22 Sep, 2016

SECOND EDITION

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

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Ashwin 7, 1423, Zil-Hajj 19, 1437

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 145

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www.dhakatribune.com

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32 pages |

Price: Tk10

13 dead in Barisal launch capsize Death toll may rise as at least 10 more passengers still remain missing Rahman Swapan, n Anisur Barisal Thirteen bodies were recovered while 10 other people remained missing after a small launch capsized in the Sandhya River at Banaripara in Barisal yesterday.

The vessel, ML Oishi, was plying on Banaripara-Swarupkathi route.

It sank at Dasherhaat Point around 11:30am with around 60 passengers on board.

Barisal Port Officer Mustafizur Rahman said that the launch was not registered as a passenger-carrying vessel and had no valid route permit.

Six of the victims were female passengers of the launch, Ziaul Hasan, OC of Banaripara police, said, adding that the bodies were handed over to their family members.

The district administration has given Tk10,000 as burial cost for each of the dead.

The rescue operation was suspended around 10pm due to poor lighting arrangements. Meanwhile, officials said a rescue ship was on its way to salvage the launch. It

may reach the spot in the morning.

Dr Gazi Md Saifuzzaman, deputy commissioner of Barisal, said that a nine-member probe committee was formed to investigate the accident.

Superintendent of Police SM Akhtaruzzaman said that most of the passengers succeeded to swim to the shore as it had capsized near the Masjid Bari station on the river bank.

Faruk Hossain Sikdar, assistant director of Barisal Fire Service, said that local people and the fire service frogmen started rescue operation immediately.

However, strong current and river erosion hampered the rescue operation, he added.

Rokhsana Begum, one of the rescued passengers, said that the river stream created a strong whirlpool after a portion of the river bank eroded away. The launch capsized as the panicked passengers rushed to one side of the vessel.

Local lawmakers Abul Hasanat Abdullah and Talukder Md Yunus, and government officials visited the spot to supervise the rescue operation. l

Relatives of the launch capsize victims burst out in tears after they heard about the news of the accident yesterday. The photo was taken from Banaripara upazila of Barisal DHAKA TRIBUNE

PM for lasting solution to Myanmar refugee crisis n BSS Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that Bangladesh looks forward to working with the new Myanmar leadership to find lasting solution to the next door neighbour’s Rohingya refugee issue.

“We look forward to working with the new Myanmar leadership to find lasting solution to this issue ... I’m already in touch with Aung San Suu Kyi,” she said while addressing a world leaders’ summit on refugee issue held under the auspices of US President Barack Obama in New York on Tuesday afternoon.

For nearly three decades, she said Bangladesh has been hosting a large number of refugees and displaced persons from Myanmar.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

US charges Russia with aid convoy attack in Syria n Tribune Desk

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina speaking at the Leaders’ Summit on Refugee Session at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday BSS

The Russian Defence Ministry released a statement that said: “There are no bomb craters and the vehicle exteriors do not show any damage that is consistent with aerial attacks.”

The United States has released statements saying it accuses Russia of being responsible for the attack on a humanitarian aid convoy near Aleppo on Monday.

US officials told the BBC that two Russian fighter jets were complicit in the heinous act.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

INSIDE Govt not to publish BB heist report now

Backtracking from his earlier promise, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said the probe report on $81m reserve heist of Bangladesh Bank will not be made public now.  PAGE 3

Export contribution to GDP declining

Exports contribution to the GDP at current price has continued to decline for the 4th consecutive year as export earnings are not expanding in line with the economic growth.  PAGE 5

Especial wedding party of lion-lioness

Amid much fanfare and festivity, an exceptional marriage ceremony between lion ‘Nabha’ and lioness ‘Nova’ was held at Chittagong Zoo on Wednesday morning.  PAGE 7

Only 50 rickshaws for 20,000 people

The community rickshaw services introduced by DNCC in Dhaka’s Niketan has been termed as failure by residents as the initiative was unsuccessful in meeting their daily demands.  PAGE 32

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Joy: Digital Bangladesh drive aimed at simplifying services n UNB Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ICT Adviser Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed Joy on Tuesday said the government had developed its own methods, own innovations for implementing Digital Bangladesh initiative for simplifying and digitising services.

“Digital Bangladesh initiative was an innovative and learning experience for the government as it developed the necessary systems for materialising it,” he said.

Joy said this while taking part

in the panel discussion of the South-South and Triangular Cooperation in scaling-up innovation in public service delivery organised

by Bangladesh and UN office for South-South cooperation at the conference room of UN Headquarters.

“The overall goal was to digitise government services while the real goal was to provide benefits to citizens with the services and make the citizens’ lives and interactions with the government easier, efficient and more simplified,” he said.

The ICT adviser said the government then decided to do it in a simple and cost-effective manner to reach the services to citizens in remote villages and islands.

He referred to the introduction of webcam and Skype to reach the community healthcare services to the remote areas which is easy, cheap and cost-effective way to deliver services.

As one of the big constraints always for the government is the budget, Joy said one of the models it came up was the Public Private Partnership (PPP).

He cited that each of the countrywide digital centres has three private entrepreneurs who run those, and the government is no longer paying their salaries except providing the initial trainings.

Speaking on the occasion, ITU Secretary General Houlin Zhao said Sheikh Hasina’s extraordinary leadership has brought success in the ICT sector.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also spoke at the function and proposed establishing a ‘South-South Network of Public Organizations’ to develop a broader understand-

ing and exchange of public sector innovations among the global South.

Moderated by PM’s Principal Secretary Md Abul Kalam Azad, the panel discussion was also addressed as panelists by Gina Casar, Executive Director, of Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation, Ms Judith Karl, Executive Secretary of UN Capital Development Fund (CDF), Vincenzo Aquaro, chief of the knowledge management branch of Division of Public Administration and Development Management, UN-DESA. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

US charges Russia with aid convoy attack in Syria The White House has called it an “enormous humanitarian tragedy”.

Russia has vehemently denied any culpability in this incident, saying that it was a ground attack and not an air strike.

A spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the US government made claims without any facts to back them up, adding: “We have nothing to do with this situation.”

Some US officials wishing to remain anonymous said two Russian Su-24 jets were in the sky above the convoy at the precise moment it was hit in Urum al-Kubra.

They consider the attack to be too sophisticated for the Syrian army to execute.

White House spokesman Ben Rhodes later said: “There could

have been only two entities responsible, either the Syrian government or the Russian government.”

“In any event, we hold the Russian government responsible for airstrikes in this space.”

The UN had earlier said it was “not in a position to determine whether these were in fact air strikes”.

cover a week-old ceasefire agreement between US and Russia which the Syrian army renounced a few hours before the attack on the convoy.

A meeting between the two parties have been scheduled for Friday.

The UN Security Council is also holding a high-level meeting discussing Syria on Wednesday.

‘Deal not dead’

Earlier, Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, launched a tirade against the Bashar regime, accusing it of being responsible for the most civilian deaths in the fiveyear civil war.

The secretary general’s direct accusations surprised the UN General Assembly. He also said those who supported the opposing sides in the conflict had “blood on their hands”.

The aid convoy lost 18 out of 31 trucks in the attack, and about 20 civilians were killed including a senior official of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.

The UN has suspended all aid convoy movements in Syria following the attack.

The US and Russian diplomats in New York are frantically trying to re-

‘Blood on their hands’

“Many groups have killed many innocents, but none more so than the government of Syria which continues to barrel bomb neighbourhoods and systematically torture thousands of detainees.”

He said other countries “that keep feeding the war machine also have blood on their hands”.

The secretary general called the attack on the convoy: “sickening, savage and apparently deliberate” and called for those responsible to be held accountable.”

Syria responded by accusing the secretary general of flouting the UN charter.

“The words of Ban Ki-moon today on Syria are far removed from the provisions of the UN charter, which need to be respected by (the person) who occupies the role of

secretary general,” a foreign ministry statement said.

It said the UN had “failed in its role” to find solutions to international conflicts. Humanitarian aid to besieged areas was a key part of the cessation of hostilities.

The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer, denounced the attack as a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law” and said it was a borderline war crime.

The Syrian army and rebels have accused each other of widespread violations of the ceasefire agreement throughout the week.

On Saturday, a US airstrike killed 62 Syrian troops and injured 100 more and caused ISIS militants to overrun a Syrian base. The US has admitted the airstrike to be a “mistake”. l

PM for lasting solution to Myanmar refugee crisis “With our limited resources, we continue to bear our responsibilities for these people ... our local communities created space for their protection and assistance,” she said, adding this poses many social, economic, environmental and political challenges for Bangladesh.

During her meeting with Hasina on Monday, Myanmar State Councillor Aung San Suu Kyi asked for Bangladesh’s assistance to solve the Rohingya issue. In response, the premier told Suu Kyi that the matter should be solved by the two countries together.

The US president organised the event titled “Leaders’ Summit on Refugees” on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly at the Trusteeship Council Chamber at the UN Headquarters.

The premier said for the Myanmar refugees in camps, the government would keep investing in their security, health, education and skills.

“Improved shelter and self-reliance will be given added attention.

For other displaced Myanmar na-

tionals in Bangladesh, we have recently carried out a census.

“We are planning to give them an identity document titled ‘information card’ ... this will help them access legal, health, education and other services,” she said, urging international partners to remain engaged in the refugee issue.

There are some 33,000 registered Rohingya refugees staying at two camps in Cox’s Bazar, while the number of unregistered Myanmar nationals living in Bangladesh is around 300,000 to 500,000.

PM seeks more space for women for better future

At another event, Hasina called upon the global leaders to continue to enlarge the space for women for building a sustainable future, saying it was crucial also to prevent violent extremism in anywhere in the world.

The Bangladesh premier made the remark while addressing a sideevent on Women’s Leadership and Gender Perspective on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism

at the UN Headquarters the same day. Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg hosted the event.

Hasina said she was happy to see the UN secretary general’s new plan of action recognised women’s role and leadership in preventing violent extremism.

“I believe education for all, especially for girls, is a powerful tool to address radical behaviour and violent extremism. I encourage our mothers to act as role models and mentor their children,” she added.

Listing various steps of her government for promoting women’s empowerment, Hasina said Bangladesh’s primary schools have more than sixty percent of female teaching staff and they are spreading the values of tolerance, inclusion and diversity among young minds.

“Our children must be protected against extremist narratives,” she said.

Hasina mentioned that the women in police are working with communities to build trust and confidence as well as the female members in local governments are

reaching out to families to raise awareness against radicalisation.

The prime minister said that the National Women Development Policy ensures equal opportunities and entitlement for women while progress in empowering women has sidelined the religious extremist agenda.

Hasina said at the grassroots, her government has been providing women with skills and training to have their voices heard in resolving conflicts and building peace.

She pointed out that the present government took up projects with the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF), where women actively take part in decision-making and implementation.

‘South-South Network of Public Organisation’

The prime minister has also emphasised on forming a “South-South Network of Public Organisation” to develop greater understanding and mass innovation between the countries in the South.

She said: “This will create an opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences which will help us learn from each other and expand our horizons.”

Hasina spoke in the “SouthSouth and Triangular Cooperation in Scaling-Up Innovation in Public Service Delivery” seminar hosted by the United Nation’s South-South Cooperation Office in the conference room at the UN Headquarters on Tuesday.

She called for the allied nations of the South to consider her proposal and asked the countries of the North to integrate it into their 2030 framework agenda. l

‘Govt not to publish BB heist report now’ n

Asif Showkat Kallol

Backtracking from his earlier promise, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said the probe report on $81m reserve heist of Bangladesh Bank will not be made public now.

He said yesterday that the publishing of the probe report at this moment will “upset the steps taken to recover the stolen money.”

Muhith, however, had promised earlier that the probe report of reserve heist would be published by the end of this week.

“We will disclose the probe report later, but now unable to tell any specific date.”

Muhith said Law Minister Anisul Huq had called him from the USA on Tuesday to not publish the report and there was also a meeting with Attorney General Mahbubey

Alam on the matter.

“Law minister called me from Texas (US) and there was also a meeting with Attorney General who had convinced me not to make the report public,” finance minister said.

He said: “Our decision not to publish the report will help us return our stolen money from Philippines. I hope almost all of the $81m can be recovered in five months.”

He said the Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has already taken an initiative to return Bangladesh Bank money. “Philippines President also told our ambassador in Manila that he will visit Bangladesh after the money is recovered and sent back to Bangladesh.”

A Philippines court on Monday ordered Philippines central bank to return a portion of the recovered

money to Bangladesh authorities.

The court also declared Bangladesh as the rightful owner of the funds, totalling $15m.

Unknown hackers tried to steal nearly $1bn from the Bangladesh Bank’s account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in early February. They succeeded in transferring $81m to four accounts at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp in Manila.

Earlier this week, the finance minister said the investigation report would be published on the central bank and Financial Institution Division websites on Thursday.

As for the recovered money from the heist, Muhith on Tuesday said $15.2m would be returned by the Philippines “in two days”. The money, he said, would be deposited to the central bank. l

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Father burnt by son for motorcycle dies at DMCH n Tribune Desk A boy has allegedly committed patricide by burning his father to death for a latest model motorcycle.

The incident took place in Faridpur town on Thursday and burnt ATM Rafiqul Huda, 48, died of his injures at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) on Wednesday dawn. Surgeon at the burn unit of the DMCH Partho Shonkor Pal confirmed the death.

Rafiqul is younger brother of former election commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda.

DMCH police camp Sub-Inspector Bachhu Miah said Rafiqul’s corpse has been kept in the morgue for autopsy. He was admitted to the hospital with 60% burns.

It was learnt that SSC-passed Mudgha set his parents afire in their residence as they refused to buy new motorcycle for him. His mother Silvia Huda received minor inju-

ries in the fire as well and she had to take treatment at Faridpur Medical College Hospital.

Rafiqul Huda was referred to the DMCH on Friday when his condition deteriorated.

Family member sources said Mugdha passed SSC from Faridpur Zilla High School this year and after the results, he has been pressing his father to buy a latest model motorcycle for him. Currently, he has been using a bike of Yamaha brand, which market value is Tk5 lakh.

In the night of September 13, Mugdha posted a status on his Facebook page, stating that: “It is required to be selfish for the sake of self betterment in the world. And it is true that one should be unselfish for the sake of others.

Kotwali police station Officer-inCharge Md Nazim Uddin said: “No one has not complained to me in this regard yet. But police will file a case despite the situation.” l

Tampaco fire: Families of missing workers brought for DNA tests n Raihanul Islam Akand, Gazipur

Investigators have summoned the families of nine workers still remained missing after the Tampaco fire to the CID office in Dhaka for DNA tests to ascertain identities of six unclaimed bodies recovered from the site.

A total of 11 workers have remained missing since the September 10 fire that has killed 35 people and injured more than 50 others.

Tongi police’s Sub-Inspector Sumon Bhakt said: “Members of nine families went to Dhaka for DNA tests. We have also contacted with the two other families.”

Parveen Akter, from Magura, said that her husband Azim Uddin, 36, had been missing for 12 days. “I have come to the CID office to look for him.”

One of the missing workers, Zahirul Islam, 37, hails from Upuloki village under Tangail’s Mirzapur upazila. His brother-in-law Alauddin said that they had looked for him all over. “DNA test is our only hope now as the recovered bodies are beyond recognition.”

Death toll now 35

Another worker, injured in the fire, died at Japan-Bangladesh Friendship Hospital on Tuesday.

Gazipur Deputy Commissioner SM Alam said that with this, the death toll now stood at 35. “Eleven more workers are still missing while the number of injured workers under treatment is 33.”

Police identified the latest victim as Hossain Ahmed alias Rasel, who hailed from Sylhet’s Gopalganj thana. He had suffered 70% burns. l

Jatiya Garments Sramik Federation yesterday lays a siege to the Labour Ministry to press for their demands SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Compensation sought for Tampaco fire victims n Tribune Desk The High Court has set September 26 to give its decision on a writ petition filed seeking its directives on the authorities to provide sufficient compensations to the fire victims of Tampaco Foils Ltd at Tongi of Gazipur.

The bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Ashish Ranjan Das fixed the date yesterday after concluding primary hearing on the petition.

Rights bodies Ain o Salish Kendra, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association and Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust moved the petition on September 19.

At least 35 people, mostly workers of the packaging factory, were killed and over 50 others injured in the fire that broke following explosions in the morning of September 10. Eleven others have still remained missing.

The government has already de-

clared that the families of the deceased will get Tk2 lakh each and the injured a maximum Tk1 lakh as grants from the Labour Welfare Fund. Moreover, Tk20,000 will be given for the burial of the dead from the district administration.

It is considered as the country’s worst industrial disaster since the Rana Plaza collapse at Savar in 2013 that killed at least 1,136 people. In 2012, over 110 workers were killed in a fire incident at Tazreen Fashions in Ashulia.

Top government officials and the police have blamed negligence of the owner for the incident.

Two cases have been filed – one by the father of a victim and the other by a police – against a number of people including the owner of the factory – former MP Syed Mokbul Hossain alias Lechu Mia. The petition prayed for the court’s directives to provide treatment for the injured and directives on the government to identify and punish those responsible for the

deadly fire. It also asked the court to seek an investigation report from the government.

The petitioners prayed to the court to freeze the bank accounts of the factory owners and distribute the money among the victims as compensation.

