04 Oct, 2016

SECOND EDITION

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

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Ashwin 19, 1423, Muharram 2, 1437

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 157

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www.dhakatribune.com

Gulshan attack arms reached Dhaka in mango baskets Marjan received the arms consignment, Chocolate received the funds Jamil Khan and n Mohammad Arifur Rahman Rabbi A month before the terror attack in Holey Artisan Bakery restaurant of Gulshan, a consignment of AK-22 rifles and some small arms reached the militants in Dhaka.

Of these arms, three AK-22 rifles were used in the Gulshan attack while another rifle was used for the security of New Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) chief Tamim Chowdhury.

Investigators are now saying they have finally been able to trace the route of the smuggled arms.

Sources in police’s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime

(CTTC) Unit said these arms came from outside Bangladesh and the members of New JMB used them in attacks conducted in Bogra and other northern districts.

“We have finally learned the source of the AK-22s supply and have been also able to identify the group primarily,” Monirul Islam, chief of CTTC, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

“Now, drive is underway to arrest this group’s members.”

The CTTC chief said these AK-22 rifles, recovered at different times in drives, mainly entered Bangladesh through the Chapainawabganj border. The consignment was received there by an arms smug-

gling group, who later sent it to Dhaka inside mango baskets, he said.

The missing New JMB leader Nurul Islam Marjan, who was the field level coordinator of Gulshan terror attack, received the consignment in Dhaka and delivered it to the militant den set up before the attack in Bashundhara Residential Area.

“A large amount of mangoes came to Dhaka from Chapainawabganj in baskets at the time and the militants took advantage of that to elude law enforcers,” added the CTTC chief.

“Now, drives are underway to arrest Marjan and other mysteries

of such arms smuggling will be solved soon after his arrest.”

Dhaka Tribune met with an arms expert in the CTTC to ask about the recovered AK-22 rifles. The official, requesting anonymity, said the recovered rifles were not originals.

“The New JMB members use modified versions. They do this to carry the rifles around easily,” the official said.

“We have also come to know that the modification of these arms was done in Munger city in Bihar state of India and then they came to Chapainwabganj border,” said the official.

“A seal from a factory in Bihar  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

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32 pages

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Price: Tk10

Khaleda and Tarique sued in Chittagong n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman and a member of its central executive committee have been sued on charge of issuing death threat to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina through a Facebook post.

Abdul Quader, information and research secretary of Chittagong (south) chapter of Awami League, lodged the case yesterday under Section 57 of the ICT Act.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

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BB asked to confiscate Jubilee Bank shares of Bangabandhu killers n Asif Showkat Kallol The Bank and Financial Institutions Division of the Finance Ministry in a letter has directed Bangladesh Bank (BB) to take necessary steps for confiscating Jubilee Bank shares of two self pro-claimed killers of Bangabandhu.

Earlier, Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) sent a letter to the banking division regarding the issue, according to the letter issued to BB Governor Fazle Kabir on Monday.

Col (retd) Syed Farooq Rahman and Col (dismissed) Khandaker

Militant Rigan gives confessional statement n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu The New JMB operative Rakibul Hasan Rigan, 20, has given his confessional statement of his involvement in terrorist attack of Holey Artisan Bakery that left 22 killed including 17 foreigners on July 1.

Rakibul Hasan Rigan is an operative of the New JMB (Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh) which is faction of the banned militant outfit JMB, was wounded and subsequently caught during a police raid on their militant den at Taj Manzeel in Kalyanpur on July 26.

Dhaka Metropolitan magistrate Muhammad Ahsan Habib recorded his confessional statement under section 164 of CrPC in the case.

Humayun Kabir, an inspector of the Counter Terrorism and Trans-national Crime unit, also the investigation officer of the case produced Rigan before the magistrate with a plea to record his statement in the case.

The magistrate sent Rigan back to jail after recording his confessional statement.

Sources said, he was the trainer of the militants who conducted the Gulshan Terror attack.

He was shown arrested on September 21 in the Holey attack law enforcers discovered his involvement in the case during an interrogation.

On September 25, another Dhaka court placed Rigan on a six-day remand. A total of 11 witnesses gave their statements on the attack.l

Abdur Rashid hold 85,000 shares of the bank, according to the letter signed by Assistant Secretary Md Mufakarur Uddin Khokon.

Price of each share is only Tk25.

The central bank was also asked to take actions against corrupt staff and management of the bank, said an official of the banking division, seeking anonymity.

The bank was established in Khoksa upazila in Kushtia in 1913.

In 1985, BB gave its permission to run the bank with no brunch.

Convicts in Bangabandhu murder case—Farooq and Bazlul Huda--were hanged on January 27,

2010, while Col (dismissed) Rashid remained fugitive for the last 30 years.

Four days ago, the Jatiya Sangshad unanimously adopted a resolution to confiscate all movable and immovable assets of convicted killers of Bangabandhu and war criminals.

Assets of Bangabandhu killers, who were hanged, would be confiscated through enacting a law, said Law Minister Anisul Huq in the parliament.

But, in case of the absconding killers, no law was required, he added. l

50K yaba seized from car disguised as government vehicle n Mohammad Jamil Khan Police on Sunday recovered 50,000 yaba tablets from a Mitsubishi made sports utility vehicle (SUV) disguised as a government car in order to avoid suspicions from Shilpakala Academy’s north gate in Segunbagicha area of Dhaka.

A team of police’s detective branch (DB) recovered the yaba tablets worth around Tk90 lakh from the Pajero and arrested a man named Md Yousuf,30.

Md Rafiqul Islam, assistant commissioner of DB police said: “During interrogation, Yousuf said they disguise their cars to look like government vehicles to avoid suspicions from law enforcement officials.”

