sanctioned to repair the roads, he added.

DC Abul Kashem said a budget had been declared for 2016-2017 fiscal year to repair the damaged roads in the district. Repair work of the roads would be started after rainy season, he added. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

n Asaduzzaman, Satkhira

Fire fighters are battling in dousing fire in a garments factory in Ashulia industry area under Savar yesterday

Five sentenced to death for murder Raihanul Islam n Md Akand, Gazipur A court in the district sentenced five persons to death sentence yesterday in a murder case filed in 2008.

The convicts were Yakub Ali, 35, son of Shahadat Ali alias Chadu in Dhirasrom area under city corporation, Hannan alias Hannu, 36, son of Yunuus Ali, Delwar Hossain alias Delu, 36, son of Chan Mia, Monir, 33, son of Badsha Mian, Iqbal Hossain, 33, son of Bedon Mian of the area.

The court also sentenced life term imprisonment to Masum alias Maichha, 28, son of Bacchhu Mian.

According to the pros-

ecution, the miscreants kidnapped Abu Syed, 42, a trader and son of Nurul Islam in Dhirasrom area over previous enmity on June 17, 2008. Later, they tortured him brutally leaving to death and dumped the body in a corn field nearby the Dhirasrom railway station.

On information, police recovered the body on June 18, and sent it to hospital.

The father of the victim filled a case on the day in this connection.

On September 5, police submitted a charge sheet.

In the afternoon, the court led by Judge AKM Enamul handed down the verdict after examining witnesses and records. l

Two bKash agents robbed of Tk15 lakh n Nadim Hossain, Savar

A gang of miscreants shooting two bKash agents snatched Tk15 lakh from them in Jamgora area, Savar, outskirt of the capital, on Sunday afternoon.

Two bKash agents – Shuvo and Jahangir Alam – are now undergoing treatment at National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitaion in Dhaka.

Quoting witnesses police said when the bKash agents reached Jamgora area after collecting money from different areas, a gang of miscreants intercepted them.

When the agents tried to put up resistance, they shot them indiscriminately and left the spot the money.

Officer-in-Charge of Ashulia police station Mohsinul Kadir told the Dhaka Tribune a case had been filed with the police station, although they yet to arrest anyone and recover the money. l

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

LP gas cylinders out of Bogra markets Consumers buying LP gas counting extra money n Nazmul Huda Nasim, Bogra Residents of Bogra are compelled to buy liquefied petroleum (LP) gas cylinders from private companies counting extra money, as the government has stopped supplying the gas for last 15 days after a fire incident at district oil depot.

Dalia Nasreen Rikta, a resident of Bogra town, said: “I need a gas cylinder immediately, but there is no government gas cylinders in the market thus I need to buy private companies’ cylinder with extra price.”

Rashed Sultan Jewel, hailing from Katnarpara area of Bogra town, told The Dhaka Tribune that

after failing to buy BPC’s gas cylinder he had bought a cylinder of Jamuna Company at Tk1000.

“Taking the advantage of the situation, some unscrupulous dealers with the help of Bogra LPG depot officials and gas lifters of Baghabari depot of Sirajganj have started selling expired gas cylinders which may cause serious accident in the residential houses,” said Ahsanur Rashid Dablu, convenor of Rajshahi Divisional LP Gas Distributor Association to Dhaka Tribune.

Dablu alleged that Bogra LPG depot officials were plotting a conspiracy to close the depot so that a gas lifter syndicate might get bene-

fit from the crisis of gas.

Despite several alerts about the adverse effect of expired cylinders, state owned Padma, Meghna and Jamuna oil companies had continued expired gas cylinders supplying to Bogra depot which caused a devastating fire on August 20 at Bogra Depot during unloading gas cylinders from a lorry, Dablu added.

On August 21, around 200 liquefied petroleum gas cylinders of Padma Oil Company Limited exploded during unloading the cylinders from trucks at Sujabad of Shahzadpur.

Following the incident, the BPC ordered to halt gas cylinders supply

from the depot apart getting security pass from Explosive Department.

After BPC’s order to shutdown the Bogra depot, dealers of the area have started bringing cylinders from Baghabari depot in aim to supply in 14 Northern region districts.

Dablu said: “Locals have been buying gas cylinders of Cleanhit, Bashudhara, Jumana, Omera and Total by tk1000 where government’s cylinder’s price is only Tk678 to Tk800.”

“Officials of three state owned companies with the help of gas lifters of Baghabari depot trying to close the Bogra depot,” told Dablu to The Dhaka Tribune.

Officials also pressured dealers

to buy cylinders from Baghabari depot which will cost TK40 lakh extra, alleged Dablu.

He also warned that if authorities do not reopen the depot within very short time then he will take legal actions against the depot officials.

Denying the allegation of giving illegal advantage to the gas lifters, Assistant General Manager of Padma Oil Company of Bogra depot Omar Faruque said: “We have already sent a requisition chart for fire extinguishers to the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) and we will reopen the Bogra depot immediately after getting the required equipments.” l

1 more victim of Chandpur fire dies n Md Ibrahim, Chandpur

One more victim of Chandpur fire incident at an oil storehouse has succumbed to his burn injuries at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, raising the death toll to three.

Masud died while undergoing treatment at the burn unit of DMCH on Sunday, said Prof Dr Shamanta Lal Sen, chief of the burn unit.

Earlier, on Thursday, Raihan, son of the owner of the storehouse, and on Friday, Nur Mohammad, helper of the lorry containing petrol, breathed their last at DMCH. Two more critically injured, including Mizanur Rahman, owner of the godown, are also undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Prof Dr Sen said their condition is not good.

Five people were severely burnt after a fire broke out at an oil godown in Mijibari area of Bangabandhu Road in Chandpur town while unloading petrol from the lorry around 12.30am on Thursday. l

Activists of the Ganajagaran Mancha in Chittagong are having sweets celebrating execution of the death sentence of war criminal Mir Kashem Ali

RABIN CHOWDHURY

Livestock dept hopeful about adequate supply of cattle n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong

Livestock officials and traders are optimistic that there will be no shortage of cattle in the market this Eid in Chittagong.

Some had feared that there would be a shortage of cattle in the market given the recent floods in the north of the country which killed a lot of cattle but livestock officals have assured that this will not be the case.

However cattle traders forecast the cost of livestock will be higher this year because of the rising pric-

es of animal feed.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Dr Md Reajul Huq, district livestock officer, Chittagong assured an adequate supply of cattle this Eid in the city.

Echoing with the livestock official, Oli Ullah, president of Chittagong Cattle Cooperative Association Ltd also said that the cattle markets of Chittagong will not see a supply crisis.

“The sacrificial animals will begin to come to the cattle markets in Chittagong within next few days.

There is a huge demand for lo-

cal cows in Chittagong. The cattle reared in different farms of Chittagong fulfill 30% of the demand while rest is procured from different parts of country like Bogra, Kushtia, Jessore, Faridpur and Chapainawabganj,” said a cattle trader.

According to the district livestock office, there are a total of 302 cattle farms in Chittagong. Besides, there are as many as 3000 farms where cattle are raised by individual farmers particularly for Eid-ul-Azha.

According to the definition of a cattle farm, at least 3 cattle have to be raised for commercial purposes.

The district livestock office estimates that 4,91,750 heads of cattle are currently available in Chittagong for sacrificial purposes.

According to the data provided by livestock officials, as many as 4,92,000 cows were sacrificed last Eid. A total of 4,85,867 and 4,06,000 cows were sacrificed in 2014 and 2013 respectively in Chittagong.

The livestock officers said that this time a total of 272 cattle markets would be set up in Chittagong (259 in 14 upazilas of the district and 13 in the city). Of the total

number, 77 cattle markets are permanent while the rest are makeshift ones.

Chittagong City Corporation authorities said that they had already leased out two permanent and six makeshift cattle markets in the city for Eid-ul-Azha.

With the two permanent markets in Sagarika and Bibirhat areas, the makeshift markets are located in the city’s Karnaphuli, Saltgola Rail Crossing, Steel Mill, Komol Mohajon Hat, Patenga City Corporation High School and Postarpar School areas. l

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

SOUTH ASIA

Afghan road crash inferno leaves 38 dead At least 38 people were killed and 28 were injured in Afghanistan after a fuel tanker collided with a passenger bus, causing a massive explosion on Sunday. The incident took place on a major highway connecting the southern province of Kandahar with the capital city of Kabul. Police said authorities could identify only six bodies and the rest were totally burnt.

REUTERS

INDIA

100 Injured in Clashes in Indian Kashmir Around 100 people have been injured as government forces fired tear gas and shotgun pellets to quell thousands of protesters who pelted rocks and burned a government office in the Indian portion of Kashmir. Clashes erupted Sunday when police tried to stop the marchers heading to a village in Shopian district in response to a call from separatist groups challenging India’s sovereignty over Kashmir.

AP

CHINA

China: G20 countries should boost policy coordination China’s President Xi Jinping said on Sunday at the opening of the G20 summit that risks are accumulating in the global economy from high leverage and that countries should take steps to boost trade and investment and avoid protectionism. G20 countries should increase policy coordination and balance supply-side reform and demand management, Xi said during his address. REUTERS

ASIA PACIFIC

Philippine anti-crime crusade death toll hits 2,400 The death toll from Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody anti-crime crusade has passed the 2,400 mark in the less than three months since he took office, police figures showed Sunday. However, the majority of the killings of supposed drug dealers and other criminals were not credited to the police but listed instead as deaths under investigation.

AFP

MIDDLE EAST

Syrian government recaptures areas in Aleppo Syrian government forces and their allies recaptured areas in southwestern Aleppo on Sunday which rebels seized last month, after heavy bombardments and repeated attempts to drive the insurgents back. The areas recaptured included the Weaponry College and the Air Force Technical College in the Ramousah area.

REUTERS

INSIGHT

To Iranian eyes, Kurdish unrest spells Saudi incitement n Reuters, Beirut A decision by a Kurdish opposition group to take up arms against Iranian authorities has senior officials in Tehran worrying that Saudi Arabia is seeking to undermine its stability in a deepening of their regional rivalry.

Riyadh denies the charge. But tension between the two countries is surging, with Saudi Arabia and Iran supporting opposite sides in wars in Syria and Yemen and rival political parties in Iraq and Lebanon. The contest has largely hewed along sectarian lines as mainly Shia Iran and Saudi Arabia, a predominantly Sunni country, vie for influence.

That competition, officials in Tehran worry, has now spread inside their borders, thanks to what they fear is Riyadh’s exploitation of the Islamic Republic’s communal rifts.

They point to clashes -- the first in almost 20 years -- between the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) fighters and Revolutionary Guards in the northwest in June and July that left several dead on both sides.

As fighting escalated, Iranian forces shelled suspected Kurdish military bases in northern Iraq, raising the prospect that the conflict could spread across the border. “(Saudi Arabia) gives money to any anti-revolutionary who comes near the border and says ‘Go carry out operations,’” Mohsen Rezai, the former head of the Revolutionary Guards said after one round of clashes, according to the Tabnak website. “When they ask, ‘Where should we carry out operations?’ they say, ‘It’s not important. We want Iran to become insecure.’”

Iran’s 8 to 10 million Kurdish community is mostly Sunni. In addition to the claims about Saudi funding for Kurdish armed groups, Iranian officials have also accused Riyadh of stirring up trouble among Iran’s other Sunni ethnic minorities like the Baluch in the southeast of the country and Arabs in Iran’s southwest.

The PKDI denies receiving Saudi support. And for their part, Saudi officials deny meddling in Iranian affairs. Riyadh in turn accuses Iran of stirring up trouble amongst its Shi’ite minority, a charge Iranian officials have denied.

Riyadh fears a nuclear deal with world powers signed last year

gives Iran more scope to push its interests internationally by releasing it from many of the sanctions which have crippled its economy.

Alarmed by what it sees as a dangerous spread of Iranian activity overseas, the kingdom no longer relies heavily on Western allies to counter it, and is heightening its own efforts to contain Iranian influence.

Proxy war

Former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al Faisal showed up at a rally in Paris in July of the Mujahedin Khalq Organisation (MKO), the main exiled opposition group seeking to topple the country’s clerical rulers.

While Prince Turki holds no official position, his presence suggests Saudi Arabia has crossed a line in terms of willingness to publicly support Iranian opposition groups.

“The proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran is becoming much more open and much more determined,” said Abbas Milani, the director of the Iranian Studies programme at Stanford University.

The Islamic Republic has had a tense relationship with its Kurdish minority since the revolution in 1979, which would potentially make them an ally of Iran’s rivals, observers say.

The Revolutionary Guard fought Kurdish separatists immediately after the revolution and there have been periodic crackdowns on dissidents within the community since that time.

That tension has led Iranian officials to accuse members of Sunni minority groups, particularly the Kurds, of sympathizing with religious extremists, including Islamic State.

Last week, Iran’s intelligence minister Mahmoud Alavi announced that 1500 Iranian youth had been prevented from joining Islamic State.

“It is a very convenient time to tie any act of persecution of the Sunnis to Islamic State,” said Hadi Ghaemi, the director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

Tension

In early August, Iran executed 20 Kurdish inmates, allegedly Islamists, in the Rajai Shahr prison, ramping up tension between the central government and the Kurdish region of the country.

DISPUTES BETWEEN SAUDI ARABIA AND IRAN Sunni Muslim

AZERBAIJAN

SYRIA TURKEY Alawite (Shia sect)

400km 250 miles

minority government

LEBANON

Sunni-Shia-Christian coalition

Cairo EGYPT

SUDAN

5

Shia Muslim

Tehran

2

IRAN

IRAQ

Shia-led coalition government Persian Gulf Qatif governorate BAHRAIN Shia-majority population 3 QATAR 4 7 Riyadh UAE 1

SAUDI ARABIA

Mecca

ERITREA

6

Sanaa

Mecca result in deaths of 275 Iranian pilgrims. Protesters in Tehran occupy Saudi embassy.

Riyadh cuts diplomatic relations

2 2003: US-led invasion topples

Saddam Hussein and empowers Iraq’s Shia majority. Ousted Baath Party officers form alliance with Al Qaeda in Iraq which leads to rise of so called Islamic State (Daesh)

3 2011: Saudi Arabia and UAE send

2,000 troops to Bahrain to crush mass pro-democracy protests by Shia majority during Arab Spring

YEMEN

Iranian-aligned rebels seize capital, Sanaa, and topple Sunni government

ETHIOPIA 1 1987: Clashes in Muslim holy city of

OMAN

4 2011: Riyadh accuses its Shia

minority, including figurehead cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr of collaborating with Iran. Al-Nimr is charged with “instigating unrest” 5 2012: Saudi Arabia backs rebels fighting to topple Iran’s ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

6 2015: Saudi-led coalition launches

bombing campaign in Yemen against Shia Houthi rebels 2016: Execution of al-Nimr triggers

7 attack on Saudi embassy in Iran.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Sudan, Kuwait and UAE cut diplomatic ties with Iran

Sources: United States Institute of Peace, Pew Research Center

“The timing (of the executions) certainly appears to be sending a message to the Kurdish militant groups and the local Kurdish community,” said Ghaemi. “It’s really punishment of a community to spread fear and intimidation.”