The district administration, Fire Service, police, National Human Rights Commission and the Labour Ministry have formed separate committees to look into the incident. l

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Telenor names two winners of youth forum n Ishtiaq Hussain Telenor Group yesterday announced two people as winners at its youth forum held in Dhaka.

Rafsan Sabab Khan and Ramim Ahmed, both students of IBA, University of Dhaka, emerged as winners from Bangladesh at the grand finale of Telenor’s Youth Forum 2016.

Seven candidates, selected through a filtering process, presented their ideas to a judging panel at the event held a local hotel in the capital.

Annisul Huq, mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation, was the Chief Guest at the program while Hossain Sadat, acting chief corporate affairs officer of Grameenphone, was also present on the occasion.

The theme of this year’s Telenor Youth Forum (TYF) was “Digitisation for Peace.”

Telenor will now select the Bangladeshi representative from the two form a three-day conference that will start in Oslo, Norway, in December.

The forum, in partnership with the Nobel Peace Centre, offers an opportunity for young people, aged 18-28,

from 13 countries to present impactful ideas that can alter lives.

The Bangladesh representative selected by Telenor along with winners from different regions of the world will attend the conference in Norway, where they will explore the transformative power of mobile and digital communication.

They will also get the opportunity to attend the Nobel Peace Prize giving ceremony.

It will continue through the year, with a second gathering in Bangkok, where the youth will come together once again to continue creating momentum around their social challenge.

Grameenphone launched the TYF 2016 in Bangladesh in July through a press conference.

It invited youth from Telenor Group’s 13 markets in the Nordic region, Europe and Asia, to share their perspectives and ideas on digitalisation for peace.

The company invited students and interested applicants to submit their ideas through various online submission channels, including the webpages of Telenor and Grameenphone. l

HSBC and British Council Launches second edition of ‘Kids Read’ n Tribune Desk British Council and Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) have launched the second edition of ‘Kids Read’, a storytelling programme to develop the English Language skills of primary students in Dhaka yesterday.

Each of the eight primary schools will receive a set of 90 popular storybooks from the United Kingdom (UK) to improve the English language skills of 10,000 students, said a press release.

‘Kids Read’ is an award-winning scheme developed project to help children enjoy reading, as teachers and parents often struggle to find ways to motivate children to read.

The first edition of the ‘Kids

Read’ programme was implemented in three madrasas and three government primary schools in Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar in 2015, where over three thousand students and thirty-six teachers had participated in the first edition.

‘Kids Read’, developed by The British Council, and supported by grants from HSBC, has been supporting many different aspects for the children, teachers, school administration staffs and parents of Bangladesh through school events, community events and competitions.

Abdullah Al Jubayer, Manager, Corporate Sustainability, HSBC Bangladesh and Sarwat Reza, Library Manager, British Council Bangladesh were present at the launching ceremony. l

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Export contribution to GDP declining n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi Exports contribution to the Gross domestic Products (GDP) at current price has continued to decline for the fourth consecutive year as export earnings are not expanding in line with the country’s economic growth.

Trade analysts and business people have blamed that slow growth of export compared to the economic growth, higher dependency on Ready Made Garments (RMG) and decreasing the export on other sectors are the causes of export decline.

According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, in the last fiscal year Bangladesh earned Tk2,66908.44 corer, which is 15.50% of total GDP of Tk17,29567 corer.

As per the provisional data of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), Bangladesh GDP stood at Tk17,29567 corer in the last fiscal year. Of the total GDP, 14.75% came from Agriculture sector, 28.56% from Industry sector and 56.69% from service sectors.

“Bangladesh export earnings are driven by apparel sector and 82% of export earnings came from the sector. While, the other export orient-

EXPORT CONTRIBUTION TO GDP 20

18.22%

17.82%

18.02%

17.46%

16.04%

15

SECTOR-WISE CONTRIBUTION TO GDP

15.50%

AGRICULTURE

14.75%

10

SERVICE

0

INDUSTRY

56.69%

5

2010-11

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

which produce mostly basic and low rate products. The sector contributes to the GDP is over 10%.

For more contribution, the government has to concentrate on product diversification and value addition,” said Faruq Hassan.

“Export contribution is directly linked with the employment genera-

ed sectors are not performing well.

That is why, export contributions to GDP is not increasing in line with the growth of economy,” Faruq Hassan, president of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exports Association told the Dhaka Tribune.

“Currently the export sector is highly dependent on RMG sector,

28.56%

tion and play an important role. That is why, for increasing the export in terms of value and creating more jobs for people, people oriented with the sectors have to concentrate on value addition,” said trade expert.

“While, high value items like pharmaceutical, shipbuilding and diversified jute products should

bring in consideration as it earn more than tradition and low cost products,” the added.

Professor Mustafizur Rahman, executive director of Centre for Policy Dialogue said.“If the export growth is less than the real GDP growth, it is a matter of concern and we have to think about it,” He also suggests to measure GPD on basis of dollar to picturesque the real scenario.

Contacted, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said: “The government has taken initiatives to diversify export basket to prompt export oriented sectors in aiming to enlarge export volume,” .

“As a part of government initiatives, we are providing cash incentives to pharmaceutical, agriculture and leather sector,” the minister said.

Adding that, the government has given more importance on products and market diversification in the six or five years plan he said: “Bangladesh is gradually entering into the export of value added products and I think, pharmaceutical sector would able to earn $5 billion in next five years, while IT sector will earn $1 billion by 2018. l

Saudi decides to take BERC tribunal starts hearing male domestic workers n Aminur Rahman Rasel

n Tribune Desk The Shoura Council of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has approved the recruitment of male domestic workers from Bangladesh.

A recommendation in this regard was made by Mohamed Nagadi, chairman of the Council’s Committee on Administration and Human Resources, at its 49th Ordinary session in Riyadh on Monday.

Appreciating the Shoura’s move, Bangladesh Ambassador Golam Moshi said it would be beneficial for both the countries. “The lifting of the ban on male domestic helps indicates improved bilateral relations,” he told Arab News.

The Kingdom started recruiting female domestic aides in February last year while visas for male domestics were issued only from June this year.

Out of the 1.3 million Bangladeshi workers in the Kingdom, 62,000 are housemaids. On an average, 6,000 female domestic

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY

workers arrive in the Kingdom every month, he said.

“We have around 48 categories of workers serving in all parts of the Kingdom.”

After the lifting of the six-year ban, the Kingdom will now take both skilled and unskilled workers from Bangladesh. Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia agreed to import one male domestic worker against each female housemaid. The process of lifting the ban began last year.

Moshi said that three Saudi companies based in Dhaka would provide training and orientation programmes to the female domestic aides.

“We will welcome more such organisations in Bangladesh so that they can train male domestic workers also.”

Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Nurul Islam on August 29 announced that the government has fixed the migration cost for jobs in Saudi Arabia at Tk1.65 lakh. l Dhaka

RAIN LIKELY THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22

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Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission Tribunal has started hearing to settle down the dispute for power and energy among the all entities.

BERC Tribunal Bench Secretary Nishit Kumer said: “The hearing between Mir Cement Ltd. and Titas gas transmission and distribution company ltd. regarding Mir’s claiming of taking minimum gas bill without providing enough gas pressure by the Titas took place in BERC’s hearing room on Wednesday.”

BERC will hold such trial for the first time in the country.

On September 7, a tribunal bench was formed with Dr. Selim Mahmud as Chairman, Mokhlesur Rahman Khandker and Md Emdadul Haque as member by BERC under Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission Dispute Settlement Regulations 2014.

Accordingly the regulation, the tribunal was formed to settle 26

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down all the disputes in between 60 working days and not to take all these disputes into traditional court.

BERC Tribunal will give separate verdict to settle the disputes after completing all the hearings.

“Earlier, the local and foreign investors in the energy sector did not feel interest to invest with these disputes which will be solved now by forming this Tribunal,” a member of the Tribunal bench seeking anonymity told the Dhaka Tribune.

Khulna

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Barisal

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:48AM

35.0ºC Khulna

23.0ºC Tetulia

Source: Accuweather/UNB

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PRAYER TIMES

He said: “This formation of Tribunal will now see more investors in this sector.”

The first hearing was held on Tuesday between Desh Energy Ltd and Power development Board regarding a claim by Desh Energy about raised electricity generation cost due not getting proper gas heating value.

The hearing on excessive gas bill will also be held between Liton Fabrics Ltd and Titas gas transmission and distribution company Ltd. today. l

Sylhet

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Cox’s Bazar

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Fajr: 5:10am | Zohr: 1:15pm Asr: 4:45pm | Magrib: 6:12pm Esha: 8:15pm Source: Islamic Foundation

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

No judge for Women and Children Tribunal n Liakat Ali Badal, Rangpur The Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal of Rangpur district has not procedure cases for the last four months, as no judge was appointed since the last one was retired.

A total of 6,000 cases have remained pending at the tribunal, putting the plaintiffs and accused criminals in a quandary.

Justice seekers told the Dhaka Tribune that they were waiting day after day get a date from the court.

“Judge of the tribunal KG Mostafa had gone to retirement four months ago. At the time, the court was conducting by District and Session Judge. Though some 6000 cases are still pending in the tribu-

nal,” said Rafique Hasnain, public prosecutor of Rangpur District and Session Court.

“Lawyers Association of the district has send a letter to the ministry to appoint the judge immediately to reduce suffering of the local people,” he said to the Dhaka Tribune.

Mamota Begum, a resident of Khalaspur village in Pirganj upazila of the district said: “I have filed a rape case with the tribunal 11 years ago but the trial of the case has not started yet.”

Sreemoti Sabitree Rani alleged with agitation: “Rival group has filed a fake case against me two years ago.”

“I came in the court everyday hearing date but returned home

without any hearing though I have to pay the lawyer for every hearing date,” she continued.

MA Bashar, Convener of Rangpur Senior Lawyer Human Rights Peace For Bangladesh said: “The rate of violence against women and children in Rangpur district is higher than any other districts of the country.

“To handle the excessive rate cases, there were two tribunals in the district where one had been transferred to Narsingdi when BNP was in power, which caused a huge tangle of cases.”

“Amid the tangle of cases, the tribunal judge KG Mostafa retired four months ago. It is causing a huge suffering to the local people,” he said.

Urging for rapid appointment of a judge Bashar said: “The plaintiffs in a quandary where the accused in criminal cases are unable to secure bail because of absence of the judge.

“The arrestees also have no other courts to submit bail petitions and have found them in a predicament.”

Public prosecutor-2 of the Tribunal, Jahangir Hossain Tuhin said: “To ensure justice to the people at least two judges need to appoint immediately.”

Abdul Malek, general secretary of Rangpur Lawyer Association said: “We have already informed to the ministry to appoint lawyers for the tribunal and the ministry assured us about this regard.” l

Couple killed in road accident n Abdullah Al Dulal, Rajshahi

A couple was killed and 10 others have been injured as a bus rammed into a house in Bohorompur railway crossing area in Rajshahi yesterday.

The deceased are Bashir Hossain, 40, and his wife Reshma Begun, 35.

Bashir was a rickshaw puller while his wife worked as a house maid.

Rajpara OC Amin Ullah said: “A Dhaka-bound bus of Keya Poribohon rammed into Bashir’s house around 1:45am on Wednesday, killing the couple in their sleep.”

Another couple – Dipu Mia and Chompa Begum – were also injured in the accident. They have been sent to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital. l

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Ilish brings smile to Meghna fishermen Islam Swapan, n Saiful Lakshmipur

Fishermen of Noakhali are pocketing good profits, as Ilish are being netted in abundant number the Meghna River.

A beam of satisfaction is seen in the faces of thousands of fishermen and they are passing busy time with happy mood.

Traders as well as fishermen remain busy round the clock in unloading the delicious fish from boats and supplying those to wholesale markets across

Bangladesh.

Motirhat Ghat located in Kamalnagar upazila of Chandpur, a hub for Ilish tradding in the district.

Local sources said traders from about 40 districts across the country come to the market and buy fishes from there.

Traders said the price of Ilish was lower this season compared to the previous years for plentiful supply of the fish at different markets of the district.

Ilish is being sold at a cheaper rate than previous years in Mojuchowdhuryhat of Sadar upazila,

Motirhat, Battirhat, Kotria and Ludhua-Falkan of Kamalnagar upazila, Ramgati Ghat, Tankir Ghat, Alexander Centre Khal (Canal) of Ramgati upazila, Charbangshi and Char Ababil of Raipur, said the sources.

Four Ilish weighing around 500 grams each are sold for Tk500 to Tk600 while four Ilish weighing around 1kg are sold at Tk1,500 to Tk2,500, they said.

Moreover, one kilogram of Ilish fry is being sold at Tk130 to Tk160.

The same scenario is seen at 10 more fishing markets located in

Lakshmipur Sadar, Kamalnagar and Ramgati upzilas.

Apart from these markets, the delicious Ilish is sold at some 30 fishery ghats along 100 kilomitres bank of the Meghna River.

According to government’s data, there are 36,700 fishermen who catch fishes in Meghna River, but the local fishermen claim that the number will be about 60,000.

While talking to this reporter, a fisherman Forkan Ali of Mojochowdhuryhat ghat said: “Now, Meghna River is full with Ilish and if it goes

all the year round, we will not have to face poverty.”

Trader of the area Harun said: “Some 80 Ilish comprising small and big sizes are being sold at Tk50,000 to Tk60,000.

“If fishermen can net Ilish such a way, they will make profit this year after repaying debts of last year.”

Lakshmipur district’s fisheries department said this year’s Ilishes are bigger than those of previous years and it has happened due to government’s step to prevent Ilish fry catching. l

Quader: Vehicle fitness to be scrutinised digitally n Tribune Report Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday said the fitness test of vehicles is being brought under a digital system as the government is going to use modern technology in transport management.

Talking to the service recipients of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) at its Mirpur office, he also said a vehicle inspection centre (VIC) has been set up at Mirpur to this end.

“The use of technology is set to begin in the country’s transport management as well through the inauguration of VIC on October 30 next,” he added.

Qudaer paid a surprise visit to the BRTA office and exchanged views with its service recipients.

He observed that the BRTA services have improved following some recent steps taken by the government. “But, middlemen are still active to some extant. We must resolve it, and improve the services further.”

The minister also assured the service recipients that there will be a good progress in transport management if the digital vehicle fitness test is launched replacing the existing manual one.

Transport sector experts have long been advocating for introducing the digital vehicle fitness test as a vehicle’s some features, including brake and steering alignment, cannot be checked properly in manual system.

There is also allegation that some vehicle owners are now managing fitness certificates through underhand dealing with a section of BRTA officials under the manual system. l

On the occasion of the wedding ceremony of Nova and Nabha, the entire zoo yesterday wore a festive look with colourful festoons and banners

RABIN CHOWDHURY

Especial wedding party of lion-lioness n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong

Amid much fanfare and festivity, an exceptional marriage ceremony between lion ‘Nabha’ and lioness ‘Nova’ was held at Chittagong Zoo on Wednesday morning.

Over 100 guests, including Chittagong Deputy Commissioner Mesbah Uddin, Additional Deputy Commissioners – Dr Anupam Saha and Habibur Rahman, Additional District Magistrate Mominur Rashid and Member Secretary of Chittagong Zoo Executive Committee Ruhul Amin, were present on the occasion.

Apart from government high-officials, students from different educational institutes and visitors from different parts of the city took part in the unusual occasion which is the first time in the country.

Chittagong Deputy Commissioner Mesbah Uddin who is also President of Chittagong Zoo Exec-

utive Committee inaugurated the wedding party cutting a beautifully decorated heart-shaped meat cake weighing 47kg of beef.

On the occasion of the wedding ceremony, the entire zoo wore a festive look with colourful festoons and banners. Hundreds of colorful balloons were flown in the air celebrating the togetherness.

Mentionable that the two lionesses ‘Borsha’ and ‘Nova’ at Chittagong Zoo have long been deprived of their mates in the cages.

On the other hand, the two lions at Rangpur Zoo were also passing their days in extreme loneliness in absence of mates.

Therefore, to remove the loneliness of the captive mammals, an exchange of a lion and a lioness took place between the two zoos.

The 11-year-old lion ‘Badsha’ which arrived at Chittagong Zoo on August 29 from Ranpur Zoo was re-

named as ‘Nabha’ yesterday.

Addressing the event as the chief guest, Chittagong DC Mesbah Uddin expressed his optimism that lioness ‘Nova’ finally got rid of her agonising loneliness and the population of the big cat species would increase in the zoo.

“We have undertaken a massive project for bringing a radical change to the zoo. As part of breathing a new life into the zoo, we are going to increase the number of animals,” said the DC. Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Dr Md Mongur Morshed Chowdhury, deputy curator of Chittagong Zoo, said the lion and the lioness would be released in the same cage tomorrow.

“The lion ‘Nabha’ and the lioness ‘Nova’ have already developed intimacy between them as we have kept them in side-by-side cages.

We are optimistic that the couple

will soon give birth to cubs,” hoped Dr Morshed.

The unusual occasion drew a huge number of visitors to the zoo.

The zoo sources said about 800 tickets were sold out in just two hours from 10am.

The eager visitors were all trying to have a glimpse at the big cat couple as they were roaring and strutting in their cages.

Mariyam Begum, a college student, told this correspondent that she had come to the zoo as she never heard of such an unusual occasion before.