According to police, Yousuf is a member of drug smuggling gang, hailing from Dekilar Bil village of Teknaf, he brings Yaba from Chittagong and to sell to different drug traders in Dhaka.

Yousuf also informed the law enforcers that they use different kinds of disguise to avoid being checked by police such as parliamentary member stickers on their cars or police stickers and sometimes press passes. They also use ambulances to ferry the drugs to avoid being checked at check posts.

This is not the fist instance of drug dealers using such a disguise,

on December 14, 2015, 40k yaba was recovered from a vehicle with a private television channel sticker.

This is also not the only method of disguise drug smugglers use, Border Guard Bangladesh recovered yaba from things like women’s underwear, hollowed out dry chillies and from inside hilsha fish.

On August 18, Custom officials arrested Imam Hossain from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport with 4,200 Yaba tablets inside his stomach.

Having noticed his suspicious behaviour, custom officials apprehend him and an X-ray found that he had shallowed 4,200 yaba tablets.

They were later retrieved after an 18-hour long operation at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

According to statements of BGB public relation officer, Mohosin Reza, large amounts of drug has been seized by the paramilitary force in last nine month of this year out of which 47.52 hundred thousand yaba tablets have been seized.

Assistant Director of the Department of Narcotics Control, Khurshid Alam said that they are aware that smugglers use different kinds of disguise to carry drugs and the low enforcement agencies are doing their best to apprehend them. l

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Gulshan attack arms reached Dhaka was found on the three AK-22 rifles recovered after the Gulshan terror attack,” he said.

According to law enforcement sources, use of AK-22 rifles by militants was also seen during a drive in Bogra on April 27, before the Gulshan attack. During the time, a militant named Abdul Momin was arrested and confessed having used the arms to conduct attack in Shia Mosque of Bogra.

Sanowar Hossain, additional deputy commissioner of the CTTC, said they were now trying to learn about the arms capacity of New JMB. Apart from the three rifles, five pistols were used in the Gulshan attack, that killed 22 people, including 17 foreigners and two police officials on July 1.

Money for Gulshan attack came through Hundi

CTTC unit chief Monirul Islam said a total of Tk20 lakh came to Bangladesh in two phases through Hundi.

On behalf of the New JMB the fund was received by a person named Chocolate alias Basharuzzaman, a close associate of killed leader Tamim Chowdhury.

“We have identified the Hundi traders who helped the militants get the money. Now we are trying to arrest them,” he said.

Police not sure of Hasnat’s involvement

The CTTC unit chief yesterday said that they were not sure about the involvement of the only arrestee of Gulshan attack case, former North South University teacher Hasnat Reza Karim.

“Hasnat was interrogated in the TFI cell and our investigation officer also interrogated him,” Monirul said.

“So, we can only comment clearly about his involvement after getting the TFI cell report and investigation officer’s interrogation copy together,” he added.

Nothing found against Tahmid

“Tahmid Hasib Khan has been found not involved in the Holey Artisan Restaurant attack in Gulshan,” the CTTC chief Monirul said while talking to reporters at the DMP Media Centre yesterday.

He, however, said the investigation of the case had not ended yet and if Tahmid’s involvement was found in any part of the investigation, he would be shown arrested.

On Sunday, a Dhaka court granted Tahmid bail. He was arrested under Section 54 nearly a month ago.

However, police have charged Tahmid with not giving information on the attackers. Terming Tahmid an eyewitness of the July attack, on September 28 the investigation officer submitted an application to file a prosecution report under Section 176 alleging uncooperativeness with the investigation despite repeated legal notices.

Tahmid Shafi’s voice in IS video CTTC chief Monirul said voice analysis suggests that Tahmid Rahman Shafi is the narrator of the latest Islamic State video that features the Gulshan restaurant attackers.

Asked about the origin of the video, Monirul said: “The video was not uploaded from Bangladesh. It was uploaded from abroad.” However, he refused to elaborate.

On September 23, the Islamic State group released a new video featuring the five terrorists who killed 23 people at the Gulshan restaurant.

Sweden-based journalist Tasneem Khalil had earlier posted an analysis confirming that the voice of the narrator in that video was of Shafi. Once a popular Close-Up star, Shafi also sang a motivational song in the video.

Shafi, who worked as a teacher at an English medium school before going missing in mid-2015, and two of his Bangladeshi associates spoke on camera in the first IS video released from Raqqa, Syria on July 6 hailing the Holey Artisan Bakery attack. l

Khaleda, Tarique sued in Chittagong Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate ASM Shahidullah Kaiser accepted the case.

Plaintiff ’s counsel Abul Hashem said that the case was filed under the ICT Act. According to the case statement, Irad Ahmed Siddiky, a member of the BNP central executive committee, threatened to kill the prime minister in two separate statuses on his Facebook profile on September 15 and 25.

Chowdhury Irad Ahmed Siddiky, son of BNP leader Chowdhury Tanbir Ahmed Siddiky, also allegedly made defamatory comments on Bangabandhu in a status on September 15.

The plaintiff claimed that Irad could not have posted the statuses without the knowledge of the two

top leaders of his organisation.

Earlier, at least six cases were filed against Irad in different parts of the country over threatening the prime minister.

The court, after accepting the case, ordered the officer-in-charge of Boalkhali police station in Chittagong to take the complaint as an FIR (First Information Report).

“The court also ordered the OC to investigate the case. Now there is no legal bar to arrest the accused. The police can at any time arrest the accused from anywhere,” said Abul Hashem.

“The persons who liked and commented on the Facebook post were also made accused in the case.