The PDKI, for its part, denies any support from Saudi Arabia and says Kurds have been forced to take up arms because they have no alternative to secure their political rights.

“Our main goal is not to pursue armed clashes,” said Karim Parwizi, a member of the PDKI politburo who is based in Erbil in northern Iraq. “We want to have organizational, political and civil activities.”

The operations by the PDKI come at a time when Kurds across the region appear emboldened: Kurdish armed groups in Syria

have been gaining territory and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq is increasingly distancing itself from the central government in Baghdad.

PDKI members say they have no official ties or shared operations with other Kurdish parties in Iraq, Turkey or Syria.

In mid-August, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani told a high level security delegation from the KRG that border security was a “red line”, according to Mehr News.

The KRG said it would not allow any group to threaten Iran’s border security, but Parwizi from the PDKI said his group had so far not been pressured to stop armed activities at the border, raising the possibility of further clashes. l

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

EXPLAINER

USA

Saints, miracles and Mother Teresa n Tribune International Desk For many of the poor and destitute whom Mother Teresa served, the tiny nun was a living saint. Many at the Vatican would agree, but the Catholic Church nevertheless has a gruelling process to make it official, involving volumes of historical research, the hunt for miracles and teams of experts to weigh the evidence. In Mother Teresa’s case, the process was come to a formal end Sunday when Pope Francis declared the church’s newest saint.

Here’s a look at the process:

How saints are made

The process to find a new saint usually begins in the diocese where he or she lived or died; in Mother Teresa’s case, Kolkata. A postulator - essentially the cheerleader spearheading the project gathers testimony and documentation and presents the case to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints. If the congregation’s experts agree the candidate lived a virtuous life, the case is forwarded to the pope, who signs a decree attesting to the candidate’s heroic virtues.

If the postulator finds someone was healed after praying for the candidate’s intercession, and if the cure cannot be medically explained, the case is presented to the congregation as the possi-

MOTHER TERESA DECLARED A SAINT September 4, 2016

Pope Francis presided over the ceremony in St Peter’s Square, Rome, Sunday

Pope Francis declares Mother Teresa a saint

2015

Credited by the Vatican with healing a Brazilian man of brain tumours (2nd miracle)

Aug 26, 1910

Born in Macedonia to Albanian parents. Baptised Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu

2003

1928

Beatified by Pope John Paul II for helping heal a Bengali woman of cancer (1st miracle)

Becomes a Catholic nun in Ireland as Sister Mary Teresa

1929

September 5, 1997

Starts missionary and charity work in Kolkata, India. Teaches at St Mary’s School for Girls until 1948

October 1950 Founds the Missionaries of Charity order

ble miracle needed for beatification, the first major hurdle in the saint-making process. Panels of doctors, theologians, bishops and cardinals must certify that the cure was instantaneous, complete and lasting - and was due to the intercession of the saintly candidate. If convinced, the congregation sends the case to the pope, who signs a decree saying the candidate can be beatified. A second miracle is needed for the person to be declared a saint.

After scandal, reforming the process

The saint-making process has long been criticised as being expensive, secretive, ripe for abuses and subject to political, financial or theological winds that can push one

Dies in Kolkata

1979

Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

1960s

Opens centres for people with leprosy, dysentry, tuberculosis

candidate to sainthood in record time and leave another languishing for centuries. Pope Francis has raised eyebrows with some rule-breaking beatifications and canonisations, waiving the need for miracles and canonising more people in a single clip - more than 800 15th-century martyrs - than John Paul did in his 26-year pontificate. Francis has also imposed new financial accountability standards on the multimillion-dollar machine after uncovering gross abuses that were subsequently revealed in two books.

From mother to saint Teresa

Why is Mother Teresa a saint? And why is she the icon for Pope Francis’ Holy Year of Mercy? For her admirers, it’s obvious.

“Mother is known throughout the whole world for her works of mercy, recognised by Christians and non-Christians alike,” said Sister Mary Prema Pierick, the current superior general of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity order. “Reflecting about Mother and the life of our mother, we see all the works of mercy - corporal and spiritual - put into action.”

She was not beloved by all, however. She was criticised for the quality of care in her clinics and accused of taking donations from Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier and disgraced American financier Charles Keating.

Francis’ saint

Mother Teresa is most often associated with St John Paul II, who was pope during the heyday of her work. But Pope Francis seems more a pope in her likeness, eschewing the Apostolic Palace for a simple hotel room, focusing his ministry on the most marginal of society and travelling to the peripheries to find lost souls - just as Mother Teresa did. In one of his first public audiences after being elected pope in 2013, Francis said he longed for a “church that is poor and for the poor.” That Francis is crowning his Jubilee Year of Mercy with Teresa’s canonization is evidence that he sees her as the model of the merciful church he envisions. l

Debt: Why it matters in US election n Tribune International Desk

The federal government is borrowing about 1 out of 7 dollars it spends and steadily piling up debt - to the tune of about $14tn held by investors. Over the long term, that threatens the economy and our pocketbooks, reports The Associated Press.

Most economists say rising debt risks crowding out investment and forcing interest rates up, among other problems. At the same time, rapidly growing spending on federal health care programs like Medicare and the drain on Social Security balances caused by the rising tide of baby boomers could squeeze out other spending, on roads, education, the armed forces and more.

It takes spending cuts, tax increases or both to dent the deficit - and presidential leadership.

Lawmakers instead prefer higher spending and tax cuts.

DT

World

Where they stand

Neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump has really focused on the debt.

Trump has promised huge tax cuts that would, in fact, make the debt explode by trillions of dollars over the coming decade, though details are fuzzy. Trump has also shown no interest in curbing expensive benefit programs like Medicare and has actually criticised prior Republican efforts to balance the budget. He also wants big spending increases for veterans, the military and infrastructure projects - even suggesting that the government should take on new debt for such projects because interest rates are so low.

Clinton, by contrast, is proposing tax increases on the wealthy.

But she wouldn’t use the money

to bring down the debt. Instead, she’d turn around and spend it on college tuition subsidies, infrastructure and expansion of President Barack Obama’s health care law. She also wants to get rid of that law’s so-called Cadillac tax on generous employer-provided health plans.

If elected, Clinton is expected to face a hostile GOP-controlled House, making her goal of tax increases for new spending highly unlikely to be achieved, even if Democrats take back the Senate.

Why it matters

Most economists believe that rising debt, especially when measured against the size of the economy, is a serious threat to the long-term economic health of the country. Very low interest rates have made the nation’s debt relatively easy to handle - for now.

But as debt continues to grow, economists fear rising interest rates are inevitable, as the government’s demand to borrow competes with private borrowers needing capital for investments. If debt slows the economy down, tax revenues

would fall and create even more pressure on the budget and raise the possibility of a European-style fiscal crisis. In that event, policymakers might have no choice but tax increases or large benefit cuts.

Then there’s the question of generational fairness. The federal budget is dominated by programs that help the elderly - Medicare and Social Security. Their growth is squeezing programs like education, infrastructure, national parks and scientific research, just to name a few. At the same time, the steadily growing debt, both in nominal terms and when measured against the economy, is a burden that future generations will have to bear.

America’s debt problem can’t be wished away, but there’s little evidence the political system is up to the challenge. Part of the reason is increased polarisation between the parties and an increasingly rancorous atmosphere in Washington.

It’s also true that politicians across the spectrum fear the political consequences of taking the difficult steps required to cut the deficit. That won’t change whoever is elected to succeed Obama. l

Storm Hermine threatens US Northeast Storm Hermine churned off the US Middle Atlantic Coast on Sunday, with forecasters projecting it may regain hurricane strength as it creeps north, spoiling the Labour Day holiday weekend with high winds, soaking rains and surging seas. Authorities up and down the coast have ordered swimmers, surfers and boaters to stay out of treacherous waters.

REUTERS

THE AMERICAS

Shootouts in Mexico border city kill 11 Two highway shootouts between soldiers and suspected drug gang members in a northern border city resulted in 11 dead Saturday, including a bystander caught in the crossfire. The violence in Nuevo Laredo, across from Laredo, Texas, prompted the temporary closure of the highway, which is a major artery for travel and commerce between the US and Mexico.

AP

UK

Britain, Russia to improve strained relations Britain and Russia said on Sunday they hope to improve their relations through dialogue following the first meeting between new British Prime Minister Theresa May and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Relations between London and Moscow have been strained by differences over Ukraine and Syria in addition to Britain’s complaint that flights by long-range Russian bombers near British air space have increased.

REUTERS

EUROPE

Turkey, EU discuss fragile relations Easing EU fears, a senior Turkish official on Saturday said his country would fully implement its part of a deal meant to keep migrants from Europe’s shores even if the European Union refuses to abolish visas for Turkish citizens. The pledge from Europe Minister Omar Celik after his meeting with EU foreign ministers eased immediate concerns that the agreement now crimping the flow of migrants into Europe was in danger.

AP

AFRICA

Boko Haram militants kill 5 in Niger Suspected militants from the Islamist group Boko Haram rode on camels into a village in southeastern Niger and killed five people, Anfani radio station said on Saturday. A militia repulsed the overnight raid in the commune of Toumour, about 75km from the regional capital Diffa.

The attackers burned houses and left others wounded.

REUTERS

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

ANALYSIS

Obama’s Asian pivot leaves new challenges n Tribune International Desk

As Barack Obama embarks on what is likely to be his final trip to Asia as president, attention is returning to what is known as the US “pivot” to the continent launched during his first term, reports The Associated Press.

The policy adjustment aimed to reinforce alliances and shift military assets to a region that has grown in importance alongside the rise of China as a global economic and political power. A look at some of the impacts on different countries in the Asia-Pacific region:

China: Key economic partnership meets regional rivalry

The US shift of focus to Asia has been driven by China’s emergence as a global force and America’s rival in the region. Such frictions have persisted despite an economic relationship that has seen the world’s largest economies and biggest military spenders amass two-way trade of more than $600bn in 2015.

On the military side, the US pivot chiefly involves the reassignment of 60% of the Navy fleet to Asia, the rotation of Marines through Australia and stronger cooperation with the Philippines, mainly as a response to China’s robust assertions of its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea. China has strongly criticised the US approach and pressed ahead with island-building including airstrips, harbors and other infrastructure of potential military use. The US has refused to recognise the new features as islands with sovereign rights and has repeatedly sent warships and planes near them in freedom of navigation missions.

Farther north in the East China Sea, the US has ignored China’s declaration of an aircraft defense identification zone that encompasses islands controlled by American treaty partner Japan. South Korea’s plan to deploy an American missile defense system has also aroused China’s ire, sending relations between Seoul and Beijing to their lowest level in years.

China is also the largest foreign holder of US debt, and by some estimates, Chinese foreign direct investment into the US has started to outstrip the flow of US investment into China.

Philippines: A love-hate relationship

The American pivot to Asia coincided with increasing Philippine insecurity over China’s assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea. The symbiosis sparked an upswing in relations under former President Benigno Aquino III at the same time as ties with Beijing

strained after Chinese ships seized the disputed Scarborough Shoal in 2012. The antagonism worsened when Aquino’s government sued China the following year before an international arbitration tribunal over contested territories.

In 2014, the long-time treaty allies signed a defense pact allowing American forces to temporarily base in designated Philippine military camps. In July this year, the tribunal invalidated China’s vast claims but Beijing dismissed the ruling as a sham.

By then, Aquino has been succeeded by Rodrigo Duterte, who made known his dislike for US policies and its ambassador and announced he will chart an independent foreign policy not dependent on Manila’s former coloniser. While there hasn’t been a sign that he will roll back defense cooperation with the US, Duterte has also refrained from pressing China to comply with the arbitration ruling and has cozied up publicly to Beijing.

Australia: US ally within china’s economic orbit

Australia and the US have increased their military cooperation as part of the pivot, with American Marines now rotating through a training hub in the northern port city of Darwin.

Meanwhile, an Australian army general was appointed to a senior position in the US Army Pacific contingent.

At the same time, Canberra remains strongly committed to its economic relationship with China.

While China’s economic slowdown has reduced its demand for Australian iron ore and other commodities, Chinese companies remain keen investors in the Australian economy.

Wealthy Chinese also spend heavily on Australian higher education, vacations and real estate.

The balance between economic and security interests has not always been easy to maintain. Australia has been supportive of the US freedom of navigation exercises in disputed areas of the South China Sea, and has regularly sent its own air force patrols over the region, drawing anger from Beijing. Yet Australian public opinion remains strongly in favor of close ties with China.

Japan and South Korea: Key allies despite historical differences

Relations between South Korea and Japan, two key US allies in Asia, have seen numerous setbacks in past decades due to bitter rows over history. It appeared the ties had sunk to one of their lowest ebbs following the 2012 inauguration of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who, by taking a more hawkish and nationalistic stance,

In this November 12, 2014 file photo, US President Barack Obama, right, smiles after a group of children waved flags and flowers to cheer him during a welcome ceremony with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China AP raised suspicions in Seoul that he was trying to obscure Japan’s brutal colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

The Obama administration grew increasingly frustrated about the poor relations between its allies, which together host about 80,000 US troops and are critical to Washington’s plans to better deal with a rising China and North Korean threats.

The US worked behind the scenes to bring together Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye for a summit with Obama in March 2014. It resulted in the opening of talks between South Korea and Japan over resolving the issue of South Korean women who were forced into sexual slavery by Japan’s military in World War II. In October 2015, on the sidelines of a trilateral summit that also included China, Park and Abe met for the first formal talks in more than three years. South Korea and Japan two months later reached an agreement for Japan to provide 1 billion yen ($9.9m) to a South Korean foundation established to help support former sex slaves.

Japan: Newly assertive us ally in northeast asia

Like South Korea, Japan is host to a large US military presence, numbering about 50,000 troops at present, and has a formal mutual protection alliance with Washington.

There are concerns in Japan about the US commitment to its defense in light of US budget con-

straints and war fatigue after Iraq and Afghanistan. Specifically, there are questions over what the US would do if China were to attempt to seize control of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea that both countries claim.