Set up on February 28, 1989, the zoo is now located in a six-acre of hilly terrain in the city’s Foy’s Lake area.

Run by Chittagong district administration, the zoo now houses 360 animals of 67 species. Of them, 34 species are of birds while the rest species are of reptiles and other mammals. l

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

SOUTH ASIA

Afghanistan to sign peace deal with warlord Hekmatyar Afghan authorities will sign a peace accord on Thursday with Hezb-e-Islami of Afghanistan, a party led by one of the country’s most prominent Islamist warlords. The long-expected deal with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a veteran of almost 40 years of fighting in Afghanistan, follows months of negotiations aimed at bringing his group into the political fold. REUTERS

INDIA

Possible LeT involvement in Uri attack Radio sets used by the militants in Sunday’s attack on the army base in Uri indicate the possibility of involvement of Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The army had earlier said that the attackers were affiliated to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), another Pak-based terror outfit. Security agencies’ suspicion about the LeT’s involvement is based on the seizures from the slain militants. HT

CHINA

China chemical accidents cause 199 deaths China had 232 chemical-related accidents from January to August this year, causing 199 deaths and 400 injuries, according to research from the environmental group Greenpeace published on Wednesday. Greenpeace said China needs to “radically overhaul” the way it manages its chemical industry, which is now appallingly under-regulated. REUTERS

ASIA PACIFIC

20 dead in floods, landslides on Indonesia Torrential rains triggered floods and landslides on the Indonesian island of Java, killing at least 20 villagers and leaving 14 others missing. The worst-hit district was West Java’s Garut, where 17 people were found dead and 14 others were missing after two rivers overflowed Tuesday night. The dead in Garut included an 8-month-old baby and eight other children, the National Disaster Management Mitigation Agency said. AP

MIDDLE EAST

Airstrike in Syria hits medics responding An airstrike in northern Syria killed five medics responding to an earlier bombing raid, a relief group said Wednesday, a day after an airstrike on a humanitarian convoy prompted the UN to suspend desperately needed aid deliveries. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 13 people were killed in the attack, including nine militants. AFP

US Congress bill to declare Pakistan a terrorist state n Tribune International Desk Even as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is trying to shore up support in the UN general assembly for Pakistan over Kashmir, two American lawmakers introduced a bill in the US Congress on Tuesday proposing to designate Islamabad a state sponsor of terrorism. But Pakistan may still escape the terror tag.

“Not only is Pakistan an untrustworthy ally, Islamabad has also aided and abetted enemies of the United States for years,” said Ted Poe, chairman of the House subcommittee on terrorism, in a statement announcing the introduction of the bill, HR (House of Representatives) 6069, the Pakistan State Sponsor of Terrorism Designation Act. “From harbouring Osama bin Laden to its cosy relationship with the Haqqani network, there is more than enough evidence to determine whose side Pakistan is on in the war on terror,” he added.

Poe, a Republican member of the House of Representatives from Texas, introduced the Bill jointly with Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican from California who heads the House’s sub-committee on Europe, Eurasia and emerging threats.

If enacted, the Bill will require the President to give a report to Congress within 90 days on wheth-

er Pakistan had supported international terrorism, or not. Within 30 days thereafter, the secretary of state will either determine Pakistan is a state sponsor of terrorism, or say why not.

“It is time we stop paying Pakistan for its betrayal and designate it for what it is: a state sponsor of terrorism,” Poe said.

The Congressman did not cite Pakistan’s role in the Uri attack, as alleged by New Delhi, among the reasons for introducing the bill, but there was an unmistakably direct link given the time and the context.

There has been a steady stream of bipartisan expressions of support for India and condemnation of the attack on the army base in Uri by Pakistan-based Jaish-i-Mohammad since Sunday, from members of both chambers of Congress.

Frustration with Pakistan’s patchy record on counter-terrorism was so high that members had been mulling state-sponsor of terror designation for Pakistan for a while.

“If our current efforts in Pakistan are not producing the results we seek then what are our options?,” Representative Matt Salmon, a Republican, had asked during a recent Congressional hearing about Pakistan. “We could simply turn the money off … we could enforce sanctions or declare Pakistan as a state

The wanted poster issued by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation for Sirajuddin Haqqani is seen in an undated handout photo REUTERS sponsor of terrorism,” he added.

Richard Grenier, who was once CIA station chief in Islamabad, told lawmakers at another hearing recently that the US had nearly designated Pakistan as a state sponsor of terror in the 1990s, around the time when militancy was escalating in Kashmir.

Pakistan escaped then, and will possibly escape this time as well.

What could work in favour of Pakistan is that there is not enough time left for this Congress to con-

sider the Bill and ensure its passage through many stages. And even If it is passed, it may not get presidential assent given that the Obama administration is at the fag end of its term.

But the thought of a such a bill in the US Congress is unlikely to sit well with Prime Minister Sharif as he seeks to draw the world’s attention to an area frequently targeted by terrorists based in Pakistan. l

Source: HT

Protest erupts after police in Carolina kill african-American n Reuters, North Carolina Protesters blocked a highway and clashed with police in Charlotte, North Carolina, early on Wednesday morning after officers fatally shot an African-American man they said had a gun when they approached him in a parking lot.

About a dozen officers and several protesters suffered nonlife threatening injuries during an hours-long demonstration near where Keith Lamont Scott, 43, was shot by a policeman on Tuesday afternoon, police and local media said on social media.

Early Wednesday morning, protesters blocked Interstate 85, where they stole boxes from trucks and started fires before police used flash grenades in an attempt to disperse the angry crowd, an ABC affiliate in Charlotte reported.

A group of protesters then tried to break into a Walmart store before police arrived and began guarding its front entryway, video footage by local media showed.

Earlier in the evening, police in riot gear reportedly used tear gas on protesters who threw rocks and water bottles at them as they wielded large sticks and blocked traffic. One officer was sent to the hospital after being struck in the head by a rock, police said.

Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts urged for calm.

“The community deserves answers and (a) full investigation will ensue,” she said on Twitter, adding in a subsequent post, “I want answers too.”

Scott was shot by officer Brentley Vinson earlier in the day, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police. The shooting occurred when officers were at an apartment complex searching for a suspect with an outstanding warrant and they saw Scott get out of his vehicle with a firearm, the department said.

Vinson fired his weapon and struck Scott, who “posed an imminent deadly threat to the officers,” the department said in a statement.

Police officers wearing riot gear block a road during protests after police fatally shot Keith Lamont Scott in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Charlotte, North Carolina REUTERS Vinson, who joined the Charlotte police force in July 2014, is black, according to the department. He has been placed on paid administrative leave.

National debate

The fatal shooting came amid an intense national debate over the use of deadly force by police, par-

ticularly against black men.

Police did not immediately say if Scott was the suspect they had originally sought at the apartment complex. WSOC-TV, a local television station, reported that he was not.

Detectives recovered the gun Scott was holding at the time of the shooting and were interviewing witnesses, police said. l

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

USA

FACTBOX

2016 US election presidential debate n Tribune International Desk The first general election presidential debate of 2016 will be held at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York on September 26. The debate will be divided into six time segments of approximately 15 minutes each on major topics to be selected by the moderator and announced at least one week before the debate. Here we describe the formate and detail information about the first Presidential debate for our readers.

The participants Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and celebrity real estate mogul Donald Trump. No other candidates qualified for the debate. Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein were not invited by the presidential debate commission. The commission said it would only invite candidates that averaged 15 percent in five national polls it selected. Neither Johnson nor Stein made that threshold.

The moderator Lester Holt, who anchors “NBC Nightly News,” will be the moderator. It’s his second time serving in that role in the 2016 presidential cycle. Holt was also a moderator for the Democratic primary debate on January 17. On February 15, 2015 Holt became the substitute anchor of NBC Nightly News after Brian Williams was suspended. Four months later he became the permanent anchor.

Format of the debate The debate will be divided into six segments of 15 minutes each. Each segment will start with a question from Holt, after which each candidates will have two minutes for an initial response and then will be allowed to respond to each other. On Monday, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced the tentative topics for the debate: “America’s direction,” “achieving prosperity,” and “securing America.” The topics are subject to change based on news developments, according to the commission.

Hillary Clinton’s strategy The debate is Clinton’s chance to turn

the page on a few weeks during which Trump has eaten much of the polling lead she built following her convention. Clinton’s camp has also been counting on her policy knowledge and debate experience to help her expose Trump’s weaknesses, but the Democratic candidate also comes in facing higher expectations than Trump.

Donald Trump’s strategy Trump has been accused lacking policy gravitas and self-restraint, and both of those perceived weaknesses could be exposed in a debate, where candidates will be grilled on their familiarity with issues foreign and domestic and be expected to keep composed under rhetorical assault from their opponents. Trump has the advantage, however, of low expectations: At several turns in the presidential campaign, even modest pivots away from his bombastic primary style were hailed as pivots to professionalism, and a similar self-restraint, provided he still hits the high notes his supporters are expected, could help him clear the low bar again.

The most watched debate in presi-

dential history In 1980 the debate between President Jimmy Carter and Republican presidential nominee Ronald Reagan garnered a viewer-ship of 80.6m people, the largest television audience for a debate since Nielsen Ratings began collecting viewer-ship data in 1976. In 2012, the first general election presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney attracted about 70m viewers.

US election debate schedule Ü First presidential debate on Monday, September 26, 2016 at Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY. Ü Vice presidential debate on Tuesday, October 4, 2016 at Longwood University, Farmville, VA. Ü Second presidential debate on Sunday, October 9, 2016 at Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO. Ü Third presidential debate on Wednesday, October 19, 2016 at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV. l

Sources: Politico, Commission on Presidential Debates

Xenophobia threatening peace in Germany n Tribune International Desk Xenophobia is rising in the ex-communist east of Germany and risks tarnishing its reputation as a place to do business, the government said on Wednesday as it published its annual report on the state of German unification.

Far-right violence and attacks on migrants rose dramatically last year, with riots and arson attacks on refugee shelters in the towns of Heidenau and Freital in Saxony state. More than one million, mainly Muslim migrants from the Middle East, Africa and Asia streamed into Germany over the course of 2015.

Right-wing extremism in all its forms poses a very serious threat for the social and economic development of the new states,” Iris Gleicke, the federal government’s commissioner for eastern German affairs, said, referring to the five states that comprised Communist East Germany from 1945 to 1990.

Germany recorded 1,408 violent acts carried out by rightist supporters last year, a rise of more than 42% from 2014, and 75 arson attacks on refugee shelters, up from five a year earlier, according to an annual report by the BfV domestic intelligence agency published in June.

It has also fuelled a surge in

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support for the right-wing populist AfD party, which has run an anti-migrant and Islamophobic campaign. Eastern states have been required to take in relatively few numbers of new arrivals compared to western states, under a quota system calculated by the size of the state’s population and income.

But instances where asylum seeker accommodation was set on fire and assaults against refugees have shot up dramatically in the region, noted Gleicke. “I am disturbed by this rising far-right and xenophobic violence. It is more than an alarm bell if the attacks and violence are backed by or quietly accepted by mainstream society,” she said, adding that the incidents had sparked outrage worldwide.

Former communist eastern Germany has been the scene of several ugly incidents in which far-right extremists have targeted asylum seekers. Clashes broke out last week between dozens of asylum seekers and far-right extremists in the eastern city of Bautzen, forcing police to call in reinforcements to quell the violence.

In February, a cheering crowd was seen outside a burning asylum shelter in the same town, clapping and shouting: “Good, that’s up in flames.” That same

RIGHT-WING ATTACKS SOAR IN GERMANY

US arms sale to Saudis faces tough opposition The US Senate will vote on Wednesday on a measure to block the sale of tanks and other military equipment worth $1.15bn to Saudi Arabia, but the measure is not expected to pass despite lawmakers’ growing frustration with the longtime US ally. In August 64 lawmakers asking US President Barack Obama to postpone the sale. REUTERS

THE AMERICAS

Amazon forest fire threatens natives, wildlife An enormous fire is destroying vast stretches of the Amazon rainforest in Peru, threatening natives and wildlife, officials said, blaming traditional slash-andburn farming. The fire broke out on September 10 in an indigenous community called Pitsiquia, in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon.

It has since destroyed more than 47,000 acres of forest and another 200 hectares of farmland in the Junin region. AFP

UK

May pledges to ratify Paris climate deal by year Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged to world leaders to ratify the Paris agreement to slow climate change by the end of the year. In her maiden speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, May said the UK would commit itself to tackling climate change by starting the procedures to implement the landmark deal agreed in December last year. REUTERS

EUROPE

Right-wing extremists in Germany committed 173 Attacks during first attacks against sites housing asylum seekers quarter 2015 during the first six months of this year almost three times as many as during the same period in 2014

Troeglitz, April 4: Refugee shelter destroyed in suspected arson attack (above). Germany took in 200,000 refugees in 2014 and is predicted to receive over 300,000 in 2015

ANTI-REFUGEE ATTACKS

January to December 2014

January to Jun 2015

Thousands of protesters marched through Brussels on Tuesday to demand the EU abandon planned transatlantic free trade deals they say will worsen labour conditions and allow big business to challenge governments. Organisers, including unions, environmental and consumer groups and public health insurers, said between 10,000 and 15,000 people headed to the EU quarter of Brussels by early evening. REUTERS

AFRICA

Egypt Migrant boat capsize, 30 killed

175 173

Real figures may be higher as many refugees are afraid to report to police

Protest in Brussels against transatlantic free trade

Source: Federal Interior Ministry/Der Spiegel

weekend, a video emerged of farright thugs intimidating refugees, including crying children and preventing them from getting off a

bus to get into another shelter in the eastern town of Clausnitz. l

Sources: REUTERS, AFP

A boat carrying African migrants headed to Europe capsized off the Mediterranean coast near the Egyptian city of Alexandria on Wednesday, killing at least 30 people. Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said that the total number of dead was still unknown. Egypt’s official news agency MENA said the boat was carrying 600 people. AFP

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Central Asian children cast as IS executioners n Tribune International Desk Following a series of defeats on the battlefield and a loss of control over strategic cities such as Fallujah in Iraq and Manbij and Jarabulus in the north of Syria, the so called Islamic State (IS) again revived its online propaganda activities through the al-Hayat Media Centre.

In the last ten days of August, IS issued two colourful magazines, one in French and one in Arabic, linking to more than 15 video and audio clips promoting violence and the brutal killing of prisoners and civilians.

After thorough analysis of these materials one gets the impression that IS is trying to compensate for its military defeats with promotional activity. These videos often depict children from Central Asia as heroes who came to Syria with their parents and joined the IS youth fighting group, “Cubs of the Caliphate.”

On August 26, IS released a horrific, but professionally cut, video– titled “Nations United Against You” – in which five boys (who look to be 10 to 12) are shown killing captured Kurdish militia troops. The children in the video are wearing military uniforms, while the prisoners are in orange prison outfits.

One of the children, identified as Abu al-Bara al-Tunisi (the Tunisian), addresses the Kurdish fighters in Arabic, promising more violence and saying the battle against them has not yet begun. The other children are identified as Abu Ishaq al-Masri (the Egyptian), Abu Abdullah al-Britani (the Briton), Abu Fu’ad al-Kurdi (the Kurd) and Yusuf al-Uzbeki (the Uzbek).

Al-Tunisi addresses Western countries in the video as well, saying “USA, France, Great Britain, Germany – neither humans nor genies will help you! Prepare your coffins, dig your grave, you will face the fate of these people.” Al-Tunisi and the children shoot the hostages in the back of their heads, shouting “Allah Akbar.”

Among the “executioners,” who are barely out of diapers, is a boy labeled Yusuf al-Uzbeki, which means his ethnic origin is Uzbek.

Al-Uzbeki appears to be one of the leaders of the children’s group.

Through this video the main ideologist of IS, Abu Muhammad al-‘Adnani, wanted to deliver to the global community the message that the possible fall of Raqqa, the capital of the Islamists, will not stop the “holy war” against “disbelievers” since the children of the Caliphate are capable of continuing the jihad.

Indeed, for the last three years IS has managed to rear a new generation of jihadists, ready to wage war against the West in the future.

Western media paid particular attention to this video, since among the executioners there was a boy from the English county of Kent

named JoJo who was identified by his father. JoJo’s mother, 47-yearold Brit Sally Jones, divorced her husband and fled to Syria in 2013, where she joined IS. Later she accepted Islam and changed her child’s name to Khamza. According to the Quilliam Foundation, an anti-extremist organization, there are about 50 British-born children living in areas under IS control.

Not the first

This is not the first video featuring children from Central Asia. Terrorist organisations like IS, Jabhat al-Nusra, the Taliban, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, and Imam Bukhari Jamaat have used children from Central Asia–from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Uyghurs from Xinjiang in China–in their propaganda material. Videos often contain footage of military training of children, executions of prisoners, and suicide bombings.

Recently, Central Asians saw on YouTube a terrible video of a teenager, Babur Israilov from Jalal-Abad in southern Kyrgyzstan, on his way to becoming a suicide bomber. In the video, Babur cries before being sent to his death in an armoured car laden with explosives in Fua, Syria.

One of the fighters gathered around encourages him, saying in Uzbek that Satan intervenes at crucial moments to confuse a Muslim’s mind, so he should think only of Allah.