However, the total number of the accused and their names were not mentioned in the case,” he added. l

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

3 militant siblings surrender in Jessore n Md Tauhid-Uz-Zaman, Jessore

The National Committee to Protect, Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports holds a rally in front of the National Press Club yesterday protesting attacks and repression on their Save Sundarbans movement against the Rampal power plant DHAKA TRIBUNE

Tahmid’s role, as recounted by an eyewitness n Anita Khan Tahmid Khan survived an eleven-hour deadly siege on July 1 at the Holey Artisan Bakery in the diplomatic enclave in Gulshan in Dhaka that killed 22 people.

Afterwards, he was held in police custody for three months until his release on bail Sunday night.

Tahmid had been out that night meeting two friends for an overdue reunion after arriving the same morning from Canada.

The Bangladeshi attackers were five young men. Three appear to be just like the hostages they killed, but with important distinctions: media hungry ISIS, who eagerly took credit for these attacks and who published photographs of the attackers, did not publish photographs of Tahmid.

The five gunmen – three of whom were from affluent backgrounds – posed with guns in these photographs, and had been missing for several months prior to the attacks.

But unlike the gunmen, Tahmid never disappeared, according to his best friend at the University of Toronto, Josh Grondin.

Grondin last saw Tahmid on June 30, when Tahmid took a cab to say goodbye to his brother, en route to Dhaka from Canada. “Tahmid was excited to see his parents and couldn’t stop talking about his Unicef internship for the last two months,” Grondin recalls.

Grondin had booked a flight to

Bangladesh to meet Tahmid’s parents on July 5. Instead he woke up the day after Tahmid left, to find that his friend was stuck inside the Holey Artisan Bakery.

In a bid to maximise his short vacation time in Dhaka before starting a Unicef internship in Kathmandu, Tahmid met two friends for dessert at the now infamous café, the same night he landed. One of the friends, who spoke under the condition of confidentiality, relays that it was an impromptu decision of hers to go to the café, given its proximity to the third friend’s house, and because she was due home at 9pm.

She was sitting with her friends in the lawn eating chocolate and hazelnut ice cream, when they heard loud noises – what initially appeared to them to be firecrackers. A gunman wearing baggy

pants and a loose T-shirt came out and immediately shot at one of the foreigners in the table of five next to them.

“Bhaiyya, don’t kill us,” the hostages shouted to the gunman.

“Don’t worry, we are not here to kill Bangladeshis,” the terrorist said.

This hostage kept looking at her watch, as the gunmen went around the lawn shooting each victim with rifles and pistols, before hacking them with machetes to ensure death.

By 9pm, the gunmen were done with the majority of the killings.

The hostages were ushered inside the restaurant at gunpoint, and the hostage horror began.

The hostage confirmed previous reports that the gunmen had forced Tahmid to hold an unloaded gun during the night and they also took him upstairs with Hasnat Karim, another hostage who remains in police custody, charged with being an accomplice.

The purpose appears to have been to use Tahmid as a human shield in case the police tried to shoot the attackers.

“Tahmid was crying when the gunmen asked him to carry a gun.

I asked Tahmid after we got out: What happened when the terrorists took him upstairs? Tahmid said the gunmen made him hold an empty gun pointed to Hasnat Karim. They wanted to show the snipers that they still had hostages,” this hostage says.

From a two-hour interview with this hostage, it seems the attackers had expected to face an early raid and were not prepared for a lengthy stand-off with police. After they had separated and killed the foreign hostages they were unsure what to do with those they spared.

Chillingly, the gunmen seemed to enjoy the killings and joked about the events.

According to this hostage, Tahmid is the hero of the ghastly siege, complying with demands because he was being threatened with death by the terrorists, but simultaneously using the terrorists’ twisted logic to plead for freedom.

Evidently the attackers were ready to die themselves, but became restless in the morning waiting for the authorities.

“The gunmen just wanted to fight the police. Tahmid explained to the gunmen that the police wouldn’t come inside, as long as they knew the gunmen had hostages. The terrorists did not think they would have hostages. You could tell by the fact that they didn’t seem to know what to do with us.” l Anita Khan is a New York-based human rights specialist, with over ten years of experience working for global justice issues. She has spent over four weeks interviewing people who were held hostage by the terrorists who attacked and killed 20 people at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Bangladesh. A version of this article earlier appeared in guernicamag. com

Three siblings, who were wanted

by Jessore police along with three other family members for suspected Hizb ut-Tahrir connection, have surrendered to police, said M Moniruzzaman, deputy inspector general of police in Khulna range.

Speaking at a press briefing in Jessore yesterday, the DIG said the siblings are Tanzeeb Ahmed alias Ashraful (22), Tanzeer Ahmed (18) and Masuma Akhter (28).

Their other sister Maksuda Khatun, her husband Shakir Ahmed and Masuma’s husband Nazmul Hasan are still missing.

Tanzeeb was present at the press conference. He requested not to bring his brother or sister in front of the press, the DIG said.

Speaking to reporters, Tanzeeb said he first came into contact with Hizb ut-Tahrir last year, when he was a student of botany at Jessore Government City College.

“I used to go to a tea stall in the town’s Dharmatala area in the afternoon every day, where I met a Hizb ut-Tahrir leader named Sajal one day. He gave me religious booklets to read. Eventually, he convinced me to join his organisation.”

After he joined Hizb ut-Tahrir, Tanzeeb convinced his brother and sisters to join him as well.

Asked why they surrendered to police, Tanzeeb said they realised their mistake when the prime minister and high officials of police urged missing militants to surrender. “We want to return to normal life.”