Obama and other senior US officials have tamped down those concerns somewhat by publicly reiterating that the US is treaty-bound to defend Japan.

Despite China’s strong objections, the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has also pushed through contentious legislation to loosen post-World War II restrictions on the Japanese military to allow Japan to contribute more to regional defense. Japan has also deepened its security ties with Australia and Southeast Asia.

India: Strengthened ties with an eye to china’s rise

India has seen a major boost in its economic and defense ties with the United States at a time when both countries share concern about China’s rise. The two sides reached a landmark civilian nuclear agreement in 2008, which allowed India to access sensitive technologies and fuels despite never signing the international Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The two countries’ leaders have established warm relations, even as some US lawmakers have criticized the record of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on religious tolerance. Obama has visited India twice and even attended

the country’s annual Republic Day military parade. Modi has traveled four times to the US since taking office in 2014.

India fought a brief but bloody war with China in 1962 and their mutual border remains in dispute.

Like most countries, however, India is reliant on its trade with China and wishes to avoid any moves that might spark a crisis with its northern neighbor.

Vietnam: US pivot brings former enemies closer

While negative opinions toward the US remain among Vietnam’s communist old guard, ties have advanced enormously since the normalisation of diplomatic relations in 1995. Obama’s Asian pivot has dovetailed conveniently with Vietnam’s desire to build relations with powerful allies as a counterweight to China’s influence.

Obama’s personal touch has also given relations a big boost, particularly his May visit that was accompanied by a lifting of a ban on the sale of lethal weapons.

“The Vietnam-US relations have seen long steps forward over the past 21 years from former foes to friends and from friends to partners,” said Tran Viet Thai, deputy director of the Institute of Strategic Studies at Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry.

Although Vietnam continues to buy Russian military equipment and seeks stable ties with China, it views the US as a positive force in its development, Tran said. l

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

TOP STORIES Muhith to discuss foreign workers security with Home, Foreign Ministries Finance Minister AMA Muhith will sit with top officials of Home and Foreign Ministries and Economic Relations Division at the Finance Division auditorium today to ensure security of the people working at the Japan-funded projects. PAGE 13

G20: World economy at risk, warns against protectionism The global economy is being threatened by rising protectionism and risks from highly leveraged financial markets, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the open of a two-day summit of leaders from G20 nations. PAGE 14

Capital market snapshot: Sunday DSE Broad Index

4,557.4

0.2% ▲

Index

1,104.0

0.1% ▲

30 Index

1,747.9

0.2% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk

4,809.9

18.1% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol

118.9

3.3% ▲

All Share Index 13,983.2

0.1% ▲

30 Index

0.1% ▲

CSE

Selected Index

12,691.7 8,512.8

0.1% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk

267.6

27.8% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol

8.4

12.2% ▲

Mobile billboards hit Dhaka streets n Shohel Mamun Moving billboard has taken to the city streets in an effort to digitalise advertising business alongside replacing the traditional ones hanging on raised structures across the metropolitan areas.

Equipped with high resolution LED screens imported from Germany, advertising vehicles will display soundless commercials. Besides, they will also show weather forecasts, traffic updates and traffic rules, thus going for awareness-building moves as well.

Following the decision of removing hoardings from Dhaka streets, a private firm – MAD’AD Digital – took the helm at the advertising business in a digital manner, an all-out alternative initiative to brand company products.

MAD’AD CEO Mohammed Rizwan said advertising trucks will ply across some fixed routes in

Mobile billboard takes to the Dhaka streets on Thursday Dhaka city displaying ads.

The advertisements will also contain informative materials, plus aim at different target clients, he added.

“The mobile commercial initiative will also promote social awareness. The ads will highlight the importance of traffic rules, road safety, putting helmets and buck-

ling seat belts while driving and not driving when tired, planting trees and saving environment, saying no to child labour and so on.”

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader has recently inaugurated the mobile billboard services at the Dhaka Club.

The minister said: “Traditional billboards, banners are not only risky, they ruin the beauty of the city. Therefore, mobile billboard is a good initiative for advertisement and building awareness.”

According to MAD’AD Digital Managing Director Mustaqim Razzxaque: “Business enterprises that will be interested to brand and advertise their products will come into contact with for at least three months. Each company will be awarded a 30 second slot to display their products.”

“The ads vehicles would move 8-10 hours every day and work shifts,” he added. l

Govt subsidy for Food Ministry likely to rise 64% this fiscal year n Asif Showkat Kallol The government is likely to increase subsidy for Food Ministry by over 64% for this fiscal year as it has decided to sell per kg rice at Tk10 to 50 lakh poor families in union levels, official said yesterday.

In 2016-17 fiscal year, the government had allocated Tk1,300 crore for the ministry to sell food

items, including rice, wheat and paddy at lower price compared to the market price.

Once the additional Tk835 crore is approved by the Finance Ministry, the total subsidy will stand at Tk2,135 crore in the revised budget, according to the Food Ministry proposal recently sent to the Finance Ministry for consideration.

The Food Ministry proposal of-

fers to distribute rice at Tk10 per kg in the union areas to the selected 50 lakh destitute families, Tk8.5 a kg in the plain land areas and Tk8 per kg in the remote areas to the dealers.

At present, per kg rice is being sold at Tk36 (coarse) and Tk46 (fine) in the local retail markets.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the rice sale at lower price as part of the

government food friendly programme on September 7 in Chilmari under Kurigram district.

A total 7.5 lakh tonnes of rice have already been allocated for 50 lakh destitute families in rural areas, sources said.

“The programme has been taken to rein in the rise of rice price during September through No  PAGE 13 COLUMN 1

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Business

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

Stocks edge higher in choppy trade n Tribune Business Desk Stocks closed marginally higher amid choppy trading yesterday, extending their gaining streak for the second consecutive session.

The market moved into green and red throughout the entire session as investors played both sides

of the fence. The benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange DSEX rose 8 points to settle at 4,557.

The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, gained marginally over 3 points to 1,747. The DSE Shariah Index witnessed a fractional rise of 0.7 points to 1,104.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange

Selective Category Index CSCX was up 16 points to 8,512.

Trading activities improved as the DSE turnover stood at Tk480 crore, an increase of over 18% over the previous session.

Large cap sectors continued to remain favourite of investors.

Banks moved up almost 1%, led by

Muhith to discuss foreign workers security with Home, Foreign Ministries n Asif Showkat Kallol Finance Minister AMA Muhith will sit with top officials of Home and Foreign Ministries and Economic Relations Division at the Finance Division auditorium today to ensure security of the people working at the Japan-funded projects.

The move came after the Japanese Embassy in Dhaka proposed to deploy their own security forces to ensure security for its project workers. The embassy’s proposal came in response to the seven Japanese killed in terror attack in Gulshan restaurant in July.

Officials in the Finance Division said the embassy

proposed to bring their own security forces but the Home Ministry did not agree with the proposal.

The seven Japanese worked in a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) financed infrastructure development project.

Last week, after a meeting with Japanese Ambassador in Dhaka Masato Watanabe, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said the government has committed to ensuring security of the people working at the sites of the projects being implemented under Japan’s funding.

“I will have a meeting with the home minister to talk about the security issue.

However, they (Japanese)

didn’t specify what sort of security steps should be taken,” said Muhith.

However, Japan has not made any changes to its aid policy towards Bangladesh after seven Japanese were killed.

According to the latest annual report of the Jica, Japan spent $479m on aid projects in Bangladesh between April 2014 and March 2015, including grants. The foreign projects are expected to cost about $6.7 billion. Of which, 80% is to be funded by Japanese government loans.

At present, the Mass Rapid Transit and Matarbari power plant in Cox’s Bazar projects are being implemented under JICA finance. l

Forty eight lucky winners of Huawei’s ‘PlaywithShakib’ offer played cricket with world famous all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan on August 31 at Mirpur Indoor Stadium in Dhaka, said a press release

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

Government subsidy for Food Ministry vember when the price usually remains high,” said Food Minister Qamrul Islam after a meeting of the food monitoring committee at his ministry yesterday. “The food friendly programme will be run five times a year,” he said.

Per tonne of rice is pro-

cured at Tk32,000 from farmer level under the Food Ministry procurement programme in this fiscal year while economic price stands at Tk37,097 per tonne after adding transportation cost, according to the proposal.

Per tonne open mar-

ket sale (OMS) subsidy is amounted to Tk23,597.

According to the Food Ministry data, about 10.99 lakh metric tonnes of food grains were stored in the government granaries as of August 18, but in the same period last year, it was 15.19 lakh tonnes. l

IFIC Bank that rallied over 4%.

Telecommunications also gained nearly 1%, driven by Grameenphone with a rise of over 1%.

Non-banking financial institutions was up 0.7%, food & allied 0.3% and engineering 0.2%. Power and pharmaceuticals closed flat in green.

Lanka Bangla Securities said fi-

nancial sector showed bouncing, supporting the benchmark index to recover some early losses. Of 312 issues traded, 156 closed higher, 156 lower and 52 remained unchanged.

Shahjibazar Power Company Limited was the most-traded share for the second straight session with a turnover worth over Tk54 crore. l

Business

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

G20: World economy at risk, warns against protectionism n Reuters The global economy is being threatened by rising protectionism and risks from highly leveraged financial markets, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the open of a two-day summit of leaders from G20 nations.

His warning yesterday followed bilateral talks with Barack Obama that the U.S. president described as “extremely productive”, but which failed to bring both sides closer on thornier topics such as tensions in the South China Sea. With the summit taking place after Britain’s vote in June to exit the European Union and before the US presidential election in November, observers expect G20 leaders to mount a defense of free trade and globalization and warn against isolationism.

The global economy has arrived “at a crucial juncture”, Xi said, in the face of sluggish demand, volatile financial markets and feeble trade and investment.

“Growth drivers from the previous round of technological progress are gradually fading, while a new round of technological and industrial revolution has yet to gain momentum,” he said.

G20 countries are set to agree in a communique at the end of the summit that all policy measures - including monetary, fiscal and structural reforms - should be used to achieve solid and sustainable economic growth, Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda said.

“Commitment will be made to utilizing all three policy tools of monetary and fiscal policies and structural reforms to achieve solid, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth,” Hagiuda told reporters on the sidelines of the summit.

Xi also called on G20 countries to match their words with actions.

US President Barack Obama attends the opening ceremony of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou “We should turn the G20 group into an action team, instead of a talk shop,” he said.

But some of the G20 leaders have begun drawing battle lines in disputes over issues ranging from trade and investment to tax policy and industrial overcapacity.

Battle lines

Yesterday, Xi held talks with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and told him he hoped Australia would continue to provide a fair, transparent and predictable policy environment for foreign investors.

China was angered when Australia blocked the A$10bn ($7.7bn) sale of the country’s biggest energy grid to Chinese bidders last month.

China has accused Australia of bowing to protectionist sentiment in blocking the bid for Ausgrid, as well as an earlier one by a China-led consortium to buy cattle company Kid-

man & Co. Beijing has also criticized Australia, a staunch US ally, for running surveillance flights over disputed islands in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said China must set up a mechanism to address its problem of industrial overcapacity, saying it was “unacceptable” the European steel industry had lost so many jobs in recent years.

“Overcapacity is a global problem but there is a particular Chinese element,” he told a news conference.

Britain’s future after its departure from the European Union was also subject to discussion.

Obama reassured Prime Minister May that Britain’s closest political, commercial and military ally would stand by her.

But he did not shrink away from his stance that Brexit was a mistake and that London would not be able to jump the queue to arrange a bi-

REUTERS

lateral trade deal.

Juncker said that if Britain wanted access to the European Union’s common market, it needed to respect the rules of the common market.

Turnbull, meanwhile, said Australia wanted an early free trade agreement with Britain so markets could remain open between them when Britain formally left the European trading bloc.

Late night talks

Obama held talks with Xi on Saturday that ran late into the night.

He urged Beijing to uphold its legal obligations in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, and stressed US commitments to its regional allies. Xi said China would continue to safeguard its sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea. But China is keen to keep the summit focused on economic issues and to prevent other disputes from overshadowing it. l

May warns of ‘difficult times’ for UK economy n AFP, London Prime Minister Theresa May warned of possible “difficult times ahead” for Britain’s economy in an interview screened yesterday as she sought to build post-Brexit trade ties at the G20 summit in China.

Speaking to BBC television, May also ruled out a new general election anytime soon, saying Britain needed stability following June’s referendum vote to pull out of the European Union.

She voiced optimism about the health of Britain’s economy but warned that there could be tough times ahead.

“I’m not going to pretend that it’s all going to be plain sailing,” she said. “I think we must be prepared for the fact that there may be some difficult times ahead. But what I am is optimistic.”

May, who took office in July after David Cameron quit following the referendum, also confirmed Downing Street briefings that she is not intending to call a general election soon.

This is despite the ruling Conservative party having only a small majority in the House of Commons, which could make it hard to pass controversial laws, and Jeremy Corbyn’s deeply divided opposition Labour lagging in opinion polls and holding a leadership contest.

“I’m not going to be calling a snap election,” May said.

“I’ve been very clear that I think we need that period of time, that stability, to be able to deal with the issues that the country is facing and have that election in 2020.”

May is meeting world leaders including US President Barack Obama and China’s Xi Jinping at the G20 summit.

She told the BBC she wanted to “start to scope out” with them how future trade deals would look post-Brexit. l

ECB to hold course as Brexit squalls remain on horizon n AFP, Frankfurt

The European Central Bank, comforted by better-than-expected data since Britain’s vote to quit the EU, will keep drastic monetary policy changes in reserve at a meeting next week, analysts predicted.

President Mario Draghi and the decision-making governing council convene in Frankfurt on Thursday for their regular policy meeting, the second after the June 23 Brexit vote.

The minutes of the July gathering hinted at a September Brexit response, noting “downside risks had clearly increased”, and

stressed the bank’s “capacity and readiness to act”.

But with Britain still uncertain about what deal to seek from its EU partners, there is little sign the eurozone is suffering from the shock referendum result.

Inflation and employment have remained steady, as has the eurozone-wide purchasing managers’ index, while loans to businesses grew by 1.3% in July, according to ECB figures.

One cloud on the horizon was a one-point drop in business confidence across the 19-nation bloc in August, to 103.5 - although it remained above the 100-point

growth/contraction threshold.

“The data we have would not justify any drastic changes,” said Carsten Brzeski, economist at ING Diba bank.

“We don’t have hard data for the third quarter yet. That makes it very difficult for the ECB staff to drastically change its growth forecast,” he added.

“So far at least, the fallout from Brexit is probably smaller than many people had feared,” agreed Ben May, analyst at Capital Economics.