Further in the video sentimental Arabic music plays, the armoured personnel carrier moves, and, at the fatal moment, the bomb explodes.

According to Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, Babur Israilov was a member of an extremist group of Uzbeks–Imam Bukhari Jamaat– which fights alongside Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria.

On January 13, 2015, IS released through Al-Hayat Media a short video titled “Uncovering An Enemy

IS often features Central Asia’s children in its propaganda videos, labelling them 'Cubs of the Caliphate' Within.” The video presents segments from the confessions of two men whom IS says were spies working for the Russian intelligence services. The men are executed at the end of the video by a young Kazakh boy. He executes the men by shooting them from behind, one of them several times. The child is then seen proudly raising his gun in the air while smiling, while a caption reads: “Honor stands firmly in the land of the caliphate, above the corpses of disbelief that lay humiliated under the feet of these young mujahideen. The examples of Mu’adh and Mu’awwadh resonate in their hearts, fuelling an unyielding fervour to inflict death upon the enemies of Allah…”

In early April 2016 Islamic State’s propaganda centre, Furat Media, posted a video in which a resident of Osh, Abu Amin, was sitting with his grandson and calling the people of Central Asia to come with their families and protect the Caliphate, where, he said, all conditions have been created for bringing up children in the spirit of Islam. In March 2016, IS spread a video called “Message from the heart to the lands

Children from Kazakhstan training in the Islamic State’s military camps

ALHAYAT

of Kazakhstan” in which Marat Maulenov, the son of a resident of Kazygurt district of the South Kazakhstan region, in a camouflage uniform and holding a weapon, threatens Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, calling him “qafir.”

A young man says in Kazakh: “Oh, Nazarbayev, bear in mind…our arms are here, but our eyes are focused on Kazakhstan.”

In a video released on September 24, 2015, the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) showcased several children attending a training camp for children in Idlib province. The video was produced by Islam Awazi, the official media branch of the TIP. In a tweet to advertise the video, the jihadist group called the children “little mujahideen.” Prior to that Uyghur jihadists produced two videos, on July 4, 2015, and on April 24, 2013. In the videos, the children, some of whom appear to be no older than six, are shown firing handguns, AK-47 assault rifles, and a PKM machine-gun from various positions.

The TIP has long operated in Idlib alongside the al-Nusra Front.

The Turkestan Islamic Party also operates in China as well as Central and South Asia and is thought to have scores of fighters and its leadership located in Pakistan’s tribal areas and in Afghanistan. The TIP is largely made up of ethnic Uyghurs and fights with the aim of creating an Islamic state in the Chinese province of Xinjiang.

According to the special services of Kyrgyzstan, about 140 minors have been taken from Kyrgyzstan to training camps in Iraq and Syria. The vast majority of children are under the age of 14, with an estimated 85 children under the age of 10. Authorities have not reported how many children have come to the Islamic State from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. According to human rights organizations more than 600 children from Central Asia are in ISIS-controlled areas of Iraq and Syria. Most children were brought into the conflict zone by their parents.

THE DIPLOMAT

A major problem

According to various estimates, there are 4,000 Central Asians fighting with various groups in Iraq and Syria. Estimates of the number of children from the former republics of the Soviet Union vary, and no one can pinpoint the exact number.

The president of the Quilliam Foundation, Noman Benotmane, performed a conceptual analysis of children in the Islamic state. He said, “It is clear that enrolling (to establish quantity) children into the armed groups is now a major problem in Iraq and Syria, with many organisations, including IS, Jabhat al-Nusra (JN) and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) recruiting children and adolescents.”

Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan law enforcement agencies have no clear work plan that deals with the “children of Caliphate” who return from Syria. Central Asian governments have failed to develop a program of prevention of children at home similar to what exists in Great Britain. It is an important priority for government agencies to integrate former religious extremists into a new peaceful society, and bring them back to civilian life.

However, little has been done in this area so far. The power structures, social institutions and local authorities of the Central Asian states are unable to work with radical Islamic groups. Similar to the past, security agencies prefer to work through repressive methods.

Police officers and prosecutors drive religious radicals and minorities deep underground through arrest, prosecution, and intimidation, detaching them from both the society and the state. But this does not solve the problem of Islamic radicalism. Indeed, extremists use accumulated anger and resentment toward the authorities to recruit more members. l

[This is an excerpt of a The Diplomat Article, which can be found at http://bit. ly/2cCvZnh]

An injured student is attended to by her schoolmates after clashes with security at University of the Witwatersrand on Tuesday REUTERS

South African universities close after tuition fee protests n Tribune International Desk At least three South African universities suspended classes on Wednesday because of student protests over tuition fees after the government recommended above-inflation increases for 2017.

Students demanding free tertiary education marched near Johannesburg’s University of the Witwatersrand, known as “Wits”, where classes were called off for the rest of this week.

Academic activities were also suspended at the University of Pretoria’s main campus, and the University of Cape Town said it had temporarily suspended classes on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Demonstrations since 2015 over the cost of university education, prohibitive for many black students, have highlighted frustration at the inequalities that persist more than two decades after the 1994 end of white-minority rule.

The latest protests were triggered by a government recommendation on Monday that

2017 tuition fee increases be capped at 8%. Inflation stands at 5.9%.

Police spokesman Lungelo Dlamini said 31 students arrested on Tuesday at Wits had been released, but gave no further details.

The government and the main opposition party have accused students of turning campuses across the country into battlegrounds and damaging university property.

Weeks of violent demonstrations last year forced President Jacob Zuma to rule out fee raises for 2016, but university authorities have warned that another freeze for the coming year could damage their academic programmes. The government has promised to pay about $180m to cover the costs of poor students.

Blade Nzimande, the South African education minister, has condemned violent student protests, saying the government has “gone a long way” to financially support poor students and that students with resources should pay fees to help cover rising university costs. l

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Sitakunda-Cox’s Bazar marine drive to be linked with Asian Highway n Asif Showkat Kallol Finance Minister AMA Muhith

Govt plans to use forex reserves in mega projects n Asif Showkat Kallol The government plans to use the central bank’s foreign currency reserves for implementing mega development projects, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said yesterday.

The minister hinted this after a meeting with Bangladesh Bank Governor Fazle Kabir on the use of foreign exchange reserves and improvement of financial system at the secretariat.

Muhith said: “We do not need assistance from World Bank and International Monetary Fund as our foreign exchange reserves are huge.”

“We have decided not not seek any fund from the global lenders in Bank-Fund meeting scheduled next month in Washington.”

“The finance division and Bangladesh Bank are now working to find out mechanism for the use of foreign currency reserves. We will also seek ideas from Bank-Fund meeting,” added the minister.

“However, my personal opinion is that we will take loan from foreign exchange reserves along with the loan from sovereign bond to implement mega projects.”

Acording to Bangladesh Bank, the present forex reserve is $31.16 billion.

In 2014, the government had tried to use a portion of its foreign currency reserves for constructing Padma Bridge—the largest infrastructure project in Bangladesh— but the idea was not work out. l

Capital market snapshot: Wednesday DSE Broad Index

4,660.1

0.5% ▲

Index

1,118.2

0.2% ▲

30 Index

1,773.5

0.2% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk

6,141.2

14.6% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol

150.4

13.6% ▲

All Share Index 14,306.0

0.3% ▲

30 Index

12,972.4

0.4% ▲

CSE

Selected Index

8,711.0

0.3% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk

323.7

9.6% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol

9.9

12.3% ▲

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved a Chinese firm to finance two priority projects: Dhaka-Sylhet four-lane road and Sitakunda-Cox’s Bazar marine drive expressway.

The projects of the Road Transport and Highways Division got the committee’s nod at a meeting yesterday, with Finance Minister AMA Muhith in the chair.

Of them, the 160km marine drive expressway will be connected with the Asian Highway-41 and the Bangladesh–China–India–Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor.

The Marine Drive Expressway and SitakundaChittagong-Cox’s Bazar Coastal Protection Works at a cost of $2.8bn The two projects will be implemented under government-to-government deal, said Mustafizur Rahman, additional secretary at the Cabinet Division, at a post-meeting press briefing.

According to the proposal, the first project involves upgrading the 226km Dhaka-Sylhet road into a four-lane highway at an estimated cost of $1.58bn and the Marine Drive Expressway and Sitakunda-Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar Coastal Protection Works at a cost

of $2.8bn. However, the cost may increase as the project work goes on, says the proposal.

Two highway projects will be constructed by the China Harbor Engineering Limited and the Bank of China will finance on G2G basis.

The Road Transport and Highways Division, in its proposal, said the Chinese companies will implement the projects through the G2G

deal. On August 22, Finance Minister AMA Muhith wrote the Chinese ambassador in Bangladesh, Ma Mingqiang, for funding of Dhaka-Sylhet highway into four-lane project construction.

In recent years, the government has been trying to get the Chinese financial assistance to implement 18 projects worth over $14bn.

Earlier, the projects like In-

fo-Sarker Phase III of $150m and tunnel construction under the River Karnaphuli of over $1bn were awarded to the Chinese companies without any tender.

On July 20, the cabinet committee on public purchase decided to purchase service worth over $4.3bn from the China Railway Engineering Corporation to lay Dhaka-Jessore rail line through Padma Bridge. l

Japanese firm appointed for Bangabandhu Airport study n Ishtiaq Husain Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh (CAAB) has picked up a Japanese consulting firm to conduct a feasibility study on the proposed Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib International Airport.

The CAAB signed an agreement with Nippon Koei Co Ltd in the capital on Wednesday. The study is expected to be completed in 18 months with a cost of Tk120 crore.

Air Vice-Marshall Ehsanul Gani Chowdhury, chairman of CAAB and Toshika Ju Kambara, deputy director general of Nippon Koei, signed the deal on behalf of their respective organisations at CAAB headquarters in the capital.

“As the number of passengers is increasing by around 7% annually, we have decided to build another

airport,” said Ehsanul Gani Chowdhury after signing the agreement.

He said: “Bangladesh will be a regional aviation hub soon as most of the East and West bound aircrafts are using Bangladesh territory and if we want to tap the aviation business, we need to build another airport.”

The feasibility study team would verify all factors, including cost and risk benefits, economic and financial impacts, financing and airport operation strategy, environmental impact and management plant.

The existing infrastructure facilities of the country’s main gateway, Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, are insufficient to meet the increasing air traffic demand as it faces some constraints in the expansion of the airport. Considering the fact, the government has

undertaken a move for building a new airport.

Three sites Char Janajat in Madaripur district, Keyain and Latobdi in Munshiganj district and Char Bilashpur in Dhaka district have primarily been selected for the construction of the proposed

airport, according to the CAAB. The construction cost of the proposed Bangabandhu airport along with three 14,500-feet runways has been estimated at Tk50,000 crore and it will take around 10 years to accomplish the project, reads the project proposal. l

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Summit Power buys 64% stake in Ace Alliance Power n Tribune Business Desk

Summit Power Limited, a subsidiary of Summit Group and the first Bangladeshi Independent Power Producer in Bangladesh in private sector, has bought 64% stake in Ace Alliance Power Limited.

After purchasing shares of Ace Alliance from Sri Lankan firm Aitken Spence PLC, the local power generator became a leading operating member of 149MW duel fuel (HFO/Gas)-fired project, said the company in a filing with the Dhaka Stock Exchange yesterday.

Another local firm Alliance Holdings Ltd, which accounted for 36% of Ace Alliance is another con-

sortium member of the power project to be implemented at Kodda in Gazipur.

On September 8, 2016, Bangladesh Power Development Board and Board of Directors of the Summit Power gave consent to incorporating the changes of ownership of the project.

The facility will be implemented on build, own and operate basis for a period of 15 years from the commercial operation date.

On July 11, 2011, the cabinet committee on public affairs had allowed the consortium of Aitken Spence PLC, Sri Lanka and Alliance Holdings Limited to implement the power project.

Earlier, Summit had submitted its letter of Interest (LoI) and proposed to acquire land on its own and build necessary infrastructure

The local power generator became a leading operating member of 149MW duel fuel-fired project following complexity over the site selection for setting up the duel-fuel project.

In 2010, Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) signed a memorandum of understanding

with the Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Ltd (BTCL) to set up a power plant at BTCL’s unused land.

BTCL did not allow the BPDB to transfer its unused land to other firm or person and the hi-tech park authorities also disagreed to allow any power plant inside the park.

Since an exceptional long duration elapsed for launching the project, Aitken Spence became anxious and informed the BPDB that it was not in a position to arrange land and develop a power plant.

Alliance Holdings Limited wrote to the BPDB for inclusion of the Summit Power replacing Ace Alliance to implement the power project. l

Corn, vegetable seeds, jute carbon exporters to get subsidy

n Tribune Business Desk

The government will provide subsidies to exporters of corn and vegetable seeds and carbon produced from jute stalk to promote the country’s export business.

Two separate circulars were issued by Bangladesh Bank (BB) in this regard on Wednesday.

Exporters will get 20% subsidy over the net export value against these goods produced locally at their own factories.

“The government has decided to provide subsidy against export of seeds of corn and vegetables aiming to boost country’s export business,” said the circulars.

BB circular reads, the decision will come into effect from July 1 this year and will be applicable for cargo products as per circular.

Earlier on Tuesday, Bangladesh Bank had announced extending a new 5% incentive for exports of crust and finished leather if the tanneries in Hazaribagh relocate to Savar while the existing 12.5% subsidy on leather goods exports has been increased to 15%.

A subsidy of 10% will be given against the exports of horns, tendons and intestines of cows and buffaloes. Exporters of frozen shrimp and other fish will get up to 10% incentive. Shipbuilding is becoming an emerging industry in Bangladesh, and in the light of the development, the incentive for ship exporters has been raised to 10% from 5%.

Exporters of potato, PET bottle flex and plastic goods will get 10% incentive and furniture exporters 15%. Various jute goods exporters will get 5% to 20% incentives. l

US dollar notes are seen at a Kasikornbank in Bangkok, Thailand

REUTERS

Trillion-dollar global fund industry faces pressure to tighten belt n Reuters Home to trillions of dollars of global wealth, mutual fund firms face an unfamiliar round of belt-tightening as changes in the way people invest and rising costs chip away at rich margins.

After years of underwhelming returns in a low-interest rate environment, savers are dumping high-fee funds in favour of cheaper investment products, forcing asset managers to look more closely at the balance between income and costs.

Increased regulation after the global financial crisis is pushing up the cost of doing business for the established players while nimble technology-driven rivals are springing up to offer alternative investment products at a lower price.

“Strong inflows over a number of years have mitigated the need to make hard, cost-cutting decisions,”

said Alastair Sewell, regional head for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific in the fund and asset manager group at Fitch.

While the first signs of pressure are already being felt, Sewell said the biggest hits would likely come if an economic downturn prompted more investors to move their money.

“When the cycle turns, and we start to see a trend towards outflows - that is when the cost-cutting question will start to bite,” he added.

Firms could respond by cutting jobs, particularly among back-office staff, streamlining product ranges and making greater use of technology. More takeovers of the thousands of small firms operating globally could be another consequence.

A Reuters analysis of the annual reports of the world’s biggest listed, standalone asset managers between 2005/6 and 2015 showed the strain

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is already being felt. While some operations have been trimmed, more cuts may be on the way.

The average firm analysed increased assets by more than 200% in the decade to end-2015 but just five out of the 11 firms managed last year to grow their assets under management - the primary driver of revenues.

Eight firms posted a fall in the revenue generated by each employee between 2014 and 2015, while the four firms which broke out their management fee margin the ratio of net fees earned to average assets under management - all showed a fall.

While nine still managed to raise their operating margins in 2015, for example by growing their asset base or moving to a more profitable mix of products, just one firm - Swiss-based GAM Holding - cut staff, the biggest cost. l

RMG sustainable sourcing conference due on Sept 29 n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi The Kingdom of the Netherlands and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) will organise a sustainable sourcing conference in Dhaka to enhance common understanding of sustainable versus unsustainable sourcing from the RMG sector and showcase new sourcing practices.

The conference titled Sustainable Sourcing in the Garment Sector (SSGS) will be held on September 29 at Hotel Raddission Blu in Dhaka.

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed is expected to present at the conference as the chief guest while Lilianne Ploumen, minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Netherlands, will attend at the opening session.

SSGS will be organised by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Dhaka in partnership with the International Apparel Federation (IAF) and the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

The conference will emphasise the need for advancing a common understanding on sustainable sourcing practices through promoting multi-stakeholders cooperation and presenting best practices.

It will focus on enhancing a mutual understanding of sustainable versus unsustainable sourcing, and to showcase new sourcing practices that will be beneficial for all stakeholders in the garment value chain.

In the conference, there will have three sessions – Global trends in garment sector and opportunities for Bangladesh, International framework for sustainable sourcing: setting the outline for future collaboration and Success factors for sustainable production and sourcing.

“The prime objective of the conference is to present Bangladesh’s present status in terms of safety, workers rights, production capacity, quality and value addition,” BGMEA senior vice-president Faruq Hassan told the Dhaka Tribune.

Manufacturers have done job by improving safety standards. They also installed digital machinery and latest technology to produce products in line with the international standard, said Hassan.

Exporters have to invest a lot of money in upgradation and the buyers also have some responsibilities about pricing and above all cooperation.