DIG Moniruzzaman said: “Some of our young men and women became misguided by people with ill intentions. But they are now realising that they made a mistake and are surrendering themselves. Police will help to rehabilitate them, as well as provide counselling.”

Asked about the other three members of the family, the DIG said police were working to convince them to surrender as well.

The siblings’ names first came up when Jessore police on September 6 published a list of 11 people who had been missing for a significant period and were suspected to have joined militant groups.

Police posted posters containing their names, photos and other information around Jessore town and asked for information on them.

Police said Masuma’s husband Nazmul and Maksuda’s husband Nazmul were primary members of Hizb ut-Tahrir, but did not clarify when they joined the organisation.

The other five suspected militants on the list are GM Nazimuddin alias Naksha Nazim, Hafez Ali, Mohiuddin, Musabbir Ahmed and Mehedi Hasan alias Jim alias Hussain. l

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ACC to investigate ICDDRB irregularities n

Adil Sakhawat

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has initiated an inquiry into the alleged lease of 40,500 sq-ft of official space of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDRB) to Brac for 49 years for Tk1 per year.

The anti-graft body is also carrying out another inquiry into an allegation against some officials of ICDDRB for embezzling Tk20 crore allotted for development and research work.

ACC Secretary Abu Md Mustafa Kamal confirmed the Dhaka Tribune about the initiatives, saying: “The commission decided to carry out the inquiry into the allegations in July, this year.”

The decision was made following a report published in a national daily on the ICDDRB irregularities, Mustafa said.

The commission appointed Assistant Director Salah Uddin as inquiry official and Director AKM Jayed Hossain Khan as

supervising official for the investigation.

Aeeking anonymity, an ACC official said: “The allegations of granting 40,500 sq-ft official space to Brac for Tk1 yearly and the embezzlement of Tk20cr by ICDDRB officials were found in a Health Ministry investigation.”

According to the Health Ministry’s investigation report, the ICDDRB failed to show any development in constructing four more floors of its building with a government funding worth Tk100cr.

The report also found that Tk20cr grant provided to ICDDRB for research and development work in 2007 was spent illegally.

The investigation committee held four higher officials of ICDDRB as guilty of the embezzlement.

The officials are ICDDRB Executive Director Dr Alejandro Cravioto, Finance Director Aniruddho Niyogi, Senior Manager Mijanur Rahman and Finance Controller MA Matin.

In 2010, ICDDRB leased to Brac

their main building located in Mahakhali of Dhaka and granted the space for commercial purpose instead of hospital and research activities, an ACC official said.

The ACC inquiry official already asked ICDDRB to provide relevant documents to the commission regarding these allegations.

When contacted with ICDDRB, an email from its management told the Dhaka Tribune: “To the extent that ICDDRB is aware, an inquiry, not an investigation, is being conducted by the ACC into allegations of irregularities surrounding the leasing out in 2010 of a floor in the ICDDRB building to Brac University.

“Referring to such inquiry, the inquiry officer of ACC has sought certain information and documents from ICDDRB, which are in the process of being compiled and handed over. ICDDRB, as a statutory public authority, is committed to cooperate and render necessary assistance to all law enforcement agencies in discharging their official duties.” l

2 Bangladeshi projects get Aga Khan Award n Tribune Desk Two Bangladeshi architectural projects were among the winners of the 2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture, a statement from the globally-known charity says on yesterday.

The Bangladeshi projects are a mosque in Dhaka and a community centre in Ganibandha.

Presented once every three years, the award was established by the Aga Khan in 1977 to “identify and encourage building concepts that successfully addressed the needs and aspirations of communities in which Muslims have a significant presence.”

The winners were announced yesterday in the United Arab Emirates city of Al Ain. Praising the Bait Ur Rouf Mosque in Dhaka, developed by Marina Tabassum Architects, the award jury panel says: “In a transitional area caught between urban hyper-density and rural proximity, the terracotta mosque is an exquisitely proportioned building that is both elegant and eternal.

Funded primarily by community donors, the mosque design challenges the status quo and understands that a space for prayer

should elevate the spirit. The mosque does so through the creation of an interior space that is rich with light and shadow, but at the same time possesses a robust simplicity that allows for deep reflection and contemplation in prayer.”

The jury panels describes the NGO Friendship’s training facility and community centre in Gaibandha, developed by Kashef Chowdhury and Urbana, as: “The integrative design approach is registered in every aspect of the project, and at every scale. The imbrication of outdoor and indoor spaces, together with the treatment of the roofscape, make this an unusual and innovative building. With its spaces sunk into the ground and the vegetation growing on its roofs, the compound blends beautifully into the natural surroundings. Its relationship to the landscape and to history and archeology is remarkable in every way.”

Selected from a shortlist of 19 candidates, the winning projects will receive a $1m prize as they join an acclaimed list of previous winners, which includes buildings from Norman Foster, Charles Correa, Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel and Hassan Fathy. l

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

NATIONAL CHILD RIGHTS WEEK

Children extremely vulnerable to rape in Bangladesh

n Mohammad Jamil Khan

Children in Bangladesh are extremely vulnerable to sexual violence, with 291 cases of child rape reported around the country in the first eight months of 2016, according to sources.

“Child rape is on the rise at an alarming rate, especially in recent years,” said Azmi Akhter, programme officer at Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF), a child rights watchdog.

Children are also victims of child marriage, with 34 underage girls married off by their parents in the first eight months of the year, shows BSAF data.

Amid such circumstances, Bangladesh is observing National Child Rights Week from September 29 to October 5, the theme of which is “Children will always remain safe in home and outside” this year.