While inflation stagnated in August, and at 0.2% is far short of the ECB’s target of slightly below 2%,

May argued that “by early 2017 it is plausible that inflation could be quite close to target,” thanks largely to energy prices stabilising.

Policymakers stress that many measures announced by the ECB in March - when it lowered interest rates, expanded its quantitative easing programme from 60 to 80bn euros ($90bn) per month and extended it to buy corporate as well as government bonds, and offered banks new cheap loans - have yet to take full effect.

“Our priority is to implement this comprehensive package in the best possible way,” Banque de France governor and ECB council

member Francois Villeroy de Galhau told a Frankfurt banking conference on Wednesday.

“It is powerful, it is efficient, and it is developing in a smooth way.”

Grumbling Germans

But Villeroy de Galhau was addressing an audience increasingly reproachful of the ECB’s ultra-low interest rates.

“Not only banks are suffering, the consequences are fatal for savers and their pensions too,” John Cryan, chief executive of Deutsche Bank Germany’s largest lender - told the gathering, organised by German business daily Handelsblatt. l

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Business

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

Rising oil import costs may become Asia’s growing pain n Reuters A widening gap between Asia’s oil production and demand is creating a growing capital drain for the region and leaving countries vulnerable to global supply disruptions and a sudden surge in oil prices.

Asia’s net oil imports surpassed the total amount of oil consumed in North America in 2015 and are set to rise after producers slashed spending on exploration and production on low oil prices, leaving oilfields at risk of sharp production

declines in the next decade.

Activities across Asia-Pacific to search for energy resources have nearly ground to a halt in the past year while recent exploration finds have struck more natural gas than oil, analysts said.

As Asia’s net imports grow and crude prices recover, the region’s oil import bill is set to climb back above $500bn in 2017 for the first time in three years, calculations based on forecasts by the International Energy Agency and a Reuters crude oil price poll in August showed..

“With demand growth set to continue and outpace declining domestic production, this leaves Asia increasingly vulnerable to rising prices,” said Energy Aspects analyst Virendra Chauhan.

Falling output

The oil price slump since mid2014 had given Asian economies a breather from high import bills.

But oil demand in the Asia-Pacific is expected to grow by 800,000900,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year and next, while the region’s

output could shrink by 240,000330,000 bpd during the same period, Chauhan said.

The gap between oil production and demand has jumped over 30% since 2010 to an estimated 25.7 million bpd in 2016 and is set to grow by another 1.1 million bpd next year. Rising oil prices, however, means the cost could soar by a third in just one year to $566bn.

“We have seen two years in a row in 2015 and 2016 oil investments declining,” International En-

ergy Agency (IEA) chief Fatih Birol said. “This would mean oil security and oil markets may face a challenge as a result of a huge drop in the investments in a very few years in the medium term.”

Producers across the region are struggling, which is not being helped by international oil companies’ capital and expertise leaving the region, said Chauhan.

Consultancy Wood Mackenzie expects Asia’s oil production to fall to 5 million barrels per day in 2025 from 7.6 million bpd in 2016. l

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Fitness

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

Learn to keep promises nReaz Fiem

Y

our new year’s resolution last year was to start working towards a fitter version of yourself. You finally decided to join the gym.

You went to the shopping mall and you got all the necessary clothing and gear to put you in the mood and get you all excited about going to the gym. You also selected a high-end gym with all the equipment needed to build a decent physique.

The first week was good, the second week not bad, but, by the third week, you start feeling a bit demotivated. The end result – you have quit the gym! But the milliondollar question is: why? Let us discuss some of the basic reasons for which the majority of gym goers end up demotivated and giving up altogether.

Reason number 1: Unrealistic expectations This is probably the most important reason behind discontinuing your fitness journey. As a novice lifter, you tend to expect to see results almost immediately. And this is not an uncommon mindset in today’s fast paced world. Having been used to instant gratification in almost every other arena, we also start expecting to get a fabulous physique in no time at all. Fortunately, are are still some things left in this world that we can only achieve through hard work and dedication, and this is one of those. It’s not something you can buy. Therefore, whether your goal is burning some unwanted body fat or gaining some muscle mass, you have to be patient. By being patient, you can be consistent, and we all know consistency shows results.

Reason number 2: Unplanned diets It is true that if you are not a professional body builder, you do not need to meticulously maintain a diet. However, this does not mean joining a gym and pumping some iron gives you the freedom to eat whatever you want. It is essential to find out the right amount of calories you need and then eat within that range to see results. Unless you do that, going to the gym only, will show inconsistent results.

Hence, it is most likely that at one point in time, you will inevitably say the infamous words: “I quit.”

Therefore, proceed logically, eat enough to perform daily activities and gym work and avoid overeating in every occasion.

Photo: Bigstock

Start slow. Go to the gym or even workout at home at least twice a week to begin with, then, with time, increase your intensity

Reason number 3: Focusing too much on others in the gym Sadly, we fail to see our progress when we admire somebody else way too much in the gym. In nine out of 10 cases, we tend to overlook what we were and what we have achieved so far. Instead, we tend to look at others in the gym and begin comparing, which is a sure way to start getting demotivating thoughts creep in.

In such cases, we should instantly snap out of the comparison mode, and rather ask ourselves: “Who are we looking at?” The person with whom we are comparing can be an experienced lifter, has a disciplined lifestyle, knows

the workout form better, etc.

Therefore, let us rather be hopeful, we can actually be happy with the fact that if we work hard and stay dedicated, then we can be an achiever like the person we admire in the gym.

Reason number 4: Feeling lazy This was not your first promise to get into fitness. You’ve probably made such promises to yourself at least a hundred time before.

But, as already mentioned earlier, without dedication, a fit lifestyle will remain only a dream – never to become reality. You have to take that initiative. One great solution to this problem is to

take the journey on a step-bystep basis. Start slow. Go to the gym or even workout at home at least twice a week to begin with, then, with time, increase your intensity. Another important step can be to start going to the gym with a buddy, someone who will motivate you towards fitness and vice versa.

Reason number 5: Improper objectives If your objectives are temporary, so too will be your results. In most cases, people tend to take up fitness regimens to impress members of the opposite sex.

We all love attention and if it is

coming from the other side it is even better. However, after a while, the trials and tribulations of regular life kick in, and we the initial motivation we had towards fitness. But think twice. Firstly, any fitness incentive should never be done with the intention to impress someone. Rather, think in the long term, and aim towards staying fit in your old age so that you never are a burden to anyone.

Think of fitness as an investment to cut down on unwanted medicine and medical bills.

So, readers, if you’ve given up working out for any of the reasons mentioned above, you should rethink. Remember, it’s your health, academic results and prayers that cannot be shared and thus you have work hard to achieve your own!

Reaz Mahmud Fiem is a fitness enthusiast who wishes to help people stay healthy

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DT

Education

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

With an overall acceptance rate of 6.04%, Columbia is the third-most selective American college after Stanford and Harvard

University Review:

The IVY in NYC This is the second in a five-part review series of top US and UK-based universities

nSajid Amit

C

olumbia University ought to be introduced, first and foremost, as President Barack Obama’s alma mater. Established in 1754

by George II of Great Britain, Columbia is one of the oldest, largest and most dynamic Ivy League institutions, encompassing 20 individual schools, including the undergraduate liberal arts college, School of Engineering, Business, Medicine, Architecture, Dentistry, Social Work, Journalism, Public Health, Teaching, Law and Arts.

Columbia has much to offer to Bangladeshi students. In fact, Columbia has long taken several Bangladeshi students in its undergraduate degree program, business school, engineering school, school of architecture, and above all, its policy school, the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) which trains

students for a career in diplomacy and policy administration.

Columbia also has a very visible club for Bangladeshi students called Club Bangla.

Situated in Manhattan, the financial, business, and some would say, the artistic capital of the world (no offense, Francophiles!), the university’s location in a scenic neighbourhood called Morningside Heights, means that the campus has a flourishing eco-system of businesses, bookstores, cafes, restaurants, stores, parks, lakes, and a variety of other recreational facilities in walking distance.

Columbia is a racially diverse school with over 50% students identifying themselves as persons of colour, about 40% identifying themselves as minority, 28% born outside of the United States, and 26% with a family income below US$60,000, making it one of the most socio-economically diverse colleges in the US. There

is a spirit of activism on campus and students are empowered by the administration and faculty to pursue activism through formal and informal channels. Overall, such demographic realities translate to Bangladeshi and other foreign students finding it relatively easier to adapt to Columbia than many other universities in the West.

There is no mistaking that this is a very selective college.

With an overall acceptance rate of 6.04%, Columbia is the thirdmost selective American college after Stanford and Harvard. After all, the campus is the first North American site where the uranium atom was split, the birthplace of FM Radio and the Laser, and the alma mater for Theodore and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Barack Obama, Madeleine Albright, Alan Greenspan, Dr B R Ambedkar, Warren Buffett, Vikram Pandit, Milton Friedman, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Isaac Asimov, in

addition to 82 Nobel Laureates, 26 Foreign Heads of State, 3 US Presidents, 123 Pulitzer Prize Winners, 16 current CEOs of Fortune 500 Companies, 3 of the 25 richest Americans, 20 Billionaires, and Five Founding Fathers of the US. So what does a Bangladeshi applicant to Columbia do to increase his or her chances of getting in? Are good SAT scores, a strong personal statement, recommendations, and high school transcript enough? Do O’ and A’ Level grades count? What else does one need to do?

Of course, you need to check all the above boxes to get your foot in the door. Your SAT scores need to be solid, usually well above 700 in each of the three components.

Since you will be an international student, the Writing score will matter much more. In fact, getting into Columbia without taking your SAT II’s is unheard of, and combination of Math, Physics or any other science subject, and Writing is your best bet.

Your college application essay should bear in mind Columbia’s values and the internationalist perspective it has adopted. So if you are an applicant, you would do well to illustrate how well you understand your country, your own ambitions (however embryonic), how you intend to

use the Columbia learning for the benefit of your country, and so forth. Lastly, your O’s and A’s will count much more for Columbia than for other Ivies, especially because their admissions office, given their internationalist commitment, is well-versed with O’s and A’s.

Last but not least, Columbia likes its applicants to know about Columbia. It has a vaunted Core Curriculum program that Columbia takes very seriously, and you would be well-advised to understand it and how you relate to the components of it – in particular – courses on ethics, humanities, literature, and classics. The Core Curriculum reading list is available online and you would do well to glance at it before you apply. l

Sajid Amit is Director, CES, University of Liberal Arts (ULAB). He is an alumnus of Dartmouth College, SOAS University of London, and Columbia University.

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Feature

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

Inside the pressure world of Chinese startups

T

he startup culture in China requires long working hours from the employees. It is the way of life in China regardless of which industry it is. According to a research from Beijing Normal University, each year Chinese workers record an average of 2,000-2,200 working hours. In the United States, the record is 1,790 hours per year, 1419 hours in Netherlands, 1371 hours in Germany, and even in Japan, it is 1,719 hours per year. The Chinese government has also started noticing these intense working hours. Labour laws are not effectively protecting worker’s right and ‘death caused by overwork’ is now a reality in China.

Startups have lots of things to do and the number of employees is relatively low. Each of them is assigned with more responsibilities. All of them want to finish the work before leaving the office. So they frequently log in long hours, from 9:30am to 9:30pm. But employees are usually dedicated from within for these long hours. They get the flexibility of longer breaks in lunch and dinner. Also, there are lounges with Foosball and Xbox, and other indoor games. They can also dress casually, wearing t-shirts, shorts, and tennis shoes.

Some startups have a small loft with beds or bunks for employees to take naps during the day or stay at nights. There are music breaks, instruments, and fridges stocked with drinks and snacks. Office cooks are available for making food for the employees. Late night snacks at 10 pm are also the culture of many Chinese startups.

The thing about most Chinese startups is that their business models are not based on a unique idea, but one derived from somewhere else. As a result, they

have ways to compete- on cost and speed. While you compete on low cost and speed, you have no other way but to on a 24-7, 365 (day) culture. Chinese employees have almost lost a work-life balance.

Their job has become their lives.

Many of them are relocating to cities where they have no family or friends so they get to stay late at the office and make extra money.

In the work breaks, they get to enjoy speedy wifi, video games, and free meals. And that’s exactly what they do when they go home.

So now they prefer staying at offices, it became their lifestyle.

Although there are certain

| event |

A promising fair to enrich On September 2, Grassroots, a bottom-up women entrepreneur society has organised a fair called “Porjoton, shasthyo o hostoshilpo,” for the first time, at Muhammad Ali Gymnasium Hall to foster the development of women and enrich Bangladesh’s tourism.

Dedicated to the concerns of tourism, health, and handicrafts, the fair was inaugurated by Md

Shahidul Islam Chowdhury, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Sylhet.

Female entrepreneurs from Dhaka, Comilla, Barisal, Hobiganj, and from India and Nepal, also attended the inaugural programme. With 55 stalls, the fair will remain open for the visitors from 10am to 9pm till September 10. l

Many of them are relocating to cities where they have no family or friends so they get to stay late at the office and make extra money

downsides to living in the office: productivity is reduced as there is a tendency at many startups for workers to put in face time staying late just to be seen staying late.

The other problem is fatigue, as employees can’t be highly efficient if they are sleep-deprived. But in all cases, the key is to find the right balance. Employees need to be

motivated and they now require more ownership in the company and a work culture they believe in. Young people are drawn to the thrills of a start-up and want the excitement of building something from the scratch. As a result, 60-70 hours of work per week might just be what’s required. l

Article reprinted under special arrangement with SD Asia.com

19

DT

Biz Info

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

| debate competition |

| opening |

Road to championship

Apex opens new outlet in Robindro Sarani, Uttara

The finale of the Inter-university debate competition and prize giving ceremony was jointly organised by the Literature and

Debating clubs of Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP).

It was held yesterday, at the university’s premises. Among 36

teams from 13 universities across the country, Dhaka University’s ‘Group of Debaters -1’ and ‘IBA-1’ secured their positions as the finalists. However, the championship was achieved by ‘Group of Debaters -1.’

Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, Pro-Vice Chancellor, BUP; and special guest Wali-ur Rahman, Chairman, Bangladesh Heritage Foundation, distributed prizes among the winners. The students and administrative officials from various universities were present at the ceremony. l

In its pursuit to provide high quality footwear to its valued customers, Apex has opened a new store located in Robindro Sarani, Uttara. The outlet has been designed to enhance customer experience and assuring they have a memorable one, when visiting the store.