The buyers can help manufactures enhance workers efficiency and productivity, all these issues would be broadly discussed in the conference, said the association leader, who is also the managing director of Giant Group. l

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

OECD sees growth flounder as ‘globalisation stalls’ n Reuters Global economic growth will flounder this year and next at rates not seen since the financial crisis as the march of globalization grinds to a halt, the OECD warned yesterday.

Long a motor for the global economy, trade growth is set to lag growth in the broader world economy this year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said in an update of its main economic forecasts.

“This is well below past norms and implies that globalisation as measured by trade intensity may have stalled,” the Paris-based organization said.

As a result, the OECD estimated the global economy would muster growth of only 2.9% this year, down from a forecast of 3% in its last estimates in June and the lowest rate since the global financial crisis of 2008-2009.

The OECD said many global supply chains that add economic value at each stage and are often rooted in China and other east Asian countries were unraveling as China sought to wean its economy off of exports for growth and some firms brought back production

to their home countries.

A growing backlash against trade liberalization as well as recessions in some big commodity-producing countries were adding to the trade slowdown, which the OECD warned could erode already flagging productivity and thus ultimately living standards.

“If we could get back on track with the kind of trade growth that we had in the 1990s and 2000s, we would be able to return to productivity growth rates prior to the financial crisis,” OECD chief economist Catherine Mann told Reuters in an interview.

“Productivity has basically fallen by half since the financial crisis and that is a recipe for breaking promises to all of our citizens,” she said.

Broken promises

A backlash against trade has surged onto the political agenda of several countries facing elections in the coming months.

US presidential candidate Donald Trump has campaigned hard to roll back trade liberalization while Germany and other European countries saw tens of thousands of people protest on Saturday against planned

free trade deals with the United States and Canada.

Mann said that while voters could easily see losses from increased trade in the form of job cuts, the gains - lower prices for goods and more choice - were less visible.

With global growth seen picking up to only 3.2% next year - trimmed from 3.3% in June, Mann warned that would be too little to generate the jobs that youths expected and to respect pension promises to the elderly.

“This is not a pretty picture for global growth,” Mann said. “Across the board a three percent growth rate is insufficient to keep promises to citizens.”

The OECD said that growth in the United States was in particular looking weaker than only a few months ago, forecasting growth in the world’s biggest economy at 1.4% this year, down from a forecast of 1.8% in June.

Although that would be the weakest growth since the financial crisis in 2009 and weaker than the euro zone’s 1.5%, the OECD said that the US Federal Reserve should go ahead with an interest rate hike of a quarter percentage point. l

CORPORATE NEWS

Gemini Sea Food Limited yesterday held its 34th annual general meeting, said a press release. The company’s chairperson Ameenah Ahmed was present at the meeting

Dr. M. Habibur Rahman, a professor at BUET has recently been named the chairperson of Dhaka Wasa board, said a press release

Meghna Bank Limited has recently signed an Agreement with Esquire Electronics on providing the bank’s credit cardholders with 0% Insta-Pay EMI facilities at Esquire Electronics, said a press release. The bank’s MD, Mohammed Nurul Amin and Arifur Rahman, MD of Esquire Electronics were present at the signing ceremony

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Stocks attract interest as DSE turnover crosses Tk600cr n Tribune Business Desk The stock markets saw a resurgence of interest yesterday as the DSE trade volume in value crossed Tk600 crore after eight months.

The bullish sentiment continued to become stronger as the day wore out However, stocks registered

modest gain, extending their rally.

The benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, rose 21 points or 0.5% to 4,660, extending its gaining streak for the 11th straight session. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, inched 2 points up to 1,773.

The DSE Shariah Index, DSES,

gained only 2 points to 1,118.

However, the Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX was up 22 points to 8,710.

Trading activities remained upbeat as the DSE turnover stood at Tk614 crore—its highest since February 20 this year and over 14% higher over previous session.

The trade was centered mainly on pharmaceuticals sector that accounted for more than 16% of the total turnover. Among the major sectors, non-banking financial institutions were the highest gainers with a rise of 1.5%, followed by banks 1.3%, mutual funds 0.8% and engineering 0.6%.

Power, pharmaceuticals, textile and ceramics advanced marginally while telecommunications, cement, food & allied, and IT closed negative.

The gainers took a strong lead over losers as out of total 322 companies traded, 172 ended up and 59 down while 59 remained unchanged. l

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

'Ideas don’t have passports or flags' Social entrepreneur Sajia Afreen speaks to Dhaka Tribune

n Rayan Quddus

S

ajia Afreen is a young social entrepreneur, who’s recently turned up on the international radar. She has been travelling the world, networking with people, exchanging ideas and taking initiatives to execute them. Most recently, she was selected to attend a conference with the help of the UN’s World Merit Organisation, as the sole delegate from Bangladesh. This young woman has been working diligently with a view to creating a platform for sharing ideas to promote initiatives towards reaching Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Tell us about the types of ideas that you have been exchanging with other social entrepreneurs?

There are a lot of ideas that we exchange, now and then. But currently I have some upcoming projects in India, where we try to help land owners and farmers join hands in order to develop their lands. It is an experiment where real-estate, agriculture and development intertwine. Our steps are still on a trial basis; we intend to prevent farmers from being ripped off and make sure everyone gets their fair share.

And from there, I plan to bring my experience on board for some projects in Bangladesh. I started a social enterprise named Evolving Bangladesh. This won’t be a charity organisation; rather I will take a more realistic approach- like teaching them to hunt and gather their food as opposed to handing them free food.

Since you are trying to help farmers with real estate for development, how might some of your projects help Bangladesh?

First of all I want to clear out, it’s not only about Bangladesh, and these ideas don’t have passports or flags, it is global. But from my country’s perspective, it can help build newer cities with proper infrastructure and a population with pragmatic skill sets. In a way the population would be

People in other parts of the country can access to better resources like internet connection, educational facilities, electricity, etc.

more spread out which means that Dhaka will not be the only city our country will depend on.

There are so many people coming into the city with blind and vague ambitions. I want people in other cities to have options beyond the capital. People in other parts of the country can access to better

resources like internet connection, educational facilities, electricity, etc.

Given your interest in making the (SDGs) a reality, what is your opinion on the government’s initiative of building the Rampal Power Plant? Are you concerned

about the potential threats to the Sundarbans?

Of course as a person, I am worried about the environment.

But I am not an expert regarding that issue, so I can’t comment much on that, my criticism wouldn’t have much weight, given my situation at the moment.

Nevertheless, I do believe that Bangladesh needs more electricity supply to reach its SDGs. Not sure if the government is taking the right or the wrong actions.

However, I wholeheartedly appreciate the Prime Minister’s initiative towards “Digital Bangladesh”. I mean without the internet I wouldn’t be able to do the things I am doing. For that I thank her. I might not agree with

everything the authorities do, but I always hope that we can all peacefully live together in a country despite having different opinions.

You seemed to be an ambitious person, please elaborate on what made you such a brave soul?

Well, I think when I joined the science club in my school, where I had an executive position; it helped me to network with more and more people. I was really into my extracurricular activities, it tempered my academics. My parents were disappointed when I dropped science in my final year of HSC. Their dreams of me being a doctor were shattered. So my dad told me, “If you want to study business, join IBA.” But I knew that I wouldn’t want to get into that place. That wasn’t for me. By then I had some time in hand, to prepare for the admission exams.

But instead I kept my focus on networking by participating in various Model UN conferences and public speaking events. After that, I got admitted to North South University, and my parents were still a bit disappointed, but when I started bringing in more awards and certificates, they are now more supportive than ever. At this point, I would like to thank Abdun Noor Tushar for his generosity; he helped me out when I needed the most. l

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Countering terrorism Ensuring peace and engaging change makers in Bangladesh (Part 1 of 2)

n Siamul Huq Rabbany Terrorism is a great threat to democracy in today’s world. It doesn’t have a country, nationality or religion. All countries of the world are facing these challenges, and Bangladesh is no exception in that regard. Different terrorist groups, whose ultimate objectives are to destabilise existing social structures and stop growth, have recently attacked the peace loving people of this country. w Bangladesh is now a rolemodel to many countries, especially due to its remarkable progress during the era of Millenium Development Goals (MDGs). According to the Bangladesh Government MDG Progress Report 2015, it has met MDG targets like reducing headcount poverty and poverty gap ratio, reducing the prevalence of underweight children and attaining gender parity at primary and secondary education, among others.

So much to be proud of

According to World Development Indicators published in July 2015, Bangladesh is on its way to becoming a lower-middle income country, joining those with annual incomes ranging between $1,046 to $4,125. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the per capita income in Bangladesh rose from $1,190 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2013-14 to $1,316 in FY 2014-2015. The current government had targeted to transform Bangladesh into a middle-income country under its “Vision 2021”. In the classification committee meeting held on 17 June 2015, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) upgraded the overall country ratings for Bangladesh by one notch (category 5 from category 6) for the resilience of its economy and the high and stable growth for well over a decade, despite political upheaval and changes in external demand. This upgrade puts Bangladesh just behind India but ahead of other South Asian countries, such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar and Mongolia.

These global trends show that the country is heading towards a strong economy, with a firm place in the global system. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the 2015 Outlook Updated Report forecast that Bangladesh is headed

Photos: Bigstock in the right direction to secure 6.7% GDP growth in the 2015-16 fiscal year.

However, the heinous activities by various terrorist groups are creating an environment that will hinder the growth Bangladesh has achieved in recent years. The government and the people of the country have shown ‘zero tolerance’ to terrorism. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that terrorism is taking different shapes, using different technologies and taking advantage of the frequently changing dynamics of the modern world to brainwash innocent people.

Bangladesh is no exception in that regard, though there is a big question about the direct presence of any international terrorist groups in Bangladesh. Without going into that debate, it is evident that our homegrown terrorist groups have somehow made linkages with those international terrorist groups, or are trying to cement themselves on the stage of international terrorism. This shift requires Bangladesh to rethink its existing counter terrorism mechanism

New reactions to an old problem

While terrorism on this global scale and its impact on Bangladesh

is more recent, terrorist activities themselves are not a sudden phenomenon. During the first half of the last decade, Bangladesh experienced a number of terrorist attacks, particularly in 2004 and 2005. The most significant of these was the August 21, 2004 grenade attack on an Awami League (AL)

feedback, both at home and abroad. The initiatives to counter terrorist activities in the country include, but are not limited to forming a National Committee on Militancy Resistance and Prevention, forming a National Committee for Intelligence Coordination, banning five major

The heinous activities by various terrorist groups are creating an environment that will hinder the growth Bangladesh has achieved in recent years public meeting, which specifically targeted the AL leadership, including Sheikh Hasina, the then leader of the opposition.

On August 17, 2005, around 500 bombs were exploded in 63 out of 64 districts, and the issue of terrorism in Bangladesh gained international attention.

The current government has made it clear, to our citizens and to the world community, that there is no place for terrorism in Bangladesh. Its strong commitment and different initiatives have received positive

local extremist groups, and enactment of the Anti-Terrorism (amendment) Act 2013 in line with the UN’s Action Plan on Counter Terrorism Strategy.

So far, the success in combating terrorism in Bangladesh can be attributed to the efficient actions taken by different agencies, ministries and departments. The coordination mechanism within the government has become much better than before. The country has also strengthened its cooperation with other countries in the region, as well

internationally. Traditionally, Bangladesh tends to follow the ‘reactive approach’ to counterterrorism, where emphasis is given on examining the crime scene after a terrorist attack to find and arrest the militants responsible. While there is no doubt that the ‘reactive and hard power’ approaches using law enforcement agencies are vital to counter terrorist activities, the recent changing dynamics and shift in operational tactics of these terrorist groups or extremists also requires an emphasis on the proactive approach of counterterrorism. Many current studies on security and terrorism suggest that a ‘proactive people oriented’ model, besides the ‘reactive’ and hard power’ model, is necessary to eliminate the causes that are conducive to the spread of terrorism. This can be more effective in tackling this threat in the long run.l

The writer is the CEO and Co-Founder of Bangladesh Initiative for Sustainable Future (BISF) and can be reached at rabbany.siamul@ bisf.org.bd

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Powered by the sun CARC's Innovation, collaboration and social impact

n Features Desk

he Control & Applications Research Centre (CARC) at BRAC University has expertise in the area of Systems and Control Engineering.

CARC has a strong practical focus and many of the projects involve close collaboration with industrial organisations. It emphasises upon the application requirements

T

They designed and developed the prototype under the supervision of the Director of CARC, Dr AKM Abdul Malek Azad, who is also a professor of the Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering (EEE) of BRAC University. The idea came out of an academic thesis project students EEE (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) at BRAC University were doing in 2013.

and exercises established theoretical techniques to provide solutions through technological demonstration.

Recently a group of researchers of the centre successfully conducted a research to develop environment friendly and costeffective solar assisted electric triwheelers by integrating innovative torque sensor technology for the first time on such tri-wheelers.

Thereafter the centre received a seed fund in 2014 from IEEE SIGHT (Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technology) USA in order to build the prototype rickshaw van for rural communities in Bangladesh. The first prototype came in shape in 2014. Due to its remarkable performance in terms of energy saving, increase in total distance coverage, ease of pedaling effort

and greater speed of the vehicle compared to that of conventional battery operated electric rickshaws, IDCOL (Infrastructure Development Company Limited) provided the centre funding to carry out a 12-month pilot project to design and develop 15 electric tri-wheelers with solar PV panel.

CARC and IDCOL signed a MoU in August 2015 and the pilot project, supported by the World Bank, began later that same month. The aim was to develop five human haulers, five ambulance vans and five cargo haulers.

Ataur Rahman and Jaber Al Rashid worked as research engineers and Sheri Jahan Chowdhury as the project engineer; all of them have completed their Bachelor degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from BRAC University.

The one year long pilot project, supervised by Dr Azad, ended in July 2016.

During the project, the field tests were carried out for four months at Genda, Savar, to analyse and evaluate the performance of these electric vehicles and to collect feedback from rickshaw pullers, passengers, patients, shopkeepers and so on. BRAC Health & Nutrition Programme (HNPP) extended assistance in piloting the project at field level.

The findings of the field tests showed that the total distance covered by the help of solar panels and torque sensor pedal technology is around 80-90km, which is almost three times that of the conventional electric rickshaw.

The vehicle can be driven at a speed of 35-45km/hr, twice that of the speed of the conventional electric rickshaw. The use of solar panels on the roof helps to charge the battery bank whether the vehicle is moving or not.

One of the most attractive feature of the developed

vehicle is the application of the innovative torque sensor pedal technology that can reduce human pedaling effort significantly compared to that of a manually driven tri-wheeler. A total of 72% of available battery storage energy can be saved because of overall contribution of solar panels and torque sensor pedal. As a result, battery lifetime is increased. The human hauler can carry around six to eight people at a time whereas the typical electric rickshaw can only carry only two to three.

Therefore, the use of this type of technologically advanced electric tri-wheeler can improve the income of pullers and in turn causes socio-economic benefits to both on-grid and off-grid rural communities.

The modified solar assisted vehicles are environment friendly, cheaper to produce and maintain, compared to fuel driven four-wheeler vans used for similar purposes. The vans are equipped with rear wheel braking system, reverse gear switch, shock absorbers and many other features. Use of these tri-wheelers can bring positive change in the living standards of rural people of Bangladesh, both on-grid and off-grid. They can be immensely beneficial to rural inhabitants by providing transportation services especially emergency health care services or transportation of things such as agricultural commodities.

The future prospect of these vehicles depends on development and implementation of a proper business model by entrepreneurs and business organisations who can initiate a thriving business in the transportation sector of Bangladesh.

These all go with the main themes of BRAC University – themes that include innovation, collaboration and social impact.

When a project begins as an innovative endeavour, the social impact is achieved through collaborative efforts. BRAC University’s singular focus is to ensure the success of its students, empowering them with knowledge and life skills so that they can take upon themselves the challenging and glorious task of nationbuilding. l

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Biz Info

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

| education |

HSBC and British Council launch second edition of Kids Read The British Council and Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) launched the second edition of “Kids Read”, a storytelling program for primary school children (grades 1 – 6) in Bangladesh. This program aims to reach over 10,000 (ten thousand) students from eight primary schools in Dhaka city. Each school will receive a set of ninety popular storybook titles from the United Kingdom (UK) to improve the English language skills of the participating children.

Kids Read is an award-winning scheme developed to help children enjoy reading, as teachers and parents often struggle to find ways to motivate children to read. Since 2015, Bangladesh has been one of eight countries in Asia, where the program has been implemented to support the Ministry of Education’s work in English language and literacy development. Through this initiative the teachers from the selected schools are also taught to be more interactive and engaging with the students.

The first edition was implemented in three Madrasas and three government primary schools in Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar. Over three thousand students and thirty-six teachers

participated in the previous edition. The institutions were selected based on the needs of the students and each school received a set of around 50 popular UK storybook titles.

Kids Read developed by The British Council, and supported

| meals |

by grants from HSBC, has been supporting many different aspects for the children, teachers, school administration staff and parents of Bangladesh through school events, community events and competitions.

Abdullah Al Jubayer, manager,

Kabab Factory introduces three new dishes

From the moment you walk into our restaurant, be prepared to be mesmerized with the aromatic smells of their kitchen grill. Be ready to be engrossed with the finest variations in a diverse menu of mouthwatering delicacies, from the juicy kababs to delicious Thai cuisines. They provide special hand-made naans baked fresh in their own kitchens, guaranteeing the tastiest and softest naan.