According to BSAF statistics, in the period of January-August this year, 39 children have been victims of gang rape, 13 children have been killed after rape, and nine have been victims of child pornography.

The data have been collected from different reports.

BSAF data also shows that there were reports of 521 children raped in Bangladesh in 2015, which is around 350% higher than 2014 – 199 reports of child rape. Reports in the first four months of 2016 show a 14% rise in child rape compared to the same time period in 2015.

Children with disabilities are also vulnerable to sexual violence; 28 autistic children have been raped around the country between January and August.

Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, BSAF Director AS Mahmood said: “One of the main reasons behind child rights violation is that the culprits get away without getting punished for their crimes.”

He said bringing the rapists under punishment and raising awareness about children’s rights would help protect them from untimely marriage as well as sexual violence.

When contacted, State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroz Chumki said people who tortured children were national enemies. “We need to take action against them together.”

She also said punishment for the violators would be ensured via legal steps. l

Children participate in a photo session at the end of an event organised yesterday by Child Sponsorship Network on the occasion of International Child Rights Week RAJIB DHAR

MD: Teletalk to invest Tk3282.20cr soon to upgrade 3G data service n Ishtiaq Husain Teletalk Managing Director (MD) Giasuddin Ahmed said if they can’t invest a big amount of money, they would not be able to compete with other operators as most of the operators’ investment is 10 times bigger than Teletalk.

“A private operator can invest whenever it needs, while in Teletalk’s case, it takes too much time to approve any proposal due to bureaucratic process,” he told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday in a short interview.

Teletalk, the lone state-owned mobile phone operator, is all set to implement a Tk3282.20cr mega investment project, to upgrade its 3G data services and also to spread 2G services at the union level.

Industry insiders, however, are skeptic over any profitable outcome of such huge investment, arguing that when the state-owned company is already devastated by inefficiency, irregularities and mismanagement, the huge investment is surely going to be wasted, warning that the financial loss incurred

by Teletalk is paid for by the government using tax money.

Terming the investment ‘unjustified’, they said the money is simply being wasted. There is no justification for Teletalk to exist at all. Teletalk should be closed or pri-

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vatised and government money, in lieu of being invested in an already failed project, should be used to improve schools and hospitals, to provide services that the public actually benefits from.

The mobile operator Teletalk has chalked out a design to reach up to upazila and union levels to materialise the government’s ICT vision 2021.

Giasuddin Ahmed said: “Our main weakness is lack of network.

Teletalk has 40% network all over the country while most of the operators have network covering around 100% area of the country.”

“We would be able to compete with other operators, once we can make a countrywide strong network. Strong network is the main key to ensure all kinds of mobile telephone-based services and it 27

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would be a huge scope for us to provide more government services through using Teletalk network,” he said.

Mentionable, the country’s largest mobile phone operator Grameenphone has 12,000 Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) at present whereas Teletalk has only 3,800 BTSs across the country.

In reply to a query over the alleged irregularities in Teletalk, he said, “We are not burdened with inefficiency, irregularities or mismanagement, rather our main problem is lack of required investment.”

“It is necessary to reach up to union level immediately; only then Teletalk will be able to compete with others. Management can’t do anything if we are not backed by required investment,” said Ahmed.

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“From the beginning of its journey, the state-owned company was and still is far behind from other mobile phone operators in terms of network coverage and updated services,” opined the Teletalk MD. “The operator is struggling from the very beginning as the government didn’t invest sufficient money in time,” he added.

It is mention worthy that since its inception in 2005, Teletalk managed to grab only 3.2% market share. In terms of the number of the mobile subscribers, Teletalk is the smallest operator in the country with only 41,61,000 subscribers.

Mobile phone consumers regularly allege that although Teletalk entered into the mobile market in 2005, it has failed to make any impact in the market. l

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Fajr: 5:20am | Zohr: 1:15pm Asr: 4:30pm | Magrib: 5:56pm Esha: 8:00pm Source: Islamic Foundation

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News Faridpur roads turn unfit for vehicles n Md Wali Newaz, Faridpur

A large portion of the Dhaka-Khulna Highway in Faridpur becomes unfit for plying vehicles as potholes have developed on the road. The picture was taken yesterday MD WALI NEWAZ

Nearly 40 kilometres of Khulna-Faridpur Highway are in very bad condition and became unfit for vehicular movement, as big potholes have developed at many points of the througfare.

Thousands of people who travel through the road everyday are suffering to a great extent, but authorities concerned have no time to ease the sufferings of commuters, said local residents.

The locals alleged that they had to face very hazardous situation on the way due to dilapidated situation of the road which may cause accident any time.

During a visit to the area this correspondent have found that nearly 40 kilometres of Khulna-Faridpur Highway have totally damaged. Beside, gigantic potholes have developed at every portions of Rajbari-Kamarkhali Highway.

According to RHD, nearly 10,000 vehicles ply the road everyday.

A driver, who use the road

everyday, wishing anonymity said: “Drivers and passengers have to suffer a lot during their journey on the roads. Potholes have developed on the roads which caused road accidents.”

To ease the suffering of people he urged to authorities concerned to repair the highway as soon as possible.

Shahjahan Helal, a resident of Madhukhali upazila of Faridpur district, said: “Local have already urged the authorities concerned to repair the roads for several times but the authorities did not pay heed to their demand.”

He requested the government to take immediate measures to repair the road to ease sufferings of local people.

Mohammad Jahangir Alam, executive engineer of Faridpur Roads and Highways department, said: “We have already appointed two contractors to repair the road. The government has allotted Tk38.27 crore to repair the road” He hoped that the roads will be very fine by December this year. l

Kushtia Govt College students suffering for water crisis Khoda Sobuj, n Kudrote Kushtia

Residents of Tapasi Rabeya Hall at Kushtia Government College have been suffering from acute water crisis for the last 11 days, as its lone water pump has gone out of order.