The stores ensures a diverse collection of shoes, sandals, and accessories from all of Apex’s brands. Through its nine in-house and one international brand, the company provides footwear solutions in various categories to its diverse consumer base ensuring

that there is something that’s just right for each individual. The store has a wide collection of designs from each of Apex’s brands, Venturini, Apex, Sprint, Maverick, Moochie, Nino Rossi, Sandra Rosa, Twinkler, SchoolSmart, and Dr Mauch.

The outlet was inaugurated on September 1, by the Syed Nasim Manzur, Managing Director, Syed Gias Hussain, Additional Managing Director of Apex Footwear Limited, along with other senior officials of the organisation and representatives of various print and electronic media.l

| event |

| seminar |

Anti-terrorism and militancy discussion held at UIU

Seminar on anti-terrorism held at BUFT

An anti-terrorism and militancy discussion was held at United International University (UIU) auditorium yesterday. Prof Dr M Rezwan Khan, Vice Chancellor, United International University, presided over the ceremony while Prof Dr Chowdhury

Mofizur Rahman, Pro-Vice Chancellor, UIU, Abdul Latif Sarder, Officer In Charge, Dhanmondi Thana, and Prof Dr Md Abu Saklayen, Proctor, UIU; attended the discussion.

The speakers urged all teachers and guardians to be more

cautious and careful about the students, watch their movements, and also keep them away from bad companies for the sake of an uninterrupted education.

The treasurer, dean, registrar, students, teachers, and guardians were all present at the event. l

BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology (BUFT) organised a seminar on anti-terrorism on September 3, in the BUFT auditorium as per instruction of the Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh and UGC. Muzaffar U Siddique, Founder Chairman, Board of Trustees, BUFT, was present as the chief guest of the program. Reaz-BinMahmood, member of Board of Trustees, BUFT and former Vice President (Finance) of BGMEA, and Salahuddin Ahmed, member of Board of Trustees of BUFT; were present as special guests.

The program was chaired by Professor Dr Nizamuddin Ahmed,

the Vice Chancellor (Designated) of BUFT. Prof Dr Engr Ayub Nabi Khan, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Convener of anti-terrorism monitoring cell of BUFT delivered the welcome speech.

Registrar A N M Rafiqul Alam, all heads of the academic and administrative departments, faculty members, officials, students, and print media persons were present at the event. The program was supervised by the head of logistics, Wg Cdr Shahidullah (Rtd), Kazi Shamsur Rahman, Sr Asst Professor of AMT Dept and Chairperson of the cultural committee, and Atikur Rahman, Deputy Librarian, BUFT.l

DT

20 Editorial

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

TODAY

A real kick to the ball The Bangladesh team and our teenage gladiators have not only given us unbelievable pride in being a football loving nation, but they have also made the path to the game smoother for those who aspire to follow in the footsteps of Krishna, Mousumi, Marzia, and others PAGE 21

How is Nouri alMaliki not in prison?

Nouri al-Maliki allegedly set up a system to funnel US aid funds out of the reconstruction effort and into his own private patronage network

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

PAGE 22

Pride of the nation

H

Youth and its discontents Happiness is a skill. If you do not teach me to be happy with what I have now, I will be left with everything I wanted in life except the simple skill to be happy with it 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.

ow proud the U-16 women’s football team has made us all.

They went head-to-head with Chinese Taipei, and secured a comprehensive 4-2 victory, sealing a place in the final round.

Witnessing our team’s success fuelled by skill and passion has invigorated the nation. These incredibly talented young ladies have brought back the spirit of the beautiful game, free from the usual multi-million dollar contracts and PR stunts we normally see surrounding the sport.

It is in their success that the country can find hope. They are the perfect example of what the youth are capable of, given the proper resources and attention. Donning the national football jersey brings plenty of responsibilities, and an immense amount of pressure. The young girls of our under-16 side have handled that pressure with such grace, and come through victorious.

Their record this season has been unimpeachable. In the last game, even though Taipei started out stronger, Bangladesh did not lose spirit, and came back with a vengeance. Much of this spirit is owed to the deft captaincy of Krishna Rani.

There is much that the rest of the country can learn from this team and their fighting spirit, determination, and focus.

We salute those who made this victory possible, on and off the pitch. But challenges remain in the road ahead. We are full of hope that this team will continue to keep playing as well as they have been playing, and bring home more accolades.

You go, girls! Bangladesh will be cheering for you every step of the way.

There is much that the rest of the country can learn from this team and their fighting spirit, determination, and focus

DT

21

Opinion

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

A real kick to the ball Bangladesh’s dreams of football glory may not be that far away anymore

Football in Bangladesh is alive and kicking

n Towheed Feroze

F

or those who thought that football in our nation was staring into the abyss, there is not only hope but a chance in the near future for us to make history. Only, you have to switch form the men’s game to the women’s one.

That is not a problem at all, because, with the rising popularity of women’s football globally, and thanks to our glorious girls in the under-16 team, in about 15 years we may be switching on the tele to see Bangladesh playing in the Women’s World Cup. Well, who cares if we never manage to play in the men’s equivalent tournament, if our girls can bend it equally well (or better) and wrap the whole nation in euphoria, then let all our support and patronage be for women’s football.

The last 10 days have been a

dream come true for all footballlovers of the country -- we were witness to some of the most emphatic victories by our girls on the field, which, I am sorry to say, cannot be matched by the men.

Ever.

Large-margin victories against the likes of Singapore and Kyrgystan and solid wins against Iran, Chinese Taipei, ranked way ahead of us, are sporting achievements which one can only imagine of.

But the impossible has been acheieved, maybe not by the men but by our women, who often have to overcome a plethora of blinkered social attitudes to take up something like football as a career.

The Bangladesh team and our teenage gladiators have not only given us unbelievable pride in being a football loving nation, but they have also made the path to the game smoother for those who

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

stereotypes. But the village of Kolshindur set the format of success over adversity.

The current Bangladesh U-16 team, which has already sealed a spot in the Asian U-16 final round, adds a layer of tantalising fame over years of hardship plus perseverance.

The talk of the nation is the young team of energetic girls who have shown us all and other participating teams how different they are in skills and standards.

Away from public gaze, women’s football has advanced a lot. So much that, today, many of us are transfixed by the way these girls play on the field.

Sublime tackling, relentless chasing, accurate striking, and the essential never-say-die attitude combine to make a riveting team, bringing back the pride of the red and green jersey, seen so much humiliation in recent times due to the unending debacles of the men’s side.

The recent five-nothing drubbing of the men’s team by Maldives was, to me, the last nail in the coffin. I hear that Bhutan, here to play the men’s side, has expressed emphatically of their desire to win.

So, from the top spots in South Asian football, this is where we stand now.

A long time ago, probably 1989, during the SAF Games in Pakistan, when the Bangladesh contingent was making the pre-tournament march in front of the podium, the commentator said: “Here comes

formidable Asian powerhouse.

For us, though, the pain of the loss in Maldives is subdued by our super-girls who are now the sole bearers of the country’s footballing glory. While we are all showering them with accolades, it has to be remembered that this success should not make us complacent and create a lax approach to the women’s game.

Today it’s the Asian Cup, tomorrow it can be the World Cup -- this forward momentum needs to be carried on with exactly that kind of aspiration.

Let’s go back to 2003.

The Bangladesh mens’ team won the SAF football tournament in Dhaka and, afterwards, amidst widespread celebration, I wrote an op-ed for The Independent asking for cautious celebration without becoming over-confident.

Looking back at the slide of the standard of the mens’ game in the later years, it’s clear that advice did not have any impact.

Today, each of the seven South Asian nations have made great progress, leaving us in the gutter.

Afghanistan, which has played in the region for some time, has moved to another region to play with the better Central Asian teams.

Nevertheless, I will once again air that line for the girls’ side: Let’s not allow this remarkable success to dent our determination. All teams which lost heavily will go on, sit down, and make new plans to improve.

And similarly, we also have to

The Bangladesh team and our teenage gladiators have not only given us unbelievable pride in being a football loving nation, but they have also made the path to the game smoother for those who aspire to follow in the footsteps of Krishna, Mousumi, Marzia, and others

aspire to follow in the footsteps of Krishna, Mousumi, Marzia, and others.

No write-up on women’s football in Bangladesh can ever be complete without a tribute to the Kolshindur village, 80km from Mymensingh, where, about a decade ago, the lives of young girls changed completely when a local school began training a girls’ football team.

The road to success has been strewn with impediments, some financial others rooted in social

Bangladesh with a very strong football team.”

That line rings hollow in 2016, when we have to digest many a pummeling at the hands of Maldives, a side which was once no match for our top club sides.

Of course, hats off to the Maldives football team of today, The Red Snappers, and their gifted captain Ali Ashfaq, arguably the best striker in South Asia right now. May they improve and go beyond this region to become a

strategise to become even better.

We have hope, the game is not dead in Bangladesh. I will pick up my much-admired green and red jersey, dumped in one corner, and wear it with pride whenever I am abroad.

And if someone asks me if this is our cricket jersey, I will say with conviction, “no mate, this is the colour of our women’s football team.” l Towheed Feroze is a journalist currently working in the development sector.

22

DT

Opinion

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

How is Nouri al-Maliki not in prison?

His tenure as Iraq’s prime minister dealt irreparable damage to an already troubled nation various schemes during his eightyear tenure as prime minister, mostly from US companies and tax-payers.

Implosion of political consensus

Why was this man allowed to walk away scot-free?

REUTERS

Nouri al-Maliki allegedly set up a system to funnel US aid funds out of the reconstruction effort and into his own private patronage network, buying the support of just enough followers to keep the gravy train rolling indefinitely

n Azeem Ibrahim

T

he received wisdom in the West is that the US is the main culprit for why Iraq today is a failed state.

And there is certainly plenty, well-documented evidence that the poorly-planned invasion in 2003 had set the scene for years of conflict in the country.

What is less understood is that the military and diplomatic failures of the initial invasion had largely been corrected, at great financial and human cost, through the Surge and the Awakening, by 2008-2009.

The Surge, when the US recommitted itself to bringing

order in the country in the wake of the Sunni-Shia insurgency -- and the Awakening by which many of the militias formerly hostile to the US and the American-backed Baghdad government had been brought around and persuaded to turn their weapons on the rising al-Qaeda elements in the country -- had set the scene for a functional state, and even a working democracy in Iraq.

The real failure, since 2010, has been administrative.

In this, the key culprit has been the Iraqi former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki. Maliki was elevated to the post of prime minister in 2006 by the Americans, as one of the few Shia leaders

of Iraq who would be able to command broad support amongst the diverse demographics of the country.

And indeed, in his first years on the job he had been a major asset. He was key to the success of the initiatives which had brought Iraq to a promising position in 2009-2010. But his commitment, it turns out, was not to a united Iraq.

Apparently, his primary allegiance was to his party, the Shia Islamist Dawa party, and to his own pockets.

As soon as the Americans, now under the pacifist-minded leadership of the Obama administration, looked all set to leave Iraq, Maliki moved in to capture the institutions of the Iraqi state for his Dawa party.

Nouri al-Maliki allegedly set up a system to funnel US aid funds out of the reconstruction effort and into his own private patronage network, buying the support of just enough followers – Shia, but also some Sunni and Kurdish leaders -- to keep the gravy train rolling indefinitely.

Some $500 billion were alleged to have been funnelled off through

Maliki’s twin moves to monopolise the political process in Iraq, while also robbing it of the funds it needed to rebuild, seem to be the key reasons for the implosion of political consensus in the country, and the rise of violent confrontation between diverse groups.

What is more, the chronically under-equipped Iraqi army was so vulnerable to the early advances of ISIS, arguably because the money it had received to buy equipment had largely been siphoned off by Maliki’s cronies.

But while the main blame falls squarely on the corrupt Iraqi political leadership for the catastrophic mismanagement of the country since 2010, the US is not without fault either.

They had been warned by many of those working in the country for the American mission that Maliki was going to squander all the blood and money the US had invested in Iraq, for his own political and financial gain.

Yet, eager to leave Iraq as quickly as possible once it looked remotely stable, the Obama administration failed to heed the warnings.

And, perversely, after all the Bush-era rhetoric about bringing democracy to Iraq, it was the liberal Obama administration which first signalled the catastrophic direction Iraq would take when they decided to stand

by Maliki, despite the charges that he had stolen the March 2010 election, in which he had nominally lost to a moderate, proWestern, multi-ethnic coalition.

However, he apparently managed to coerce the courts to rule in his favour.

In doing so, the US, led by Obama, chose to favour corrupt autocrats for the sake of “stability” over prospects of potentially destabilising democracy.

Except this time, the US has not reaped “stability” from its choices.

It has reaped ISIS. The question that still remains relevant though is the following: How is Nouri alMaliki not in prison? l Azeem Ibrahim is a Research Professor at the Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College and an International Security Lecturer at the University of Chicago. This article first appeared on Al-Arabiya.net.

DT

23

Opinion

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

Youth and its discontents The future of the nation rests on the youth -- but are they really happy?

By the time the youth have everything they wanted, they’re no longer young

n Masrura Oishi

A

few days ago, I got a call from a leading insurance company.

The humble voice on the other line kept playing a broken record, quite to my expectation, and even discussed my retirement plans with me. I spoke to him for 20 long minutes -- I was really interested to know how these guys catch new fish who are in their 20s.

He was good, I must say -- I actually gave it a thought at the day’s end. What was surprising is that my best friend had recommended me to him, who indeed wanted me to get life insurance as she did, who, too, is in her early 20s and is mapping out her retirement plans.

Our brains are programmed from our very childhood to live in the future, because that is what living “smart” means to the society. We are officially the “what’s next?” generation.

We get into a degree, planning our next move to our dream job, and we enter the job market, planning our entrepreneurial exit; the very recent craze.

How many of us with privileged backgrounds are working nine-to-

five today for the need of money?

More of anything good is better than less of that.

“You need to save up! Get a secured career! You need to be someone!” Overdose in whatever nice things you can get your hands on. You’ve got to sponsor your future, your dreams, your grey hair and wrinkled skin.

In the race to become somebody, when was I ever taught to find and explore myself? In the quest for sponsoring the unseen, where did my present go? What do I do to feel good? I hang out with my friends. Do I know if I even like hanging out in those fancy places checking out new food? Or wasting money buying things that actually mean nothing to me? Do I even know how to make an informed choice? Have I ever truly been honest with myself?

Get into a good school, eat well, learn to do math, speak proper English, get good grades, graduate, land a job, get married, have children, settle down by the age of 30 -- perfect pilgrimage for living the Bangladeshi dream.

Talk shows, debates, TV series, YouTube, and Facebook posts have taught me that “choice” should be pursued and “freedom” should be defended.