Besides for signature kababs there is mouth-watering seafood delicacies and desserts such as kulfi to soothe palates after a spicy meal.

Kabab Factory brings in three new delightful dishes: Green Chicken Boti, Spicy Beef Afghani Karai and Creamy Chicken Malai Curry.

However, apart from fine dining, they have been catering independently for the last three years. Taking full catering responsibility of events whether it’s a multi-course plated dinner for five hundred or a box lunched for fifty, Kabab Factory can tailor any menu to fit your needs. As a full service caterer they arrange food and beverage needs as well as arranging for the rental of all necessary items like chafing dishes and glassware.

Interestingly, theysend their head chef to the event, where they cook live infront of the guests.

So far they have catered at prime locations including Bashundhara Convention Centre, Uttara Club, Gulshan Club and some private lawn parties where BBQ and live cooking stole the show. l

Corporate Sustainability, HSBC Bangladesh and Sarwat Reza, library manager, British Council Bangladesh was present at the launching ceremony. List of institutions selected for the project include Udayan Higher Secondary School, University, Laboratory

School & College, Engineering University School & College, Kakoli High School & College, Aroni Biddaloy, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Chayanaut: Nalanda, Willes Little Flower School and Junior Laboratory High School. l

DT

20 Editorial

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

TODAY

A Trump presidency could happen Trump launched his campaign by calling illegal Mexican immigrants rapists, criminals, and drug dealers PAGE 21

Developing a defense We can agree that development is required to ensure security, but how to ensure inclusive growth quickly is the big question for which I really do not have any answer

MEHEDI HASAN

PAGE 22

A vision for the future

T

A rotten Apple If the impressive queue of enthusiastic fans and soon-to-be iPhone 7 owners at Apple retailers are anything to go by, we do not seem to be all that repulsed at the possibility of child labour contributing to our consumer electronics 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.

he government’s Revised Strategic Transport Plan (RSTP), which includes the construction of five metro rails, two bus rapid transits, three ring roads, eight radial roads, six expressways, and 21 transportation hubs, shows a broad and comprehensive vision that we can all get behind.

It is encouraging to see a long-term master plan of 20 years for the development of Bangladesh and the improvement of the quality of life. The RSTP will tackle all major issues that plague the Bangladeshi citizen today, with a well-rounded approach that caters not only to the capital, but also other parts of the country.

If the government plans to achieve middle-income status for the nation, this is the way to do it. Improved infrastructure is crucial to progress and development -- the only way to break out of the current cycle is to make travel within and outside Dhaka easier.

The government’s inclusion of improved infrastructure in last year’s budget was a welcome development, and shows that it is front and centre on their minds.

But just planning is not enough -- implementation is everything.

Now that the government knows which direction it is headed, it needs to move forward with the RSTP without unnecessary delays.

With the first phase scheduled to be completed by 2020, which will see the completion of the first mass rapid transit line, bus rapid transit line 3, and the Dhaka elevated expressway, which will start from the airport and go as far as to connect with the DhakaChittagong highway, we hope that the government sticks to its plan and pushes it forward.

Through proper implementation and efficient execution this plan can certainly come to life. Only then will Bangladesh’s dreams of reaching middle-income status be fully realised.

The RSTP will tackle all major issues that plague the Bangladeshi citizen today

DT

21

Opinion

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

LETTERS FROM AMERICA

A Trump presidency could happen Although Clinton still has a slight lead in the polls, the picture looks better for Trump every day

Trump changed his tune when visiting Mexico City

REUTERS

“great people” and boasted about hiring many of them.

That clearly was an attempt to show Americans that he was not an anti-Latino bigot. Back in Phoenix, a couple of hours later, Trump was back to bluster, boasting about the great wall he was going to build along the USMexican border.

Trump also did an about-face on the Birther Issue last week.

After peddling the lie for five years that Obama was not born in the US, was not a US citizen, and hence his presidency is illegal, Trump read out a seven-second statement that said: “President Barack Obama was born in the US. Period.”

That was an attempt to mollify African-Americans who bristled at his suggestion that President Obama was not a US citizen, given America’s racist history that denied its blacks US citizenship for over 200 years.

Political expediency is at the core of such “outreach” to AfricanAmericans and Latinos by Trump.

n Fakhruddin Ahmed

T

he recent spate of terror attacks in Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York by two alleged Muslim terrorists played right into Donald Trump’s hands. “I called it,” gloated the Republican presidential nominee.

He blasted the American health care system for treating the wounded suspected criminal, Ahmad Khan Rahami, and castigated the American justice system for offering him free legal aid.

Not to be outdone, Donald Trump Jr compared Syrian refugees to “(poisoned) Skittles that would kill you!”

Islamist terrorism anywhere, especially here in the US, is great news for the Trump campaign.

Opposition to immigration, both legal and illegal, and barring Muslims from entering America are the cornerstones of Trump’s campaign.

After every San Bernardino, Orlando, and New York-New Jersey-Minnesota, Trump reminds Americans that he was right about Muslim immigrants posing a threat to America.

More and more Americans are now nodding their heads in agreement. If a few more Islamist terrorist attacks are perpetrated

Trump launched his campaign by calling illegal Mexican immigrants rapists, criminals, and drug dealers. However, sharing the podium with the Mexican president in Mexico City, Trump was deferential, a personification of humility, and called Mexicans ‘great people’

before election day on November 8, Donald Trump will be elected the next POTUS. Like his 16 opponents in the Republican primary, Hillary Clinton is running a conventional campaign against the unconventional Trump.

Jeb Bush blew over $100 million on television ads attempting to take down Trump. It failed miserably. Because Donald Trump succeeded in securing billions of dollars of free ad time by being on television 24-hours a day.

These days, while Hillary Clinton is absent from the campaign trail (and television) several days a week, raising funds for more 30-second TV ads, Trump is omnipresent on television pitching his message for free.

Hillary Clinton’s message is: “Trump is too dangerous and temperamentally unfit to be president.” Americans are

coming to the conclusion that if Trump is good enough to be on television 24-hours a day, he cannot be that dangerous or that temperamentally unfit.

She has set the bar so low for Trump that he will have little difficulty scaling it in the first presidential debate on September 26. To counter Clinton’s portrayal of him as a boisterous bully, Trump will simply tone down his rhetoric and soften his voice during the debate to show Americans that he really is a nice and reasonable fellow.

Trump did exactly that during his visit to Mexico last month. He launched his campaign by calling illegal Mexican immigrants rapists, criminals, and drug dealers.

However, sharing the podium with the Mexican president in Mexico City, Trump was deferential, a personification of humility, and called Mexicans

Many whites do not want to vote for a racist bigot.

By softening his rhetoric and tone about the minorities, Trump is providing cover to those whites who do not want to vote for a racist.

It has nothing to do with reaching out to blacks or Latinos.

While Trump excites his supporters, who are willing to wait in line, rain or snow, for hours to listen to him, Hillary puts her supporters to sleep.

The strongest part of her resume -- her tenure as the secretary of state -- has now become a liability because of the e-mail scandal.

Compared to Trump’s catchy slogan “Make America Great Again,” Hillary and her pedestrian slogan “Stronger Together” are uninspiring.

No one is talking about electing the first female president of the

US anymore. Hillary Clinton’s support among the millennials has dropped alarmingly.

Since the millennials have lived under the presidency of an African-American president for the last eight years, for them, electing the first female president is no big deal.

The “Obama coalition” that turned out in droves for President Obama in 2008 and 2012 is slowly deserting Hillary Clinton. They are either turning to independent candidate Gary Johnson, or joining the ranks of the independents.

There is no such leakage of support among the Trump supporters. They stand rocksolid behind their candidate.

Although Trump is not picking up those voters who are leaving Hillary, because Hillary is losing supporters, Trump is drawing ever closer to Hillary in the polls and the Electoral College vote projections.

Since writing my last piece, Nevada has moved into the Republican column. Only Pennsylvania and Virginia among the toss up state still remain in Hillary’s column. According to Nate Silver, Clinton’s chance of winning has nose-dived from a high of 89% to 56% in seven weeks.

Things are so desperate for Hillary Clinton that over the last week both President Obama and Hillary Clinton made campaign stops in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where things had turned so rosy for her two months earlier.

The good news for Hillary Clinton is that she still has a slight lead in the polls and Electoral College projections.

Worried that the Obama legacy is at stake, President Obama has decided to campaign for Clinton for two days a week in October. The bad news is that the president’s personal popularity is not transferable to Hillary.

The picture is looking brighter for Trump every day.

If the current trend continues, and Trump keeps listening to his advisors, remains on script, and commits no blunders during the debates, and Hillary Clinton does not change her strategy and become more visible, Donald Trump has nearly as much chance of being elected the next US president as Hillary Clinton. l Fakhruddin Ahmed is a Rhodes Scholar.

22

DT

Long Form

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Developing a defense Governance needs to be credible and transparent. This is the concluding part of yesterday’s long form

What is the future of security?

BIGSTOCK

We can agree that development is required to ensure security, but how to ensure inclusive growth quickly is the big question for which I really do not have any answer

n Mamun Rashid

P

romoting security is a substantial part of societal progress. There is a need to ensure a clear separation between military and humanitarian actors in line with the core principals of humanitarian action, particularly neutrality and independence.

However, the importance in some instances of civil-military cooperation in the pursuit of security and development remains. A comprehensive approach to international and national security must transcend the traditional emphasis on military power and armed competition.

The game of prioritisation

While the idea of justice and governance is quite extensively debated and established in both Western and Eastern philosophies,

it is generally perceived very cynically nowadays. They think that the establishment tries to make them believe it is a moral issue, while, in effect, actually defines it as a tool for the privileged to protect their accumulated privileges.

The level of governance standard in any state/society strongly depends upon the critical mass that is available in that sphere, and any external/ exogenous effort to improve that becomes not only futile, but many times leads to the strengthening perception that the system is grossly rigged. Prioritising governance can sometimes impact local businesses in a negative manner Forced security measures might establish fear of law instead of respect for law. Prioritising on security and governance raises some concerns regarding development. Areas of the country needing immediate attention might be de-prioritised due to increased resource-utilisation in security measures. Lack of government measures regarding the flood in the southern region of the country is an example of this.

Another concern is the focus on higher security. Increased security and surveillance can blur the line between a secured state and a

police state. Unchecked power of law enforcement agencies is likely to result in abuse and harassment of the general people. Though security is a global concern, it affects third world countries more as it may de-prioritise governance and development.

Megatrends

Technological advancements are going to create enormous opportunities. The seven most impactful technologies of the coming future can be artificial intelligence, augmented reality, block-chain, drones, robots, virtual reality, and 3D printing.

This new industrial revolution is going to change how we make and sell products, as well as how we buy and use products of the future.

Rapid urbanisation has resulted in one-and-a-half million people becoming part of urban population every week. The world population is rising by 145 every minute.

At the present rate, we will be burning all fossil fuels in another half a century.

We can agree that development is required to ensure security, but how to ensure inclusive growth quickly is the big question for which I really do not have any answer. This is indeed a worrisome matter.

Looking at history, we will see that unique situations were rectified by the emergence of new generations. The truth is evident from the fall of the Roman republic, Arabia pre and post-Muhammad (pbuh), the renaissance in medieval Europe, and then in the case of Europe before and after both the World Wars.

This is a grim perspective. It will be difficult for all of us to accept the new order from the generation change. It can be suspected that the security issue will continue to trouble us and the policy prescription will tend to put more emphasis on administrative efforts rather than development initiatives.

There is no ready-made policy directive to solve this problem.

One thing is clear: We need to speed up the inclusive growth process. For that, the governance process needs to be far more simplistic and nimble, and at the same time transparent and credible. Although, how such a model can he achieved is not yet certain. l Mamun Rashid is a banker, economic analyst, and educationist. The article is the excerpt of a keynote paper presented at a seminar by Centre for Governance Studies.

DT

23

Opinion

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

A rotten Apple The public cares about things as trifling as audio jacks, but turns a blind eye to factory workers

n Syed Raiyan Nuri Reza

I

n adherence to the late Steve Jobs tradition, Apple unveiled the latest iteration of the iPhone in its annual keynote address. As expected, the world went bananas.

Though, surprisingly, this time around, the stir was not so much on what new techno-gadgetry was going to be there: Decent water resistance (Sony and Samsung approves), fancy dual camera system for the iPhone Plus (HTC did it first), a new jet-black colour scheme (notwithstanding their own bragging, Apple recommends a case so the gloss does not wear off ), to say nothing of the brand new A10 Fusion chip and iOS 10.

Rather, there was a bit of a media reaction on what is not going to be on board the mighty iPhone 7.

It is the humble, down-to-earth, no-nonsense piece of tech that is, as of now, the industry standard and virtually every phones’ staple: The 3.5 mm audio jack.

We, the ever-so-eager consumers, decided to call this ditch-the-jack-give ’em-Airpods manoeuvre controversial.

Its controversial move was accompanied by all manners of online reactions: From the flippant, not to mention hilarious, tweets ridiculing Apple, to the more serious discourse on tech magazines debating the merits of this move.

Yet, what we ought to find controversial instead, is the harrowing finds of Amnesty International. In a January report, the organisation found evidence that cobalt used in lithium ion batteries, ubiquitous in smartphones, could be traced to mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo -- where the metal is extracted through backbreaking child labour and widespread worker-abuse by denial of basic safety procedures and dignified treatment.

These collected raw materials are then sold to Congo Dongfong Mining (CDM), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Chinese Zhejiang Huayao Cobalt Ltd, and from there the metal is exported to three battery component manufacturers in China and South Korea.

In turn, they sell it to battery makers who supply it to this or that company. The same report named names too. Mind you, they were not some obscure third tier brands either. Among the possible companies at the end of the supply chain, the report mentioned Samsung, Sony, and Apple.

The money keeps pouring in for Apple And here we are, clamouring over the loss of the audio jack and faulty Note 7s. If the impressive queue of enthusiastic fans and soon-to-be iPhone 7 owners at Apple retailers are anything to go by, we do not seem to be all that repulsed at the possibility of child labour contributing to our fancy smartphones and consumer electronics.

Nor is it the first time such dark stories have surfaced.

Back in 2012, the New York Times ran a front page article on Foxconn manufacturing plant, bringing to light the ghastly conditions in which workers worked as they assembled our beloved iPads, PlayStations, and Kindles.

Being coated with omnipresent aluminum dust, breathing in toxic chemicals, sleeping in crammed dormitories shared with 20 other people, and labour suicides over the abysmal situations were common. And there were even incidences of explosions due to poor ventilation of the said aluminum dust resulting in deaths.

None of this seemed to have much bearing on consumer behaviour anyway. That very year, iPhone 5 become a market hit and blew past its predecessor’s sales figures. Sony’s PlayStation sales figure did not plummet. And we just as readily bought our Kindles.

In other words, the sky remained blue, and that is all we seemed to have cared about.

REUTERS

If the impressive queue of enthusiastic fans and soon-to-be iPhone 7 owners at Apple retailers are anything to go by, we do not seem to be all that repulsed at the possibility of child labour contributing to our fancy smartphones and consumer electronics Even as late as 2016, there seems to be no clear improvement, or so claimed another piece in the International Business Times.

Still, an exclusive done by Bloomberg offered us a much more hopeful glimpse of yet another core manufacturing plant of Apple, Pegatron, where stringent rules were implemented to not allow any worker clock over 60 hours a week and enforced through use of turnstiles and ID checks.

And the fact that they let a foreign journalist in is a sign that there seems to be some improvement.

However, the same article said China Labour Watch was not impressed. Nevertheless, the public does not seem to care.

Controversy, what controversy?

And this does ring a bell of familiarity to us Bangladeshis.

We are all too aware of the harsh reality of contract manufacturers.

Some poor souls condemned to toil away the precious hours of their life to earn some meagre income, all under gross industrial neglect, with big Western names of Walmart and Sears reaping the

benefits from the lucrative fruits of their disparate labour at the other end of the supply chain: The standard narrative of our prized garment industry.

Hence, the Rana Plaza disaster was something we were asking for.

Yet, we reason that the people at Foxconn or Rana Plaza had signed up for this, quite knowingly.

In the end, the alternative of harsh labour is economic unemployment, accompanied by absolute destitution or even grittier labour in a derelict farm -a view that is not entirely without merit. But to argue choosing the lesser of two harrowing options constitutes as choice, and justifies our business as usual attitude, is an absolute dubious standing.

But what are we to do? Cast away our Samsung smartphones?

Strip ourselves of our clothes in protest? Orchestrate a Neo-Luddite movement? Not that I have any sympathy for Luddite sentiments to begin with.

But I don’t know. I truly don’t.

Nor can I deny the multitudes of benefit brought forth via these companies. Neither being a human

rights expert nor an economic guru, it is beyond my capacity to propose a viable solution. And it needs to borne in mind, the multinationals can boost the economy too, and are not entirely without benefits, and are not rotten apples to be avoided at all cost.

Rather, I am here to point out that we never even pause to ask the right questions, the hows and whats and ifs. We seem to be incapable of looking past the brand logos to the supply trail and where it might lead.

It is the alarming silence on our behalf that is distressing. This total absence of active discussion and debate is what gets to me.