Campus sources said a total of 170 female students reside in the four-storey hall.

Around 80 students have left the hall being unable to continue living there due to shortage of water.

The residents of the hall had been collecting water from the tube-well on the campus and doing their everyday chores, as the pump that supplies water to the hall remained out of order since September 22, said some students of the dormitory.

They also alleged that the college authorities asked each of resident to provide Tk100 to repair the pump.

Accordingly, they collected money, but did not submit it to the authorities, as some students denied to give the amount, they added.

Admitting the allegation, Hostel Super Saidur Rahman said a portion of the amount required to repair the pump would be paid from the hostel’s fund, while the rest would be collected from the students.

“But, we did not give any pressure on the students for the money and nobody left the hall for water crisis, as water is being supplied through an alternative pump,” he said.

Around Tk25000 would be needed to repair the pump, Saidur added.

“If anything goes out of order in any government organization, it cannot be repaired immediately, said Saidur.

He said it would take time to solve the problem, as tenders would be called for purchasing a new pump. l

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

Ershad: Jatiya Party against interim polls n Liakat Ali Badal, Rangpur

An artisan adorns idols at a puja mandap in Shahebbazar area under Rajshahi ahead of Durga Puja. The picture was taken yesterday

Stolen infant rescued after 22 hours Chowdhury, n Alamgir Joypurhat

Police rescued a three-month-old baby from a private clinic in Joypurhat town yesterday, 22 hours after the infant was stolen from a consultation centre in the town.

A woman named Morsheda Begum was arrested in this connection, said Farid Hossain, officer-incharge of Joypurhat Sadar police station.

Bazlur Rashid and Zoynab Begum, hailing from Bhatukundu village at Dhamurhat upazila in Naogaon, went to Joypurhat District Modern Hospital with their daughter Tamanna for her treatment on Sunday night.

Morsheda convinced them to go to Padma Lab and Consultation Centre located in Sadar Road area in the town for the baby’s better treatment, according to the family of Tamanna, the police and the clinic.

The woman took the child from the parents telling that she was going to see the baby a physician, who was her elder brother.

After that she fled the spot with the child.

Father of the baby filed a case with the police station in this connection that night.

The police rescued Tamanna in the morning from Al Shifa Clinic and Diagnostic Centre at Hospital intersection on the same road being informed by the clinic authorities that Morsheda came there with the child for her treatment. l

AZAHAR UDDIN

Poor safety measures result in casualty at construction sites n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong

Poor safety measures and lack of necessary training for workers are causing frequent casualties at the construction sites of Chittagong city.

The construction workers said they were often deprived of their due compensation following an accident.

As per Bangladesh Labour Law 2006, the compensation for a workplace death is Tk1 lakh and for permanent injury it is Tk1.25 lakh.

The available casualty reports published in different newspapers in the last few years reveal that the construction workers most often die after falling off building, wall collapse and electrocution.

Poorly-made scaffolds and lack of ropes and harnesses are the main reasons behind workers fall from high places. Besides, most electrocutions occur when iron rods carried by construction workers come into contact with live electric wires.

The construction workers complained that they fell victim to the fatal accidents as they are not provided any necessary safety gear like helmet, gloves and shoes at work.

As per Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC), headgears must be worn by the construction workers at workplace.

According to Chittagong District Construction Workers’ Union, around 150,000 construction labourers work in Chittagong.

The construction work includes

piling, earth cutting, electrical wiring, painting, plastering, putting tiles on the wall and floor and setting rods.

Abdur Rahim, general secretary of Chittagong District Construction Workers’ Union, alleged that labour laws were hardly followed in the construction sector.

“If the construction workers demand safety harness, the employers refuse to recruit them or ask them to buy the gears on themselves,” alleged the leader of the construction workers.

Tapan Dutta, president of Bangladesh Trade Union Centre, Chittagong, said: “Construction is now emerging as a high-casualty sector. Nevertheless, the construction workers are not provided Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) by the employers.”

“The number of high-rise building is increasing in the port city.

However, it is a matter of regret that the construction is yet to be considered as a formal sector. The number of accident might come down if the construction workers are provided with formal training,” said the veteran labour leader who is also a member of 1st Labour Court, Chittagong.

“The compensation for any workplace death should be more than Tk5 lakh instead of existing Tk1 lakh. In case of any permanent injury at workplace, a worker is to obtain a certificate from a Civil Surgeon. Therefore, an injured worker negotiates with his her employer in order to avoid the hassle of obtaining certificate,” said Tapan.

The labour rights activists also call for an enhanced monitoring by the concerned government agencies, including Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments for preventing the frequent accidents.

Earlier, on September 30 of this year, a construction worker identified as Rakib, 18, died after falling off the fourth floor of an under-construction building in Cosmopolitan area of the city.

On August 26 of 2016, a construction worker identified as Md Momin, 27, also died after falling from the first floor of an under-construction building at Faridarpara area of the city.

On August 9, 2016, a worker identified as Sumon Barua, 36, died after falling off a seven-storey under-construction building at Nayahat Bank Colony of the city’s EPZ area. The ill-fated worker fell while working on bamboo scaffolding on the seventh floor of the building.

On January 17 of 2016, a construction worker identified as Sher Ali Sajib died after falling off an under-construction building in Bagar Bill area under Bakalia police station of the city.

Ismail Chowdhury, 22, a construction worker died from falling off an under-construction building at Chawkbazar on November 6, 2015.