BIGSTOCK

Happiness is a skill. If you do not teach me to be happy with what I have now, I will be left with everything I wanted in life except the simple skill to be happy with it

My friends come from sound academic backgrounds and all of them are on the right track towards pursuing the dreams they had independently prepared in their late teens (with a generous amount of input from their family).

They are all glowing in their career paths and almost made a brand out of themselves. But there is one problem: They are lost.

They do not see a point in the things that they are doing on autopilot.

Given their above-average intellect, they can self actualise from perspectives where they question their identities, they question that if their dreams were not to make them happy then what were they supposed to do?

This generation is a victim

of societal gambling, a modern Aztec sacrifice made for societal transitions.

Happiness is a skill. If you do not teach me to be happy with what I have now, I will be left with everything I wanted in life except the simple skill to be happy with it.

If you do not teach me to live now, then I will very likely end up living half of my life chasing my future and the rest scraping out my past.

When was I given the chance to think? To pause, breathe, look back, observe and learn? What did you make me write in school when the papers asked: “What is your aim in life?”

Was my chance on inner peace worth those 20 marks? l Masrura Oishi is freelance contributor.

DT

24 Sport

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

‘Football is my worship’

TOP STORIES

n Shishir Hoque Shamsunnahar’s main job is to guard the defence line but the left-back was often seen running around with the ball in the opponents’ terrain, dribbling past defenders of the other side and scoring as many goals as the attackers during the ongoing AFC Under-16 Women’s Championship 2017 Qualifiers.

The amazing display as well as the sheer dominance of the young Bangladesh girls may have prompted Shamsunnahar to roam freely around the opponents’ territory. And going by her performance against Chinese Taipei on Saturday, she was quite successful in her pursuit.

The 13-year old defender is one of nine players in the current 23-member squad who hails from Kolsindur, a remote village in Mymensingh near the Indian border.

She is one of the disciples of Mofiz Sir so the grooming with the other teammates started quite a while ago.

Daughter of Mohammad Miraj Uddin, a fishmonger, Shamsunnahar reads in class seven in the Kolsindur Higher Secondary School. She was a member of Bangladesh’s title-winning squad in the AFC U-14 Girls’ Regional (South and Central) Championship in Nepal and Tajikistan.

She was also a part of the women’s national team in the South Asian Games in India this year.

Golam Rabbani Choton termed the young defender as “one of the

PM distributes sports awards for 2010-12 Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday handed over the National Sports Awards for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012 among 32 sportspersons and organisers for their contributions to their respective fields of sports. PAGE 26

Coleman: Bale primed for Wales return

Australia beat SL, win ODI series 4-1 Skipper David Warner’s fluent century and a disciplined bowling effort powered Australia to a five-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the fifth one-day international in Pallekele as the visitors took the series 4-1 yesterday. PAGE 27

Ventura confident Italy will bounce back New Italy coach Giampiero Ventura said he was unconcerned

by Thursday’s home defeat to France ahead of his team’s opening World Cup qualifier in Israel today.

The 2006 World Cup champions slumped to a 3-1 defeat in Bari on Thursday. PAGE 28

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Real Madrid’s talismanic forward Gareth Bale takes his first step on the road to World Cup qualification with Wales against Moldova today and manager Chris Coleman believes he is still getting better. PAGE 26

best left-backs” he has ever seen in Bangladesh women’s football and also made her the first-choice to take a penalty.

The rest as they say is history as Shamsunnahar took three penalties in the qualifiers, and converted all of them.

“We are preparing for a long time and worked hard. The coach instructed me where to shoot and when not to. I took extra preparation in spot-kicks and I managed to convert three penalties successfully,” said Shamsunnahar yesterday.

One of Shamsunnahar’s great trait is that she can take shots from long range and keep them on target. She netted a spectacular goal against Kyrgyzstan with a strike from 35 yards out. With four goals from as many matches, she is jointly the second highest scorer among her teammates.

Like many of the girls in the squad, Shamsunnahar is also straightforward while talking to others. The determination and dedication which helped them to move forward in the last couple of years were evident in her eyes and words. Football is more than a game for her.

“Football is like worship to me.

I only know I must play football and give everything that is inside of me. I want to do something for Bangladesh. I dream of playing in the World Cup someday,” said the 13-year old. This is something that no player from the senior men’s team has even dared to utter. l

Who will the girls be facing? n Tribune Report With the Bangladesh girls securing their place in the AFC Under-16 Women’s Championship 2017, the interest is now down to who will the young girls be playing against in the final round, scheduled to be held in Thailand in September.

And what exactly is the tournament all about?

The tournament, from which the top three teams will qualify for the Fifa U-17 Women’s World Cup, was first introduced 11 years ago in 2005. Hosted by South Korea, a total of 11 countries took part in what initially was a U-17 competition without qualifying stage. Japan emerged as the champions in the inaugural edition.

The tournament switched to U-16 format in the second edition

two years later and the number of participating teams was reduced to eight. The qualification round was introduced in 2009 and according to the current regulations, the top four teams from the competition automatically qualify for the final round. The remaining four teams earn their places through qualification.

North Korea, Japan, China and Thailand finished as the champions, runners-up, third and fourth respectively in the last edition of the tournament, held in China last year. Consequently, the four sides achieved automatic qualification for next year’s final round.

This time around, a total of 22 nations, split into four groups, are fighting for the final round and only the group champions will join North Korea, Japan, China

and Thailand.

Only two teams have so far qualified for the final round with a game in hand; Australia from Group D and Bangladesh from Group C. Laos and South Korea are likely to qualify from Group A and B respectively.

The Bangladesh girls may not face opponents of the same quality in the final round as they did in the qualifiers but they have a year to take the best preparation available. The good thing is that all of the players in the current squad will be eligible to play in the final round.

“If we have to perform well there we have to start planning from now. Only training might not be enough, we have to play more practice matches against strong sides,” said Bangladesh U-16

women’s head coach Golam Rabbani Choton yesterday.

“North Korea are currently one of the best teams in the world.

Japan and Australia are also very strong. If we want to do something respectable in the final round, we have to play friendly matches against teams of their quality.

Hopefully the authority will give priority regarding our preparation for the final round,” he added.

There has been slight confusion as to which team will host the next edition of the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship next year as many, having followed a Wikipedia source, reported it to be China. The Asian Football Confederation however, announced yesterday that the tournament will be held in Bangkok, Thailand from September 2, 2017. l

25

DT

Sport

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

PM distributes sports awards for 2010-12 n UNB

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina hands over the 2012 National Sports Award to cricketer Shakib al Hasan at Osmani Memorial Auditorium yesterday BSS

NCL in place of BCL this month n Tribune Report Bangladesh Cricket Board has amended its plan and decided to hold the National Cricket League in place of the franchise-based first-class tournament Bangladesh Cricket League. BCB’s cricket operations committee chairman Akram Khan informed that the NCL will begin from September 25.

Earlier, concerns were raised by the franchises regarding the availability of the national cricketers.

Initially, the national cricketers were set to play the BCL, which was scheduled to begin on September 20.

But the sudden plan by the board to host Afghanistan for three ODIs, starting later this month, ruled out the national cricketers from participating in the tournament.

“We have decided (yesterday) to hold the NCL from September 25. The matches will be played in Rajshahi, Khulna, Bogra, Fatullah and BKSP. We will think and try to find a slot for the cancelled BCL after the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20,” said Akram.

“The BCL franchises were not interested in participating without the national cricketers. So keeping that in mind, we decided to postpone BCL and hold NCL instead,” he added.

There was also an issue with Prime Bank South Zone, one of the four BCL franchises, after they declared that they would not participate in the competition this season. The franchise said it would not be possible for them to finance the team twice in a year. The last edition of the tournament was held in January this year. l

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday handed over the National Sports Awards for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012 among 32 sportspersons and organisers for their contributions to their respective fields of sports.

The award distribution ceremony was held at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital. Renowned sportsman, organiser and founder of Abahani Limited Shaheed Sheikh Kamal has been given posthumous award for the year 2011.

The award recipients for the year 2010 are Harun-ur-Rashid (Swimming), Atiqur Rahman (Shooting), Mahmuda Begum, (Athletics), Dewan Nazrul Hossan (Gymnastics), Mizanur Rahman Manu (Organiser), ASM Ali Kabir (Organiser), Takbir Hossain (Swimming), Farid

Khan Chowdhury, Nelly Jesmin (Athletics) and Nipa Bose (Athletics-Mentally Challenged).

The recipients for the year 2011 are Rowshan Ara Chobi (Gymnastics), Kanchan Ali (Boxing), Ashraf Ali (Wrestling), Helena Khan Iva (Volleyball), Khaled Mashud Pilot (Cricket), Rabiul Islam Fatik Dutta (Bodybuilding), Jumman Lusai (Hockey), Kutubuddin Ahmed Chowdhury Aksir (Organiser), Ashiqur Rahman Miku (Organiser) and Sheikh Kamal (Sportsman/Sports organiser).

The award recipients for the year 2012 are Shakib Al Hasan (Cricket), Mohammad Mohsin, Khurshid Alam Babul, Abdul Gaffar, Ashish Bhadra, Satyajit Das Rupu (Football), Firoza Khatun (Athletics), Nazia Akhter Joyti (Badminton), Mamun-ur-Rashid (Hockey), Nurul Alam Chowdhury and Kazi Rajibuddin Ahmed Chapal (Organiser).l

Walsh’s hunt for Bangladeshi Ambrose begins n Mazhar Uddin

Bangladesh’s new bowling coach Courtney Walsh was an eagerly awaited figure in Dhaka this week, so much so that 30-odd journalists showed up at the airport on Saturday night just for a glimpse of the bowling giant.

When he came to the Sher-eBangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday afternoon, it showed that he hardly lost his elegance. Flanked

by Bangladesh Cricket Board CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury and media manager Rabeed Imam, Walsh was clad in a biscuit-coloured suit.

The 53-year old spoke calmly and after completing the 15-minute question-and-answer session, he went to the BCB president’s personal office in Dhanmondi.

Here are the excerpts of the press conference below:

good success cricket.”

for

Bangladesh

About his plans with Bangladeshi fast bowlers

“I will first try to get to know the individuals as best as I can. I will also be imparting my knowledge to them. Finding out how they want to improve their game, and know their aim and objective. I will try to encourage that it is a two-way street. We can practice different skill-sets and levels of commitment. At the end of the day, what excites me is what the team benefits from.”

About current Bangladeshi fast

bowlers

I am very excited with some of the young Bangladeshi fast bowlers.

They have improved, and if I can help them a little bit more, that’s the key. I will be happy if the team is benefiting from their improvement. I will strive for consistency and hard work.”

His message to the Bangladeshi players

“One thing that I want to pass on to the Bangladeshi guys is that you have to be strong and be prepared for hard work, maintain consistency. If we can work hand in hand with those two, we will be headed in the right path. It won’t happen

About BCB’s offer

“It was something that I had to think twice about. I remember when (BCB CEO) Nizam got in touch with me and said they were interested, I said let me think about it. We went back and forth but when he said you are our No 1 target, that was something that I gave it a serious consideration. It showed that they wanted take the cricket to another level.

“We started the chat from there and I am here. I want to thank Nizam for letting me know that I was their No 1 target. He said the president wanted to ensure that I was here. I arrived here last night to do the best I can for Bangladesh cricket working with the head coach (Chandika Hathurusingha).

Together we can achieve some

overnight. We have to put in some ground work. Once we get the basics right, you will see a lot of improvement and consistency.”

His role as mentor

“I don’t see myself too much as a coach as I see myself as a mentor. I have always been involved in cricket be it in Gloucestershire, Jamaica or the West Indies. I have always tried to get couple of fast bowlers under my wing to mentor. Curtly Ambrose was one of them. So if I can get a second Ambrose from Bangladesh, I will be happy. When he came into the team, he looked up to me. We formed one of the best striking partnerships in world cricket. If I can pass that to any two Bangladeshi fast bowlers, I will be very happy. I will work with them as a coach, and also as father figure and mentor. I can help them relive some of the situations they might find themselves into. A player can sometimes help you get out of it.

I remember Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding and Joel Garner.

When I just started, that’s what they did for me. I hope to pass that on to the Bangladesh team.”

On Greenidge

Bangladesh’s newly-appointed bowling coach Courtney Walsh addresses the media at Mirpur’s SBNS yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

“I didn’t get a chance to speak to Gordon because I actually went away to play a game for Sir Garry.

He was in England. We have spoken by media but not personally. But beforehand, I used to quiz him about Bangladesh and he was happy to be a part of this. That would help me as well. I am trying to speak to him.

I am hoping that next time I speak to him, he will be happy with the state of Bangladesh cricket and the direction it is headed.” l

DT

26

Sport

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

Serena speeds through as Wawrinka, Murray battle into US Open last 16 n AFP, New York Serena Williams sped past another milestone Saturday en route to the US Open fourth round as men’s contenders Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka clawed their way into the last 16.

World number one Williams dominated Sweden’s Johanna Larsson 6-2, 6-1 to surpass Martina Navratilova for most Grand Slam wins by a woman with 307.

Not only has she surpassed Navratilova, she matched Roger Federer’s mark for men.

In the one hour it took to subdue Larsson, Williams again appeared untroubled by the shoulder injury that has slowed her since her Wimbledon triumph.

While Williams encountered little resistance, it was another story for the top men’s seeds in action.

Wawrinka, a two-time Grand Slam winner and twice a semi-finalist in New York, had the closest call, saving a match point in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (10/8), 6-2 victory over Britain’s Dan Evans.

The 31-year-old third seed saved the match point at 5/6 in the fourth set tiebreaker, breaking the will of his 64th-ranked opponent.

Many of Murray’s troubles against Paolo Lorenzi were of his own making as he allowed the energetic Italian journeyman to make him look ordinary through two sets

Holders Ivory Coast book place at Cup finals n Reuters, Johannesburg Holders Ivory Coast booked their place in next year’s African Nations Cup finals as Jonathan Kodjia scored a spectacular goal to secure a draw against Sierra Leone in Bouake on Saturday. Kodija, who signed for Aston Villa this week before taking his place in the starting line-up for the African champions, netted the first goal in a 1-1 draw for the Ivorians, who needed a point to book their place in the finals. They had a nervy passage, however, as American-based striker Kei Kamara equalised in the 66th minute and had a header cleared off the line by Eric Bailly with the last touch of the game. A win would have handed Sierra Leone a return to the Nations Cup finals for the first time in two decades. The Ivorians were the 11th country to book their place at the tournament in Gabon in January.