And when we decide to cause pandemonium in the social media, in our sly tweets and witty Facebook statuses or scathing memes, it is about something as trifling as an audio jack.

In the end, it seems that the emergent tale, as sinister as it is, is not one of corporate greed, but of apathy of the masses. l Syed Raiyan Nuri Reza is a freelance controbutor writing from Iran.

DT

24 Sport

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

TOP STORIES

Afghans set foot in Dhaka Afghanistan arrived in Dhaka yesterday to take part in the threematch ODI series against Bangladesh. The selectors picked three uncapped cricketers Ihsanullah, Kareem Janat and Naveen-ul-Haq in the 17-member squad. PAGE 25

Cesc downs Foxes, Everton crash out Cesc Fabregas made an emphatic point to Chelsea manager Antonio Conte as his double sealed a 4-2 win at Leicester, while Everton and Bournemouth suffered shock third-round exits from the English Football League Cup. PAGE 26

Del Potro says will be fit for ‘dream’ final Injury-plagued Juan Martin del Potro said on Tuesday that he expects to be fit for Argentina’s “dream” Davis Cup final against Croatia in November after the thrilling victory over holders Great Britain. PAGE 27

Ceferin unveils Euro 2020 logo New Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin unveiled the logo for Euro 2020 at the tournament’s official launch in London yesterday. The logo shows multicoloured fan silhouettes standing either side of the competition’s Henri Delaunay Trophy on a green bridge. PAGE 28

Abahani Limited midfielder Hemanta Vincent Biswas scores the opening goal against Mohammedan Sporting Club Limited in the Bangladesh Premier League at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Abahani too good n Shishir Hoque Abahani Limited moved jointly to the top of the Bangladesh Premier League points table after outclassing arch-rival Mohammedan Sporting Club 3-0 in the season’s first Dhaka derby at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Hemanta Vincent Biswas put the Sky Blues ahead in the opening half before Sunday Chizoba and Lee Andrew Tuck netted one apiece in the dying stages of the game to salvage three vital points which helped them to join Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club at the top of the table.

It was Abahani’s fourth victory in the league this season while the Black and Whites are yet to win a single game. The four-time professional league champions now have 15 points from seven matches while Mohammedan remained at 10th with only five points.

Young midfielder Hemanta made only his second start this season after a knee injury kept him out of the pitch. George Kottan fielded him at centre forward for the very first time in the league. Hemanta repaid the coach’s faith throughout the game, running here and there and troubling the opposition defenders with his quick movements.

English playmaker Tuck continued his fine form and made fine chemistry with Hemanta.

The combination of the attacking

duo continuously threatened the Mohammedan defence with the first real attack coming in the 17th minute.

Collecting a pass from Emon Mahmud, Tuck, from the right flank, drove the ball onto the path of Hemanta, whose powerful shot from the middle of box was brilliantly fisted away by the Mohammedan goalkeeper for a corner. Emon’s curled effort from a Tuck corner flew inches over the crossbar.

RESULTS Soccer Club

1-1

Chowmrin 88 - P

Abahani

Rahmatganj Nayan 25

3-0

Mohammedan

Hemanta 27, Sunday 89, Tuck 90+1

Hemanta gave Sky Blues the much deserved breakthrough in the 27th minute. Tuck provided a lovely through pass for the national midfielder who broke into the penalty area before slotting home past Mohammad Nehal into the far post.

Mohammedan struggled to find rhythm, were outplayed in midfield and rarely created any clear-cut chances. Nehal made a number of saves to rescue his side from conceding more, including one in the 77th minute when his diving save denied Sunday’s great effort.

Sunday seemed like he was

gathering all his energy for the late stages of the tie as he doubled the lead a minute before the end of stipulated time, sending the ball into the near post after entering inside the box from a through pass by substitute midfielder Shahedul Alam Shahed.

Tuck was rewarded for his outstanding performance with a lovely goal to seal victory in injury time. Sunday provided a defence-splitting through pass for Tuck, who chipped the ball calmly over Nehal to find the back of the net.

Feni hold Rahmatganj

Ten-man Rahmatganj MFS were held to a 1-1 draw against Feni Soccer Club in the day’s first match at the same venue. The old Dhaka outfit are still unbeaten in the league after the end of the seventh round and now sit third with 13 points, two behind joint leaders Sheikh Jamal and Abahani.

Rahmatganj forward Mehbub Hasan Nayon scored the opener in the 25th minute with a toepoke from a pass by Congolese striker Sino Zunapiyo. Rahmatganj were then reduced to 10 men in the 86th minute when Zunapio received his second yellow card.

Forward Chowmrin Rakhain cancelled out the lead in the 88th minute from a penalty after Feni defender Mohammad Helal was brought down by Rahmatganj defender Asif Hasan Rimon.l

Ctg Abahani sack Pavlik n Tribune Report

Rising powerhouse Chittagong Abahani have sacked their head coach Jozef Pavlik, along with assistant coach Hasan al Mamun, yesterday morning after the Slovakian coach managed to earn only one point in the last two premier league matches.

Pavlik officially took up the responsibility of the port-city outfit less than six months ago on March 29, just two days before the start of the season opening tournament, the Independence Cup, where they clinched their first ever professional title.

Veteran coach Nazrul Islam Ledu has been appointed as the temporary head coach of the club. The officials informed that the big-budget club are searching for a foreign coach as the replacement of Pavlik.

Ledu was previously the former head coach of Chittagong Abahani and Chittagong Mohammedan.

Although Pavlik was the head coach when the club won the Independence Cup trophy, it was Ledu who trained and organised the squad before the Slovakian took charge. The new giants of domestic football failed to overcome the group-stage hurdle in the Federation Cup under Pavlik.

Chittagong Abahani made a decent start in the league but conceded their first defeat against Rahmatganj MFS on August 19 before slumping to a goalless draw against Arambagh in their next game on Tuesday.l

25

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Sport

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Afghans set foot in Dhaka n Tribune Report Afghanistan arrived in Dhaka yesterday to take part in the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh. The selectors picked three uncapped cricketers Ihsanullah, Kareem Janat and Naveen-ul-Haq in the 17-member Afghan squad for their maiden ODI series against the Tigers.

Noor Ali Zadran, Javed Ahmadi, Hamid Hasan and Shapoor Zadran were left out from the previous ODI side which toured Ireland and Scotland in July this year.

The visitors will train in Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium today before facing the Bangladesh Cricket Board XI in the lone practice match in Fatullah’s Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium tomorrow. The first of the three day-night ODIs will be held this Sunday at the home of cricket.

Afghanistan squad

Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi waves following their arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport yesterday

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Asghar Stanikzai (C), Md Shahzad, Rahmat Shah, Mirwais Ashraf, Dawlat Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Samiullah, Rashid Khan, Hashmatullah Shaidi, Fareed Ahmad, Amir Hamza, Najibullah Zadran, Nawroz Mangal, Naveen-ul-Haq, Karim Janat, Shabir Noori and Ihsanullah.l

BPL franchises can retain two locals from last season n Tribune Report The fourth season of the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 will feature seven teams after the BPL governing council declared new franchises for Khulna and Rajshahi.

BPL GC chairman Afzalur Rahman Sinha declared the two new teams in a press conference yesterday.

The BPL GC chief informed that the Khulna franchise were awarded to Gemcon Group while Rajshahi went to Mango Entertainment.

The money-spinning T20 tourna-

ment will begin on November 4 with the grand finale set for either December 7 or 8.

“We have included two new teams – Khulna and Rajshahi.

There were many others who had shown interest for buying a franchise but we have a tight national calendar ahead. The Bangladesh team will have a camp in Australia before they tour New Zealand in December so we cannot include more teams in the BPL as it will only extend the fixture,” said Sinha following a BPL GC meeting.

Jones tips Pakistan for T20 resurgence n AFP, Rawalpindi Dashing ex-Australia batsman Dean Jones has tipped Pakistan’s resurgence in Twenty20 cricket following the success of its new domestic league, saying fierce hitter Sharjeel Khan can revive the country’s fortunes.

Jones, who coached Islamabad United to victory in the inaugural Pakistan Super League this year, was speaking after a mixed-gender exhibition match in Rawalpindi.

The 55-year-old featured alongside his players, team director and bowling legend Wasim Akram, as well as four members of the national women’s team.

Despite rising to the top of Test rankings for the first time, Pakistan have wilted in shorter formats of the game, dropping to ninth in one-dayers and seventh in T20 rankings.

Jones said the success of the PSL would help Pakistan’s players adapt their skills.l

Khulna were previously owned

by Orion Group while Rajshahi belonged to Digital Auto Care.

Meanwhile, Sylhet Superstars, owned by Alif Group, have been scratched as a franchise. According to BPL GC member secretary Ismail Haider Mallick, the franchise had breached discipline and were irregular with payment.

“At the moment, none of the franchises owe us money. Everyone has cleared their dues. We had to remove the Sylhet franchise due to disciplinary issues and they had

owed the BCB money, which was realised through their bank guarantee,” Mallick explained.

The players’ draft for the upcoming BPL will be held on September 30. The BPL GC has decided to allow each of the franchises to retain two local players from the last season.

In that case, it is understood that the two new franchises – Khulna and Rajshahi – will be given advantage to choose the local players before the draft.

However, a final decision is yet

to be made by the BPL GC on this issue. A detailed outline on the players’ draft will be announced in a day or two.

On the other hand, the broadcasting rights were retained by Channel 9 but only for this season.

Channel 9 was the broadcaster of the previous three seasons.

“Channel 9 will broadcast the tournament but for this year only.

We will float tender following the 2016 season and award broadcasting rights to the rightful one for three years,” said Mallick. l

Bangladesh paceman Shafiul Islam bowls during the practice match between the national cricketers in Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday. The 45-overs-perside affair is part of the Tigers’ preparation for the Afghanistan ODIs DHAKA TRIBUNE

DT

26

Sport

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

THIRD ROUND Bournemouth

2-3

Grabban 53-P, Gosling 76

Brighton

1-2

Hemed 85

Derby

Preston Makienok 10, 85, 111

Reading Quinn 32, Swift 54

0-3

Liverpool Klavan 24, Origi 54, Coutinho 50

Everton

0-2

Norwich

Naismith 41, Murphy 74

Leeds

1-0

Blackburn

Wood 85

Leicester

2-4

Okazaki 17, 34

Newcastle

Chelsea Cahill 45+2, Azpilicueta 49, Fabregas 92, 94

2-0

Wolves

Ritchie 29, Gouffran 31

Nottingham

0-4

Arsenal

Xhaka 23, Perez 60-P, 71, Oxlade-Chamberlain 90+3

Leicester City’s Shinji Okazaki (L) scores his side’s second goal of the game during their English Football League Cup, third round match against Chelsea at King Power Stadium, Leicester, England on Tuesday AP

Fabregas downs Foxes, Everton crash out n AFP, London Cesc Fabregas made an emphatic point to Chelsea manager Antonio Conte as his double sealed a 4-2 win at Leicester, while Everton and Bournemouth suffered shock third-round exits from the English Football League Cup on Tuesday.

Fabregas has been limited to three substitute appearances in the Premier League since Conte took charge over the summer, but the Spain midfielder proved he can still be a game-changer with an influential display capped by the decisive two goals in extra-time.

Elsewhere, second-tier Norwich spoiled Everton’s impressive start to the season and inflicted Ronald Koeman’s first defeat as Toffees boss with a 2-0 win at Goodison Park.

Bournemouth were the other top-flight casualties as second-tier Preston won 3-2 thanks to a hattrick from Denmark striker Simon Makienok.

At the King Power Stadium, Shinji Okazaki put Premier League champions Leicester ahead in the 17th minute when the Japan striker punished terrible Chelsea defending to head home from close range.

Okazaki followed his first goal since March with a second in the 34th minute.

Gary Cahill reduced the deficit on the stroke of half-time, the defender heading home after being left unmarked at the far post from a Fabregas corner.

The Blues equalised four minutes after the interval through Cesar Azpilicueta’s blistering longrange effort.

Leicester had to play extra-time with 10 men after Marcin Wasilewski’s 89th minute dismissal for elbowing Diego Costa and Fabregas made them pay, finishing a

flowing move in the 92nd minute and drilling home again two minutes later.

Everton are second in the Premier League but Koeman made six changes and his stand-ins were brushed aside by promotion-chasing Norwich.

The Canaries went ahead when former Everton striker Steven Naismith slipped as he went to shoot and inadvertently lobbed the ball into the net.

Josh Murphy’s superb strike from the edge of the area in the 74th minute completed the upset.

At Dean Court, Makienok, who

Dortmund rout Wolfsburg n AFP, Berlin Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck twice on Tuesday as Borussia Dortmund romped to another

RESULTS VfL Wolfsburg Didavi 53

Ingolstadt

1-5

Dortmund

Guerreiro 4, Aubameyang 17, 62, Dembele 58, Piszczek 73

0-2

Frankfurt Abraham 45+2, Oczipka 50

Darmstadt Borussia Dortmund’s Gabonese forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Wolfsburg’s defender Philipp Wollscheid (L) vie for the ball during their Bundesliga match at Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg, Germany on Tuesday AFP

1-1

Oliinyk 90+2

Freiburg Petersen 70

Hoffenheim Kramaric 46

1-0

Hamburg

big win with a 5-1 victory at VfL Wolfsburg to provisionally top the German Bundesliga.

Having hammered both Legia Warsaw and Darmstadt 6-0 in their previous matches, Thomas Tuchel’s Dortmund handed out another drubbing with Gonzalo Castro setting up two of their goals.

The thrashing left Dortmund top on goals scored, with nine points from a possible 12, but they will lose the lead on Wednesday when Bayern Munich host Hertha Berlin.

The only teams still with 100% records meet at Munich’s Allianz Arena as Hertha chase their first league win in Bavaria since 1977.

It was another bad night for Wolfsburg. l

hadn’t scored in his previous 19 appearances, gave Preston the lead in the 10th minute before Bournemouth equalised through Lewis Grabban’s 53rd minute penalty.

Dan Gosling put the hosts ahead from close range in the 76th minute, only for Makienok to force extra-time in the 85th minute and then win it for Simon Grayson’s men in the 111th minute.

Lucas Perez’s first goals for Arsenal inspired a 4-0 rout of second-tier Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has never won the League Cup. l

Derby win lifts Sevilla in La Liga n AFP, Madrid Argentine international Gabriel Mercado bundled home the winner as Sevilla moved up to second in La Liga with a 1-0 win over fierce local rivals Real Betis on Tuesday.

Mercado’s goal from on-loan Man City midfielder Samir Nasri’s free-kick continued their four-year unbeaten run in the Seville derby.l

RESULTS Malaga

2-1

Sandro 44, En Nesyri 75

Sevilla Mercado 51

Eibar Nano 42

1-0

Real Betis

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Del Potro says will be fit for ‘dream’ final n AFP, Aires Injury-plagued Juan Martin del Potro said on Tuesday that he expects to be fit for Argentina’s “dream” Davis Cup final in November after the thrilling victory over holders Great Britain.

Argentina have been finalists four times in the past 10 years and will attempt to win their first Davis Cup when they travel to Croatia from November 25 to 27.

“We managed to fulfil our dream to qualify for the final,” said the world-ranked 64 del Potro, who is still feeling his way back after a series of wrist injuries pushed him to the brink of retirement.

“We have a united group, we talk a lot. It went perfectly for us,” added the 27 year

old on his arrival back in Buenos Aires, saying that “I have enough time to prepare (for the final).

“Now it’s time to rest and to have a general medical examination. I am still not at my best level, even if the last few months were some of the best moments in my career.”

Argentina - whose Davis Cup charge is spearheaded by del Potro - defeated Great Britain 3-2 in Glasgow at the weekend, while the Croats booked their berth in the final with a 3-2 win over France.

Victory for the Argentines would cap a return to form for del Potro, who took silver at the Rio Olympics after losing to Andy Murray in the final but got his revenge on Friday when he beat the Scot in a rubber lasting over five hours. l

Pakistan cricket captain Misbah-ul-Haq holds the ICC Test Championship mace in Lahore yesterday. Pakistan achieved the number one ranking in the Test Championship table after the Test match series drawn 2-2 against England AFP

DAY’S WATCH FOOTBALL SONY SIX Spanish La Liga 12:00AM Osasuna v Espanyol 2:00AM Valencia v Alaves

CRICKET STAR SPORTS 1 10:00AM New Zealand Tour of India 1st Test, Day 1

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Sport

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Ceferin unveils Euro 2020 logo n AFP, London New UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin unveiled the logo for Euro 2020 at the tournament’s official launch in London yesterday.

The logo shows multicoloured fan silhouettes standing either side of the competition’s Henri Delaunay Trophy on a green bridge, representative of the links between the 13 host countries.

The 2020 European Championship is being staged in 13 cities across Europe to mark the 60th anniversary of the competition, with the semi-finals and final to take place at London’s Wembley Stadium.

“UEFA wanted the 2020 tournament to be a true celebration of the game we all love and cherish,” Ceferin said in a speech at London’s City Hall municipal building.

“What better way could there be than to take the tournament, for one time only, to all four corners of our beautiful continent?”

Matches will also be played in

Azerbaijan, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Scotland and Spain.

Ceferin was accompanied by Greg Clarke, new chairman of England’s Football Association, and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming supporters from across Europe,” said Khan.