On August 23 of 2015, a construction worker identified as Samirul islam, 20, died after falling from an under-construction building at South Khulshi area of the city. l

Jatiya Party (JaPa) Chairman Hussain Muhammad Ershad said the position of his party was against the call of interim national polls.

He came up with the statement while talking to local journalists at Rangpur Circuit house yesterday afternoon.

He said his party would participate in next polls which is likely to be held after two years.

He also said Jatiya Party would remain beside the people and ensure welfare to the people for helping lead the country towards its desired development.

The Jatiya Party chief said his party would take in the next parliamentary election. He also urged people to vote for Jatiya Party candidates.

At the press briefing, Ershad said he had welcomed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for not attending the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit, scheduled to be held in Islamabad, Pakistan in November.

Sheikh Hasina has decided not to join the summit following Pakistan’s interference in Bangladesh’s internal affairs particularly over the trial of war criminals. l

No trace of two youths picked up by RAB n Mehedi Hasan, Chuadanga Family members of two youths, who have been picked up by the personnel of the Rapid Action Battalion, are worried, as there is no trace of them.

Families of Sohag, 24, son of Abdul Khaleq, and Hridoy, 23, son of Bacchu Mia, residents of Shantipara under Damurhud upzila, said a team of RAB conducted a drive at the house of one Jostna Khatun, co-villager of them, on Saturday over drug peddling.

During the driver, members of the law enforcers beat Rasel and Rina, children of Jostna, after an altercation.

Then, all the male persons of the village fled the area, except Sohag and Hridoy. The RAB members then picked up them from there.

Since then, the youths have remained missing.

Abdul Khaleq told the Dhaka Tribune that he had already contacted with RAB, DB and Damurhuda police station, but none of the department could say anything whereabouts of the youths.

OC of Damurhuda police station Abu Jihad Md Fakhrul Alam told the Dhaka Tribune that they were not aware of the matter. l

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SOUTH ASIA

Six killed, 35 wounded in Afghanistan market blast At least six people were killed and 35 wounded on Monday, when an improvised explosive device tore into a crowded marketplace in a northern Afghan province on the border with Turkmenistan, officials said.

The bomb, hidden on a bicycle, exploded as farmers gathered in Darzab district of the province of Jawzjan on market day, but there was no immediate word on who was responsible. AFP

INDIA

Russia backs India’s surgical strikes Russia on Monday came out in support of India’s surgical strikes along the line of control (LoC), saying every country has the right to defend itself, the first P-5 country to back New Delhi openly.

Russia was the only country to say in plain words that terrorists came from Pakistan, Russian ambassador to India Alexander M Kadakin said, asking Islamabad to put an end to cross-border terror. HT

CHINA

Heavy air pollution continues to hit China Heavy air pollution continues to hit Chinese capital Beijing and surrounding areas and will not disperse until Tuesday. The concentration of hazardous fine particulate matter known as PM 2.5 in Beijing was between 100 and 200 micrograms per cubic meter, indicating moderate pollution. HT

ASIA PACIFIC

Powerful typhoon barrels toward southern Japan Powerful typhoon Chaba barreled toward Japan’s Okinawa island chain on Monday, as authorities issued their highest warning for the storm. The violent storm was moving northwest near Okinawa, packing gusts of up to 306km per hour. With the storm closing in, authorities issued an evacuation advisory for its 320,000 residents. AFP

MIDDLE EAST

IS suicide bombs kill at least 10 in Baghdad Suicide bombers struck two Shia-majority areas of the Iraqi capital Monday, killing at least 10 people and wounding more than 30, attacks claimed by the Islamic State group. In the deadliest blast, a bomber detonated explosives in the Amil neighborhood of southern Baghdad, killing at least 6 people and wounding 16 or more, officials said. AFP

‘WB secretly finances Asian coal boom’ n Tribune International Desk The World Bank is indirectly financing a boom in some of Asia’s dirtiest coal-fired power generation despite commitments to end most funding for the sector, a development advocacy group charged Monday.

The power plants, which contribute to climate change and deforestation as well as premature deaths due to illness, are cropping up from Bangladesh to the Philippines, all with financing provided by financial intermediaries supported by the Bank, said a report produced by the organisation Inclusive Development International, reports AFP. In a policy shift in 2013, the Bank said it would end virtually all support for the creation of coal-burning power plants, supporting them only in “rare circumstances” where there are no viable alternatives.

However, since that pledge, 41 coal projects have received funding from banks and investment funds supported by the World Bank’s private-sector arm, the International Finance Corporation, according to the report.

In response to questions from AFP, Frederick Jones, an IFC spokesman, said the global lender took the report seriously.

“It raises important long-term questions about how we need to create stronger markets for clean energy and create incentives for countries and the private sector not to invest in coal, but rather in renewable energy,” he said.

Jones added that since 2005 the IFC had already invested more than $15bn in renewable energy, energy efficiency and other areas, and had mobilized $10bn more.

However, Jones conceded that IFC policy did not prohibit equity clients from funding coal plants, meaning the institution might be indirectly exposed to the industry.

This is despite the fact that IFC loans to financial services industry players are not intended to finance coal-related projects and targeted lending is “ring-fenced” to prevent this, according to Jones.

The report’s release coincided with the start of this week’s high-profile annual meetings of the Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as the world’s finance chiefs gather to discuss efforts at poverty reduction.

Campaigners in recent years have been sharply critical of the IFC’s support for third parties in the financial services sector, such as banks and investment funds, saying they can represent an endrun around environmental and social safeguards that apply to projects directly supported by the IFC. Financial-sector lending now accounts for 52% of the IFC’s longterm commitments, according to IDI, which jointly produced the report with other advocacy organizations including the Bank Information Centre and Accountability Counsel. Founded in 2011, IDI is an advocacy organisation focusing on human rights and ethics in development.