The final five slots will be decided yesterday. l

Serena Williams of US serves to Johanna Larsson of Sweden during their 2016 US Open women’s singles match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre in New York on Saturday AFP before pulling himself together to win 7-6 (7/4), 5-7, 6-2, 6-3.

Murray takes on Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, a 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 winner over Portugal’s Joao Sousa, for a quarter-final berth.

Wawrinka next faces 63rdranked Ukrainian Illya Marchenko, who advanced when a hurting Nick Kyrgios, hobbled by a painful right

hip, retired while trailing 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. Kyrgios, the 14th seed from Australia soldiered on after receiving treatment at the end of the second set before opting out at the end of the third.

Sixth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan, two years removed from his run to the final, rallied for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 win over France’s Nicolas

Mahut. Nishikori, who has dropped a set in each of his matches so far, will take on Ivo Karlovic for a quarter-final berth after the towering Croatian defeated 19-year-old American Jared Donaldson 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3. Juan Martin del Potro, whose career was nearly derailed by injuries after his 2009 US Open triumph, fired 37 winners in a 7-6

(7/3), 6-2, 6-3 victory over Spanish 11th seed David Ferrer.

He next faces eighth-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem, who celebrated his 23rd birthday with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 victory over Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain.

Women’s fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska advanced with ease, dispatching France’s Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-3 to set up a meeting with Croatian Ana Konjuh, a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 winner over American Varvara Lepchenko. Hungarian Timea Babos put a scare into Romanian fifth seed Simona Halep, surging back in the second set and taking a 3-1 lead in the third before falling 6-1, 2-6, 6-4.

Halep, who fell in the semi-finals to eventual champion Flavia Pennetta last year, will play Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro for place in the quarter-finals.

Suarez, also celebrating a birthday Saturday as she turned 28, defeated Russian Elena Vesnina 6-4, 6-3. Sixth seed Venus Williams, whose seven Grand Slam titles include US Open crowns in 2000 and 2001, coasted into the round of 16 with a straightforward 6-1, 6-2 win over German Laura Siegemund, setting up a tough meeting with 10th-seeded Karolina Pliskova.

The hard-hitting Czech, who shocked Angelique Kerber in the final of the US Open tuenup in Cincinnati, defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 6-4. l

Coleman says Bale primed for Wales return n AFP, Cardiff Gareth Bale takes his first step on the road to World Cup qualification with Wales against Moldova today and manager Chris Coleman believes he is still getting better.

Bale, 27, scored three times as Wales created a sensation by reaching the semi-finals at Euro 2016, matching the best performance by a British team in an overseas tournament.

The challenge now facing him is to build on that momentum by firing Wales to the 2018 World Cup in Russia and Coleman says the Real Madrid flier is hungry to make more history.

“Gareth scored inside 75 seconds of Real’s first game of the season (against Real Sociedad), but I never get surprised by him,” Coleman said ahead of the Group D opener at Cardiff City Stadium.

“I know he’s capable of almost anything and I think Madrid are very excited about the future with Balo.

“They recognise that they’ve got someone who’s going to be there for a while and someone who is capable of winning everything.

“He’s getting better and better still. Along with that incredible ability, he’s got that first-class mentality as well.

“It’s a winning formula for Real Madrid and for Wales, and I think

he will have another good season.”

Wales were among the fourth seeds in qualifying for Euro 2016, but their exploits in France catapulted them into Pot One for the World Cup qualifying draw.

In an evenly balanced group, they are likely to face strong challenges for the one automatic qualifying berth from Austria, Serbia

Wales’ Gareth Bale during training at Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff yesterday

and the Republic of Ireland. Georgia complete the pool.

While Bale is fit and firing, Wales will be without Aaron Ramsey against Moldova - as they were when they lost to eventual champions Portugal in the Euro semi-finals.

The Arsenal midfielder has a hamstring injury.

Attacking midfielder Jonathan Williams, who recently joined Ipswich Town on loan from Crystal Palace, is also out.

Goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey is expected to start despite missing Palace’s 1-1 draw with Bournemouth last weekend due to a leg problem.

Prior to the Euros, Wales had not competed at a major tournament finals since the 1958 World Cup and their exploits electrified the nation.

Cardiff City Stadium will be packed to the rafters for the team’s return to action, but Coleman has warned that his side’s achievements in France will count for nothing in the new campaign.l

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QUICK BYTES Giroud says France won’t rest on laurels Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud said France won’t be taking Belarus lightly when they begin World Cup 2018 qualifying in Minsk tomorrow.

France have been in great form over the summer, reaching the Euro 2016 final on home soil in July before triumphing 3-1 away to Italy on Thursday in a friendly. Giroud scored in that match and the 29-year-old expects a tough challenge from Belarus, whom France beat 3-1 at home and 4-2 away in qualifying for the last World Cup in Brazil. “I don’t know this team (Belarus), we haven’t had time to study them,” said Giroud.

“We expect a difficult match but it’s up to us to make it easy. “They’re well into their league season so physically they’ll be in top shape, which won’t be our case, me especially.” Although Giroud described France’s Euro final defeat to Portugal as “painful”, he recognises that the national team is in rude health.

–AFP

Japan’s Honda demands young players step up Japan midfielder Keisuke Honda has berated his younger team mates after their shock loss to United Arab Emirates and demanded more effort from them in their next World Cup qualifier against Thailand tomorrow.

A profligate Japan lost 2-1 at home to 74th-ranked UAE in their Group B opener on Thursday and defeat in Bangkok would be another serious setback to their hopes of advancing from a section that includes heavyweights Australia and Saudi Arabia. “A surprising number of players watch and read the news so they know what I say,” Honda, who scored his team’s only goal against UAE, told Japanese media after training in Bangkok. “I don’t think they are going to change straight away, but maybe become aware of the fact that they have to make more of an effort.

–REUTERS

DAY’S WATCH FOOTBALL SONY SIX FIFA World Cup Qualifiers 9:30PM Georgia v Austria 12:30AM Spain v Liechtenstein

SONY ESPN 1:00AM FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Israel v Italy

TENNIS TEN 2 09:30PM US Open 2016 QFs Men & Women Singles Session 1

Australia’s David Warner is watched by Sri Lanka’s wicket-keeper Kusal Perera as he plays a shot during their fifth and final ODI at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele yesterday AFP

Australia beat SL, win ODI series 4-1 n AFP, Pallekele Skipper David Warner’s fluent century and a disciplined bowling effort powered Australia to a five-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the fifth one-day international in Pallekele as the visitors took the series 4-1 yesterday.

Australia, who had clinched the series in Dambulla on Wednesday, rode on a record 132-run partnership between Warner (106) and George Bailey (44) to chase down 196 in 43 overs on a sluggish pitch.

Earlier pace spearhead Mitchell Starc claimed three wickets to help Australia dismiss Sri Lanka for a modest 195 in 40.2 overs in the fifth and final one-day international yesterday.

The hosts, who have already lost the series 1-3, got off to a solid start but lost wickets regularly in Pallekele.

Openers Dhananjaya de Silva and Danushka Gunathilaka put together a 73-run partnership, Sri Lanka’s best first-wicket stand of the ODI series.

But Australia’s persistent attack took three wickets in nine deliveries to rattle the Sri Lankan top order with a mini-collapse.

Left-arm pacer James Faulkner

BRIEF SCORE, 5TH ODI SRI LANKA 195 in 40.2 overs (Starc 3/40, Head 2/22, Zampa 2/43) lost to AUSTRALIA 199/5 (Warner 106, Bailey 44, Perera 3/51) by five wickets

had de Silva trudging back to the pavilion for 34. The batsman was beaten by the angle of the ball, giving a catch to mid-on in the 14th over.

Leg-spinner Adam Zampa struck in the very next over to have Gunathilaka bowled round his legs for 39, after the batsman attempted a sweep while exposing his leg stump.

Starc, who was brought back for his second spell in the 16th over, then had stand-in skipper Dinesh Chandimal caught behind for one.

Kusal Mendis (33) and Upul Tharanga put on 43 for the fourth wicket to try and rebuild the innings, but the wickets kept tumbling.

Kusal Perera, who scored 14, may have suffered an umpiring error after reviewing his lbw dismissal off Travis Head. l

Bangladesh chess team lose narrowly n Tribune Report Bangladesh chess side lost only by 1.5-2.5 points in the open section against world chess champion Magnus Carlsen’s team Norway in the second round games of the 42nd World Chess Olympiad yesterday. The Olympiad is being held in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Bangladesh played confidently against 12 seeded teams of this Olympiad.

Grandmaster Niaz Murshed won against GM Urkedal Frode of Norway. GM Mollah Ab-

dullah al Rakib drew with GM Hammer Jon Ludvig. Rakib however, clearly has a better position in the middle game.

GM Enamul Hossain Razib lost to world chess champion Carlsen while GM Ziaur Rahman lost to GM Tari Aryan.

In the open section, Bangladesh team earned two match points and 5.5 game points.

In the women’s section, Bangladesh team lost to 19th seeded Vietnam by 1-3 points. Women’s Fide Master Sharmin Sultana Shirin won

against Women’s GM Hoang Thi Bao Tram. Women’s International Master Shamima Akter Liza lost to IM Pham Le Thao Nguyen, WFM Nazrana Khan Eva lost to WGM Nguyen Thi Mai Hung and WIM Rani Hamid lost to Nguyen Thi Thanh An. Women’s team earned two match points and five game points.

Meanwhile, the third-round games started yesterday. In the open section, Bangladesh played against Jordan and Bangladesh women’s team played against Uruguay. l

Proteas announce racial quotas for national team

n Reuters, Cape Town Cricket South Africa have put in place racial quotas for the national team across all three formats of the game in an effort to increase the number of black players in a sport still dominated by whites.

CSA have sought an average minimum of six Black players, of which two must be Black African, in matches over the season, the organisation announced on Saturday.

The move will have little immediate impact on the team as those targets were reached in the recent Test series win over New Zealand when the side was at full-strength bar the absence of AB de Villiers.

“The Test starting XI that played in the recent series against New Zealand contained six players of colour and two Black Africans, and the ODI starting XI had as many as eight players of colour in their most recent series against the West Indies and Australia,” CSA President said.

“With the targets being measured over the full season and being cumulative across all three formats, our selectors and team management will have the flexibility to deal with varying circumstances.

“This shows very clearly that the targets are very attainable and sustainable and we will maintain the world-class standards that our players regularly produce.”l

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Mkhitaryan a derby doubt for Man United after training injury n Reuters Henrikh Mkhitaryan is a doubt for Manchester United’s derby against rivals Manchester City next weekend after picking up an injury on international duty with Armenia, the nation’s football federation confirmed on Friday.

Captain and record scorer Mkhitaryan was replaced after 38 minutes of Armenia’s 3-0 friendly defeat by the Czech Republic on Wednesday. Medical tests revealed a muscle injury in his left thigh, the Football Federation of Armenia confirmed in a statement on their official website. (www.ffa.am) The injury has a recovery period of between a week to 10 days and rules Mkhitaryan out of Armenia’s World Cup qualifier against Denmark in Copenhagen on Sept. 4 and makes him a doubt for Jose Mourinho’s first Manchester derby on Sept. 10. The 27-year-old forward is yet to start a match for United since moving to Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund on a four-year deal this summer, but he has impressed in three substitute appearances to date in the Premier League. l

Fans cling on to Brazilian sensation Neymar after they ran on to the field during a training session on Saturday ahead of the upcoming World Cup 2018 Qualifier at Manaus Arena Stadium, Manaus, Brazil REUTERS

Agent slams Klopp’s Ventura confident Italy will treatment of Balotelli bounce back against Israel n AFP, Rome Mario Balotelli’s agent Mino Raiola has blasted Jurgen Klopp’s treatment of the former Liverpool

striker, after the Italy international signed for Nice this week.

Balotelli, 26, signed a oneyear deal at the Allianz Riviera on Wednesday after being allowed to leave Liverpool on a free transfer.

The forward struggled on loan at former club AC Milan last season having made little impact at Liverpool in the previous campaign, but Raiola was critical of the way Klopp handled Balotelli’s departure.

“For me, he didn’t take into account that he was talking to a human being,” Raiola said, in quotes published Saturday on the Gazzetta dello Sport website.

“Mario has been exemplary, he never complained about training alone. To say that it was wrong of Klopp would be an understatement, he was a piece of shit about it.”

The outspoken Raiola, who is also the agent of Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, supported Balotelli’s earlier assertion that Nice had not taken a risk in signing the striker.

“It’s a gamble that’d I’d try for sure,” he said, predicting that Balotelli would score 20 goals in Ligue 1 this season should he remain fit.l

n AFP, Haifa New Italy coach Giampiero Ventura said he was unconcerned by Thursday’s home defeat to France ahead of his team’s opening World Cup qualifier in Israel today.

The 2006 World Cup champions slumped to a 3-1 defeat in Bari on Thursday but Ventura, who took over the Azzurri hotseat from new Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, does not expect such a stern test in Haifa.

“With the greatest of respect, Israel aren’t France. We will analyse (the) match, we’ll look at some errors that we can avoid and I’m sure we’ll put in a better performance,” Ventura, 68, said.

Even so, there is anxiety in the Italian camp with striker Graziano Pelle, who scored against France, insisting: “There are no excuses, we must beat Israel.”

Italy are expected to battle with Spain for top spot in Group G and the only automatic qualification place.

The 2010 world champions begin their campaign against minnows Liechtenstein while Albania and Macedonia round out the

group.

The winners of each group will qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, while the eight best runners-up advance to the play-offs.

Midfield orchestrator Marco Verratti, who missed the 2016 European Championships due to injury, says Italy are up against it.

“We have been put in a difficult group, but if we do what what we can then we have a good chance of getting through,” he said.

The usually deep-lying ball-player says he will operate a more advanced role under Ventura.

“I often speak with Ventura about my position on the pitch.

Playmakers are often man-marked and so the coach wants to play me

as an attacking midfielder, which I’m comfortable with,” said the 23-year-old Paris Saint-Germain star.

“Compared to before (under Conte), we perhaps look to keep the ball more in order to create space where we can do damage.”

Centre-back Leonardo Bonucci will play despite worries about his young son’s health, but the injured veteran Daniele De Rossi will miss out for Italy.

Israel are looking to qualify for their first World Cup since 1970.

They will also start their qualifying campaign with a new manager after Eli Guttman resigned following four mediocre years in charge, to be replaced by Elisha Levy.

Israel captain Eran Zahavi says his team are aiming for qualification despite lining up with of Europe’s biggest heavyweights in their group.

“Do not stop believing, we will not give up and we will give it our all,” said the 28-year-old Guangzhou forward.