“As a truly international city, London has a fanbase for almost every nation on earth. One of the great things about football in our city is that it brings people from different backgrounds together.”

England manager Sam Allardyce was also present.

Ceferin, a 48-year-old Slovenian lawyer, beat Royal Dutch Football Association chief Michael van Praag by 42 votes to 13 in last week’s presidential election.

He succeeded Michel Platini as head of European football’s governing body after the former France captain was banned over a suspect $2 million payment.l

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Uefa president Aleksander Seferin pose in front of the Euro 2020 logo on display outside London City Hall after the launch event yesterday REUTERS

Kohli admits India need to play spin better n AFP, Kanpur Skipper Virat Kohli conceded yesterday that India must bat better against spin, as the favourites prepare to take on a dangerous New Zealand in the first Test in Kanpur.

Kohli pointed to India’s loss last year at the hands of Sri Lanka’s spinners on a raging turner as evidence of his side’s weakness, as they begin their quest to regain the number one world ranking spot.

His team take on the Black Caps

Bacca, Niang send Milan up to third

Carlos Bacca scored for the second game in a row and M’Baye Niang netted from the penalty spot in a disjointed performance as AC Milan beat Lazio 2-0 at the San Siro on Tuesday.

Bacca struck eight minutes before half-time having notched the late matchwinner in Friday night’s 1-0 success at Sampdoria AP

today in the first of three Tests and India’s 500th in total, at Kanpur’s Green Park which is expected to prove favourable to spinners.

“It’s an area where we can improve, we have lost a Test match in Sri Lanka because we couldn’t play as well as we would have liked,” Kohli told reporters.

“The team wants to improve on that aspect of the game, (its) something that (we) surely need to get stronger,” he said, adding that his batsmen were working on this.

Sri Lankan veteran spinner Rangana Herath claimed seven wickets to skittle India for 112 last August in a stunning victory, although India went on to win the next two matches.

Kohli, known for his aggressive brand of cricket, said he was impressed with New Zealand’s “fearless” style of play in recent times and believes the visitors will prove tough opponents.

“I think Kane is leading the side very well. We expect very good

competition and good hard-fought cricket,” Kohli said of his opposite number Kane Williamson.

India, who start the series strong favourites after their recent 2-0 away victory against the West Indies, are also eyeing a return to the top of the International Cricket Council rankings.

India recently toppled Australia from the top of the rankings, only to be leapfrogged by their archrivals Pakistan.

India’s spin king Ravichandran

Ashwin is in form, picking up 17 wickets in the Caribbean, while batsmen Lokesh Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane have also been in good knick.

Williamson said his young side would be looking to build on their success at this year’s World Twenty20 when they reached the semi-finals.

“We have got some exciting young talent. We showed that in the T20 world cup. That was huge for us,” the 26-year-old said. l

PSG beat Dijon 3-0 to keep pressure on Monaco n Reuters, Paris Champions Paris St Germain provisionally moved back to the top of Ligue 1 as Adam Lang’s own goal, Edinson Cavani’s penalty and a second-half header from Lucas Moura downed promoted Dijon 3-0 at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday.

The victory takes PSG to 13 points and above Monaco on goal difference although the principality side could restore a three-point lead when they travel to undefeated Nice yesterday.

Unai Emery’s PSG side took the lead in the 15th minute when Max-

well’s cross looped over stranded goalkeeper Baptiste Reynet and into the net after a deflection off the unfortunate Lang.

Cavani doubled the advantage from the spot 12 minutes later when Jordan Loties brought down Adrien Rabiot after PSG had opened up the visitors.l

RESULTS Lille

1-2

Basa 34

PSG

Toulouse Toivonen 11, 78

3-0

Lang 15-og, Cavani 27-P, Lucas 67

Dijon

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Imply (5) 4 Plant juice (3) 6 Way out (4) 8 Fragrance (5) 9 Venture (4) 11 Dry (4) 12 Sluggish (5) 15 Heavenly body (5) 18 Circle of light (4) 20 Prophetic sign (4) 21 Cavalry weapon (5) 22 Cult (4) 23 Acceptance (3) 24 Piece torn off (5)

DOWN 1 Not fitted for (5) 2 Cookery ingredient (5) 3 Prepared (5) 4 Main actor (4) 5 Of varied colour (4) 7 American state (5) 10 Starchy food (4) 13 First man (4) 14 Male honey-bee (5) 15 Young horses (5) 16 Person under age (5) 17 Tendency (5) 18 Divine (4) 19 Fewer (4)

29

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Downtime

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 9 represents W so fill W every time the figure 9 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

MONDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Showtime

Brangelina no more n Showtime Desk Hollywood’s power couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are not together anymore. The Oscarwinning actress and director, Jolie has officially filed for divorce from actor and producer Pitt, according to Robert Offer, a lawyer for Jolie.

Offer said the decision was made “for the health of the family.”

Jolie would “not be commenting at this time” and asked that her family be “given their privacy,” he added.

Pitt also asked for privacy in a statement issued to People magazine saying, “I am very saddened by this, but what matters most now is the well-being of our kids.”

“I kindly ask the press to give them the space they deserve during this challenging time,” he added.

Even though insiders told TMZ that there was no “third person” behind the split, but The New York Post reports that Jolie dumped Pitt after learning about him cheating on her with French actress Marion Cotillard. The pair reportedly became close while filming WWII

Shahtaj’s musical journey n Showtime Desk It was a question raised by most viewers. “Is that Shahtaj who is singing the song in the video or is she just the model?” But at the end of the song, when the credits start popping up, it becomes clear that one of the most promising faces of this generation, Shahtaj Monira Hashem has indeed sung a song alongside Bammy, another new singing sensation of the country. Young, beautiful, bold and talented, Shahtaj Monira has bowled over countless people with her childlike charm and on-screen charisma. She has worked in numerous TV and ad campaigns for Banglalink, acted in TV plays and telefilms -- most notably, Chini Gura.

The new song, titled as “Ure Jai” was released just a day before Eid. The audience was surprised when they found out about Shahtaj’s singing talents.

Shahtaj says that she was previously contacted to appear in the video as a model only. However, Adit learned about Shahtaj’s ability to sing and insisted her to to sing for the track. That is how model

– actress Shahtaj turned into a singer. The song has over fifty thousand views on YouTube on one particular video but there many other videos of the same song that are circulating, which has made its viewership seem promising within a very short time.

Even though Shahtaj has not decided to become a full-fledged musician right away, this song has made it a possibility for her to pursue a career as one.

The song “Ure Jai” has been written

by Toufiq Ahmed, composed by Adit and Shuvro, the music has been arranged by Adit. l

drama Allied in London. It has been learned that Jolie hired a private eye as she felt that he was fooling around with Cotillard on the set, and it turns out, her suspicion was right.

Meanwhile, Jennifer Aniston began trending shortly after news broke that her ex-husband had split with Jolie after two years of marriage. Aniston’s marriage to Brad disintegrated shortly after he met Angelina. But while she has not said anything publicly and is unlikely to get involved, the Cake actress has allegedly reacted behind-the-scenes.

A source revealed to US Weekly, the 47-year-old, who is happily married to Justin Theroux,

asserted that she “feels sort of satisfied about Brad and Angelina’s split.” Aniston said: “Yeah, that’s karma for you!”

Jolie and Pitt, married in August 2014 after about a decade together, have six children: Maddox, Zahara, Shiloh, Pax, Vivienne and Knox.

The two met on the set of the 2004 film Mr and Mrs Smith — an action comedy in which they starred as married assassins working for rival agencies — and officially became a couple in 2005.

Most recently, the two starred as a troubled married couple in 2015’s By the Sea, directed by Jolie herself. It seems as if the film foreshadowed the sad turn of events. l

Quantico 2: PC’s fierce action avatar n Showtime Desk Priyanka Chopra is gearing up for the next season of her popular series Quantico which will premiere on September 25. The actress who plays a CIA officer this season, will be seen performing some high octane action scenes similar to what she did in her first season. The series which has become hugely popular, has also made PC a well-known face in the West and thanks to this popularity, she has bagged her first Hollywood venture. It will be interesting to see how well she balances her life in this upcoming season after leaving the FBI and her fellow mates to join the CIA. The Bollywood diva, who is now familiar as an international icon, has always kept her fans updated with the latest happenings on Quantico with constant posts and behind the scene stories.

The promo of the first episode gives us a glimpse on what the next season is going to be all about. The plot revolves around a group of terrorists who take the President of the United States and the FBI officials as hostages in return for the freedom of one Arab terrorist. Priyanka, who is no longer a part of the FBI is investigating the case from her

end and how she overcomes the hurdles in the end is all what the entire episode is going to be all about.

The finale of Quantico season one saw Alex relieved of all the charges against her, but she was fired by the FBI, and eventually approached by the CIA. She will also find herself in a dilemma where she will have to choose between her friends from the FBI and CIA, considering the two organisations are historically not

on good terms. This means Alex’s life will undergo many ups and downs, not just professionally, but on a personal front too.

The audience can expect to see Priyanka Chopra with a new makeover, complemented by her new hairdo and playing a more confident Alex. Season 2 already looks loaded with enough salt and pepper and we’ll have to wait till the 25th to find out more.l Source: Bollywoodlife

Meg Ryan makes her directional debut

Tomorrowland Star Movies, 9:30pm Bound by a shared destiny, a teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boygenius inventor embark on a mission to unearth the secrets of a place somewhere in time and space that exists in their collective memory.

Cast: George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy, Tim McGraw

Saroyan’s 1943 novel The Human Comedy.

Quaid, 20, plays her son in the movie, and Ryan, 54, tells PEOPLE Now it was “fantastic to have him around” the set,

especially as he loyally helped to calm any jitters.

While directing might seem like a challenge with family members involved, Ryan insisted that Quaid’s supportive presence

and her real-life role as a mother were positive influences on the film.

Ithaca is available on VOD and in select theaters now. l Source: People.com

Jon and Tisha’s troubles on social media Telefilm review: Akashi Ronger Dolna

n Rayan Quddus Rashed, played by Jon Kabir, is an outspoken man with a bad temper.

On the other hand, his folks are worried about him not doing a job and not getting married. His anger gets out of control to the point that he scolds the man taking his job interview. Seeing him without a job or a bride, his parents took him to meet a potential bride. Despite the Bengali social norms, Rashed’s uncontrolled rage didn’t stop him from storming out of there after a small rant.

Later on, he goes to a restaurant where he is accidentall, captured in the background of a selfie taken by a social media celeb,played

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

WHAT TO WATCH

n Showtime Desk Meg Ryan makes her directorial debut in the new coming-ofage movie Ithaca while also co-starring alongside two of her favorite leading men: son Jack Quaid and longtime friend and co-star Tom Hanks.

This is the fourth film they’ve appeared in together – after Joe vs. the Volcano, Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail – and Ithaca has them reuniting onscreen for the first time in 18 years.

The duo have gotten to know each other pretty well over the decades, and Ryan doesn’t hesitate when asked to name the quirkiest thing about the beloved star.

The heartfelt film tells the story of a World War II messenger boy who experiences pain, love and hope through the telegraphs he receives, and is based off of Pulitzer Prize-winning author William

31

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Showtime

by Tisha. The selfie goes viral on social media, which causes trouble for both Rashed and the girl.

The rest of the film was followed by a series of humorous incidents, which kept the film entertaining. It made a mockery of a few things which the masses do in the age of social media. It shows how some people are more concerned about their social media image, starting from the number of likes and comments to how they appear in the pictures they upload.

On the other hand, you might also come across some people who have become social media celebrities despite trying their best to not become one, while others try really hard to make content in order to become famous.

Even though the film had two big stars cast as the lead, the production quality was below par. But that itself added another dimension, to its presentation.

The performances were solid, if not Oscar-worthy. Tisha showed a good presence, but it was Jon Kabir who stole the spotlight.

He owned every scene he was in, in way, it felt like as if he was playing himself. It appears that the musician is a natural actor. l Rating:3/5

Batman Returns WB, 6:50pm Batman roams around Gotham City as the Dark Knight and keeps it free of crime. In the meanwhile, the businessman Max and the mentally disturbed Penguin do their utmost to promote crime, corrupting the city. They try their best to expose Batman.

Then there is Max’s secretary who is also Catwoman. She joins Penguin and Max in their scheme against Batman.

Cast: Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Michael Gough Shrek the Third HBO, 7:33pm When his new father-in-law, the King, falls ill, Shrek has to take on the role of heir apparent in the land of Far, Far Away. He enlists Donkey and Puss in Boots to train the reluctant Artie as the new king while Princess Fiona holds the fort against Prince Charming and his minions.

Voice: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews Hulk Movies Now, 11:50pm Bruce Banner is brilliant scientist who has a lifechanging accident in his laboratory. He is exposed to gamma radiation and Nanomeds (a particle that kills everything in its way).

Curiously, he is not hurt but the side effects are quite a phenomenon. He finds out that everytime he loses his temper, he turns into a giant green monster that gets rid of everything in its way. Does his mysterious family history hold the answer to his recovery?

Cast: Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Nick Nolte, Josh Lucas l

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

SITAKUNDA-COX’S BAZAR MARINE DRIVE TO BE LINKED WITH ASIAN HIGHWAY PAGE 12

JON AND TISHA’S TROUBLES ON SOCIAL MEDIA PAGE 31

Only 50 rickshaws for 20,000 people n Abu Hayat Mahmud The community rickshaw services introduced by Dhaka North City Corporation in Niketan Residential Area under Gulshan has been termed failure by the area’s residents as the initiative was unsuccessful in meeting their daily demands.

Niketan, one of the posh residential areas of Dhaka, was sanctioned only 50 rickshaws which is vastly insufficient as about one-third of approximately 20,000 local people do not get a rickshaw when needed, said Pabon Kumar, senior office executive of Niketan Welfare Society.

in the morning when office bound people, students and their guardians come out of their homes in a short span of time. The same occurs in the evening, when returning home because of the limited number of rickshaws, she added.

“Here now, I am waiting for a rickshaw to go and pick up my son from school but only 10 minutes are left for his classes to end,” she said.

Seeking anonymity, another resident who has had faced similar situation in the area, said: “Only a few rickshaws have been authorised for Niketan and only they can come inside the area and leave.”

‘The problem mainly occurs at peak hours in the morning when office bound people, students and their guardians come out of their homes in a short span of time’ “Every day, a large number of local residents request us to contact the city corporation authorities and urge them to increase the number of rickshaws in the area and we did,” he said.

Pabon said the leaders of the welfare society have already notified the matter to the city corporation’s ward councillors. “We will also inform other authorities concerned at the corporation.”

To further assess the extent of the problem, this correspondent visited the Niketan Residential Area yesterday morning and witnessed the woes of the people there.

The correspondent observed that a woman was waiting for a rickshaw to arrive at Road 5 for about 15 minutes but none came.

Asked about the situation, the woman, Nishat Sharmin, a resident of the area, expressed her discontent and said that she faces this problem on a daily basis.

She said the problem mainly occurs at peak hours

“All other rickshaws, who try to enter the area at times, are not allowed to leave Niketan as stationed guards detain them. So the rickshaws bring in passengers but are stuck inside. Is this is a normal thinking?”

He complained that for this situation, all rickshaws refuse to come to Niketan.

During yesterday’s visit, the correspondent saw only a few special rickshaws with Niketan tags operating inside. However, some unauthorised rickshaws without any tags were also seen inside, giving service.

When this correspondent asked the unauthorised rickshaw-pullers about the matter, they said that they are operating with the permission of the authorities and will soon get Niketan tags and uniforms.

The rickshaw-pullers claimed that they were part of the next 150 rickshaws that will soon be launched in Niketan but when asked for any form of identification, they failed to provide any.

However, when asked, the Niketan Welfare Society executive Pabon said no outside rickshaw has been given any such permission.

The correspondent also witnessed that the area’s guards at the gates detained some unauthorised rickshaws who tried to enter the area. It was also seen that the rickshaw’s tires were being punctured at times as punishment.

Seeing this, the correspondent inquired but was unable to determine how some rickshaws were allowed inside and some were being detained at the gates as no one could give a clear explanation.

When contacted, DNCC Mayor Annisul Huq told the Dhaka Tribune that he is aware of the demand of Niketan residents and two meetings on this issue have already taken place with the residential area’s authorities.

He further said: “The special rickshaw services were introduced in light of the security concerns and to bring discipline in the transport system of diplomatic zones.”

“We are currently monitoring the matter and will take further steps based on our findings,” he added.

Security has been tightened in Gulshan area since 23 people, mostly foreigners, were killed by terrorists on July 1 at an upmarket restaurant located at the heart of Dhaka’s diplomatic zone.

As part of security measures, DNCC introduced 30 air-conditioned special bus services and 500 special community rickshaws authorised for the diplomatic zones – Gulshan, Baridhara, Banani and Niketan – on August 10.

Among the 500 rickshaws, 400 rickshaws were for Gulshan and Banani – each getting 200 – and the rest 100 were divided equally among Baridhara and Niketan. The four societies are funding their own rickshaws. However, the exact amount of money needed could not be known. l

Though a banner hangs on top of a Niketan gate stating that only permitted yellow rickshaws are to use the road, an unauthorised rickshaw is seen coming out of the residential area yesterday

MEHEDI HASAN

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