Following this match, Italy tackle Spain in Turin on October 6 while Israel travel to Skopje to face Macedonia the same evening.l

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Firm hold (4) 6 Drinking vessel (3) 7 Destiny (4) 9 Cicatrix (4) 10 Nominated (5) 11 Icy cold (5) 12 Day before (3) 14 Letting contract (5) 17 Speech defects (5) 20 Was in front (3) 21 Kingly (5) 23 Restrict (5) 25 Repose (4) 26 Dutch cheese (4) 27 Band's engagement (3) 28 Expensive (4)

DOWN 1 Absolute truth (6) 2 Likenesses (6) 3 Unmixed (4) 4 Sweet potato (US) (3) 5 Nourished (3) 7 Lose colour (4) 8 Time in grammar (5) 10 No score (3) 13 Very bright (5) 15 Assert without proof (6) 16 Newspaper executive (6) 18 Affectedly proper (4) 19 Drunkard (3) 22 Dry (4) 23 Zodiac sign (3) 24 Spoil (3)

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 17 represents L so fill L every time the figure 17 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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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

Showtime

Trump lovers from Hollywood n Nazia Lopa Celebrities often act as trump cards to the political situation of any country. Hollywood is no exception. Many Hollywood celebrities are pretty open about their political stand and views.

Let’s check who is supporting USA Presidential candidate Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton.

Bruce Willis, the Die Hard star is a “die-hard” fan of Donald Trump. Willis has taken criticism for his open support of Trump including during the time of his recent appearance on Jimmy Fallon, wearing a full Donald Trump makeover which included the signature hair and business attire.

Jessica Simpson is a Republican. She has previously endorsed George W Bush for president back in 2004, but was later said to have “snubbed” him by canceling an appearance at a 2006 Republican fundraiser in Washington, DC The singer’s father, Joe Simpson, explained that he and Jessica are “big

supporters” of the president who invited them, but they felt it was inappropriate to attend a political fundraiser.

The star of hit franchises Rambo and Rocky, Stallone stands out as a staunch Republican. He likes to put his money where his mouth is with donations and speeches for conservative causes.

At the height of her popularity, Loretta Lynn was subject to much controversy. Songs by Lynn that have been banned include “Rated ‘X’,” a song about the double standards divorced women face, “Wings Upon Your Horns”, which spoke about the loss of teenage virginity, and “The Pill”, lyrics by T D Bayless, which is about a wife and mother becoming liberated via the birth-control pill. Her song “Dear Uncle Sam,” which was released in 1966 during the Vietnam war, describes a wife’s anguish at the loss of a husband to war. It has also been included in live performances during the Iraq war. In 1971, Lynn was the first solo female country artist to play at the

White House for Richard Nixon.

She has since then, returned to perform for Carter, Reagan, George H W Bush and George W Bush administrations. Lynn has also gone on record back in 2016 to state that she is supporting Donald Trump in his run for presidency. “Trump has sold me — what more can I say?” Lynn told a Reuters reporter before a Trump rally in Rock Hill, South Carolina. “I just think he’s the only one who’s going to turn this country around.”

Louis Jude “Lou” Ferrigno is an American actor and a fitness trainer. As a bodybuilder, Ferrigno won one IFBB Mr America title and two consecutive IFBB Mr Universe titles, and appeared in the bodybuilding documentary, Pumping Iron. As an actor, he is best known for his title role in the CBS television series, The Incredible Hulk and vocally reprising the role in subsequent animated and computergenerated incarnations. He has also appeared in Europeanproduced fantasy-adventures such as Sinbad of the Seven Seas

Darr 2.0: Coming soon

n Showtime Desk

and Hercules, and as himself in the sitcom The King of Queens and the 2009 comedy I Love You, Man. Ferrigno too, has admitted to support Trump in the presidential race. “I wish Donald the best. He’s a fabulous guy. I hope he goes all the way,” Ferrigno told TMZ in July. “Donald, all he cares about is our country and keeping our country safe. That’s what it comes down to.” l Source: Internet

The one negative role which made Bollywood notice Shah Rukh Khan’s acting talents seriously is the one he played in Yash Chopra’s Darr. The film became a milestone in SRK’s career which saw him win numerous accolades by playing the anti-hero and the obsessive lover in the 1993 flick. Now the film is all set to make a comeback as a web series, Darr 2.0, backed by Y-films.

The original characters will appear in a modern backdrop of cyber-stalking and digital crimes.

The five part series is going to deal with the same story of obsession and fear, albeit with a present-day twist.

The web series is being directed

by Vikas Chandra and the cast is yet to be announced. SRK’s performance in Don and Don 2 almost set a new benchmark overlapping that of Amitabh Bachchan’s Don. Now the question is, who’s going to over shadow SRK’s iconic role in Darr 2.0? l

WHAT TO WATCH terrorist organization’s next deed.

Cast: Alex D. Linz, Rya Kihlstedt, Lenny von Dohlen, Olek Krupa, David Thornton

Home Alone 3 Star Movies 4:30pm Alex Pruitt, a young boy of nine living in Chicago, fend off thieves who seek a top-secret chip in his toy car to support a North Korean

The Dark Knight HBO 12:45pm When the menace known as the

Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, the caped crusader must come to terms with one of the greatest psychological tests of his ability to fight injustice.

Cast: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart

Annabelle WB 2:28pm A couple begins to experience

terrifying supernatural occurrences involving a vintage doll shortly after their home is invaded by satanic cultists.

Cast: Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton, Tony Amendola, Alfre Woodard, Kerry O’Malley Bruce Lee’s Secret

Movies Now 4:15pm The life of martial artist Bruce Lee, from his days as a waiter to his involvement with race wars on the waterfront.

Cast: Bruce Li, Carter Wong, Hwang Jang Lee, Roy Horan, Robert Kerver

Jalal’s Story to feature in four more international film festivals

n Showtime Desk Abu Shahed Emon’s Jalal’s Story was released in local theatres, in September last year, and consecutively ran for 11 weeks in some of them. The film, which

represented Bangladesh for the best Foreign Language Film category in Oscar 2015, garnered attention of both critiques and audiences alike.

Premièred at the Busan Film Festival in 2014, the film has

been screened in more than 30 international film festivals. In this continuation, the film has been selected to be screened in a four dditional international film festivals this September while three of them are featuring the

Minar: Busy as a Bee n Rayan Quddus Minar Rahman is a young and busy musician who is currently working on numerous projects with multiple producers like Emon Chowdhury, Shajid Sarker and Joy Shahriar. On top of that, he has multiple tracks coming out very soon. How often do you see a good artist working with

different labels, simultaneously?

Well, he is one of those rare cases.

In the upcoming weeks, he is expected to release at least seven new tracks- “Deyale Deyale” and “Etoh ta Bhalobshi” to name a few. Some have been misled by the idea of him releasing a new album, but he is not.

film in the competition section.

Jalal’s Story is taking part in the main competition section of the XII Kazan International Festival of Muslim cinema which is to run from September 5 to 11 at Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia. The film secured

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

its position in the competition section with nine other films where more than 700 films from 50 countries applied to compete.

Started in 2005, the international film festival is taking place at the Republic of Tatarstan and is being organised by the country’s Ministry of Culture.

The 15th Pyongyang International Film Festival in North Korea will see Jalal’s Story in the festival’s competition section which is set to run from September 15 to 23. The film will also participate in the competition’s second edition, Jaffna International Cinema Festival in Sri Lanka from September 23 to 27.

The film will also be screened at the Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. The All Lights India International Film Festival will feature Jalal’s Story along with some other films from the Foreign Language category of Oscar 2016. The festival will run from September 23 to 27.

Starring the likes of Mosharraf Karim, Moushumi Hamid, Touqir Ahmed and Shormi Mala, the full-length feature film showcases a rootless boy who struggles to become a man of proper standing in society. l

SteelBorn’s debut single out now “This is not an album, this is called an extended play (EP)” Minar confirmed Showtime.

We know for sure that he is in the middle of recording with CD Choice, Radio Foorti, and Ganchill Music. Also, some music videos are expected, but have not been confirmed as of yet. l

n Showtime Desk Last week, SteelBorn – a pure hard rock band from Bangladesh has launched their debut single “Crodh” under Mushroom Entertainment’s banner, ME Label worldwide. ME Label is the distribution partner for their single to be release on all international, Bangladeshi and Indian platforms digitally.

A music video was also released on YouTube. The single was inspired by early 70s and

late 90s music. The song is all about aggression and protesting negativity, the so-called “socioinfrastructure.”

Mushroom Entertainment is the strategic, marketing, promotional and distribution partner of the single, “Crodh.” The single is available for download and streaming on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Google Play, GP Music, Robi yonder, Saavn, YouTube and other platforms. To know more about them, visit, www. steelbornbd.com l

Back Page

MOBILE BILLBOARDS HIT DHAKA STREETS PAGE 12

WHO WILL THE GIRLS BE FACING? PAGE 24

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TRUMP LOVERS FROM HOLLYWOOD PAGE 30

Murad, a son of ex-police inspector Hasan in Dhaka and n Kamrul Mohiuddin Molla from Comilla Murad, the militant who was killed during the police drive at Rupnagar in Dhaka’s Mirpur area on Saturday, was the son of a former police inspector in Comilla, according to local sources.

Murad, whose real name was Zahidul Islam according to his national identity card, was the eldest among three children of former police inspector Nurul Islam and his wife Jamila Islam. He was also married and had two daughters with wife Jebunnahar, his neighbours said.

Originally from Sylhet’s Fenchuganj upazila, Nurul Islam moved to Comilla in 1985 and built a three-storey building named Dream House in Chandpur area under Panchthubi union in Comilla

Sadar upazila, according to locals.

The family lives on the first floor of the three-storey building; the ground and second floors have been rented out.

When the Dhaka Tribune tried to contact Murad’s family, other residents in the building said his parents were in Dhaka as his father had a heart surgery on Friday.

However, they could not say where Murad’s brother and sister were and the Dhaka Tribune could not contact them. Zahid’s wife and two children have not been seen since late July, according to sources.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Sanwar Hossain of Counter-Terorrism and Transnational Crimes unit said Zahid and his family used to live in a flat at the building where police raided on Saturday night following a tip-off. The family moved

into the flat on July 1 but most likely left by the end of the month.

Only Zahid was seen coming to the flat from time to time, he said.

On Saturday night, the Election Commission confirmed Zahid’s identity using his fingerprints.

Deputy Commissioner Masudur Rahman of Dhaka Metropolitan Police said according to his national identity card, his full name is Mohammad Zahidul Islam and he was born on September 16, 1979, and he was a government employee.

Sources said Zahidul was a major in Bangladesh Army when he went on retirement by choice. The reason behind his early retirement could not be ascertained.

When locals were shown his photo they identified him as Zahid as well.

They said he was last seen in Chandpur five or six months ago.

Nurul’s tenants Abdul Barek, Joynal Abedin and Tanwi Akhtar said they saw Zahid once or twice.

Locals said they did not know that Zahid was involved in militant activities. they knew he was a major in the army, and Nurul said at the local mosque during Ramadan this year that Zahid retired from the army and migrated to Canada.

They only found out about him after news of his death in the raid.

Sub-Inspector Shahin of Comilla Kotwali Model police station said: “I visited the house following the instruction from our superiors.

There is no one there except for the tenants. The neighbours and locals identified Murad as Zahid.”

Panchthubi union parishad member Md Yunus Miah said: “I personally did not know Zahid, but I am acquainted with his father.” l

Relieved Bangladesh take on UAE today n Tribune Report The young Bangladesh girls will be relieved when they take on the United Arab Emirates today in their fifth and final match of the AFC Under-16 Women’s Championship 2017 Qualifiers at Bangabandhu National Stadium. The match begins at 11am and BTV World will telecast it live.

The reason to be relieved is no secret to anyone any more now but nevertheless, Bangladesh head coach Golam Rabbani Choton wants to treat the game just like the previous four matches where they strolled to victory comfortably.

The girls in red and green, who have a hundred percent record in Group C, have already qualified for the final round after beating Chinese Taipei 4-2 in their last match on Saturday so today’s game will be a mere formality for the home side.

“Although the target has been achieved, we are yet to finish out group matches. The way we played in our first four matches, we will continue in the same way against UAE [today],” said Choton yesterday.

He added, “Here, all teams are same. Iran played superbly in the last three matches after losing against us in the first game. They have the opportunity to score the same number of points as us but we don’t want to see that. We will field our best team.”

Bangladesh Under-16 women’s football team practise at the BFF House yesterday on the eve of their AFC U-16 Women’s Championship 2017 Qualifiers match against the United Arab Emirates today MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK Ahead of their final qualifier, Bangladesh trained at the Bangladesh Football Federation’s artificial turf in Motijheel yesterday afternoon. Two key players of the team, captain Krishna Rani Sarkar and winger Sanjida Akhter were seen practising free-kicks most of

the time. Like others, the attacking duo looked relaxed and enjoyed the session.

Meanwhile, the UAE U-16 team have a squad filled with most of the U-14 girls. They are guided by the most experienced coach among the six participating nations, Syri-

an head coach Azzam Ghotok, who already announced Bangladesh as the best team in the tournament.

Meanwhile, Iran will face Chinese Taipei in the day’s second match at 3pm while Kyrgyzstan will take on Singapore in the last match of the tournament at 6pm. l

Pope proclaims dispenser of mercy Mother Teresa a saint

n Reuters, Vatican City Mother Teresa of Calcutta, known as the “saint of the gutters” during her life, was declared a saint of the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Francis on Sunday, fast-tracked to canonisation just 19 years after her death.

Tens of thousands of pilgrims packed St Peter’s Square at the Vatican for a service to honour the tiny nun, who worked among the world’s neediest in the slums of the Indian city now called Kolkata and become one of the most recognisable faces of the 20th century.

A Nobel peace laureate, her legacy complements Pope Francis’s vision of a humble church that strives to serve the poor, and the festivities in her honour are a highlight of his Holy Year of Mercy, which runs until Nov. 8.

Standing under a canvas hung from St Peter’s Basilica showing the late nun in her blue-hemmed white robes, Francis said she was a “dispenser of divine mercy” and held world powers to account “for the crimes of poverty they created.”

“For Mother Teresa, mercy was the salt which gave flavour to her work, it was the light which shone in the darkness of the many who no longer had tears to shed for their poverty and suffering.”

Around 120,000 people attended the ceremony, according to Vatican estimates, celebrating the life of a woman who Francis said it might be difficult to call “Saint” as people felt so close to her they spontaneously used “Mother”.

“Everything she did gave an example to the entire world,” said 17-year-old student Massimiliano D’Aniello, from Grosseto, Italy, adding he had made a musical about her with his friends. l

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