Greenpeace activists demonstrate on the driveway of the Department of Energy in Manila AP

Seeking compensation tough

The IFC does not identify the end recipients of financing received by such intermediaries.

That can make it difficult for people harmed by such projects to demand compensation or seek redress, the report said.

However, through an analysis of records, the report identified 56,127 megawatts of new coal capacity funded indirectly by the IFC. These included the planned 1,360-megawatt Rampal power station in Bangladesh, to be situated on the edge of the sprawling Sundarbans mangrove forest, which is home to endangered species and supports the livelihoods of two million people.

The report said the World Bank itself declined to support the project, which could threaten the

Sundarbans with air and water pollution. But six local banks, all IFC-financed, agreed to support the project instead.

The report also cited power construction in the Philippines, where coal burning is estimated to result in almost a thousand premature deaths annually and where more than thirty environmental activists were killed in 2015 alone.

IFC-financed banks have supported at least 20 new coal projects since 2013 in the Philippines.

They include the proposed 540-megawatt Lanao Kauswagan power station, which is expected to begin operations next year and may threaten marine life in nearby Panguil Bay and the livelihoods of fishing communities, Inclusive Development International said. l

Void vote on migrants deals blow to Hungary’s anti-EU revolt n Reuters, Budapest Almost all Hungarians who voted in Sunday’s referendum rejected the European Union’s migrant quotas but turnout was too low to make the poll valid, frustrating Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s hopes of a clear victory with which to challenge Brussels.

Hungary’s maverick right-wing leader, whose hardline policy on migration has been criticised by human rights groups but is popular at home, nevertheless said EU policy-makers should heed the “outstanding” referendum outcome.

Orban said more Hungarians had rejected the migrant quotas than had voted for EU membership in a referendum ahead of Hungary’s 2004 accession to the bloc. Some 3.249m votes were cast rejecting the quotas,

compared with 2003’s 3.056m votes in favour of joining the EU. The National Election Office said on its website that 98.3% of those who voted had rejected the quotas with 99.97% of votes counted. Just 40% of around 8.26m eligible people had cast a valid vote, however, less than the 50% needed to legitimise the result. Final results are expected next week.

Along with other ex-Communist countries in Eastern Europe, Hungary opposes a policy that would require all EU countries to take in some of the hundreds of thousands of people seeking asylum in the bloc after arriving last year.

Orban, who responded to the influx by sealing Hungary’s southern borders with a razor-wire fence and thousands of army and police, says deciding whether to accept mi-

grants is a matter of national sovereignty. He says Hungary -- with its Christian roots -- does not want to take in Muslims in large numbers as they pose a security risk.

In power since 2010 and with his Fidesz party still firmly ahead in opinion polls, Orban will use the referendum to keep the issue of migration on the political agenda in the run-up to 2018 elections.

Some opposition parties seized on the fact that turnout had fallen short of the threshold needed to validate the vote, with radical nationalist Jobbik calling the referendum “a fiasco” and calling on Orban to quit. Leftist opposition party DK also said Orban should step down.

But the invalid vote could blunt Orban’s efforts to force Brussels to change its migration policies, some analysts said. l

HUNGARY’S MIGRANT REFERENDUM VOIDED Question: ‘Do you want the EU to be able to mandate the obligatory resettlement of non-Hungarian citizens into Hungary even without the approval of the National Assembly?’

1.68% 50%

YES Valid votes

40%

Source: Election office

98.32% NO

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Q&A

USA

What Colombian referendum’s shocking result may mean The national referendum in Colombia voted down the government’s peace deal with leftist rebels less than a week after President Juan Manuel Santos signed the historic accord before an audience that included several heads of state and the United Nations secretary-general. A narrow win for Colombia’s opponents to a government peace deal with Farc rebels has thrown the country into disarray, leading one journalist to starkly declare, “Nobody really knows what will happen tomorrow.”

Likened to the fallout from the United Kingdom’s “Brexit” referendum, the vote’s unexpected failure has left the Colombian political classes reeling and unsure how to respond in order to save four years of hard negotiation with the Marxist militia.

Here’s a look at the results and what lies ahead--

THE REVOLUTIONARY ARMED FORCES OF COLOMBIA (FARC) September 26, 2016 Government and FARC sign peace deal August 29, 2016 Ceasefire comes into force August 24, 2016 Government and FARC reach final peace accord May 2016 Agreement to free FARC’s child soldiers 2015 Accord on demining operations and reparations for victims 2014 Partial accord on illegal drugs 2013 Partial accord on land reform and a political role for FARC November 2012 Start of peace talks in Havana with centrist government of Juan Manuel Santos 2011 Alfonso Cano killed.

Replaced by Timoleon Jimenez (aka Timochenko)

October Colombian voters reject peace 2, 2016 accord by 50.2% to 49.8%

2010 FARC’s last surviving peasant leader, Jorge Briceno, killed

1964 FARC rebel movement founded on the back of a peasant uprising led by Manuel Marulanda (aka Tirofijo) 1984-1987 Peace talks with conservative government of Belisario Betancur.

Failed.

1999-2002 Peace talks with conservative government of Andres Pastrana. Failed 2002 FARC abducts presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt 2004 FARC commander Simon Trinidad captured and extradited to the US 2008 Senior FARC commander Raul Reyes killed in Ecuador

by Colombian army 2008 Tirofijo dies of natural causes. Replaced

by Alfonso Cano

2008 Army rescues Betancourt and 15 other hostages

What happened?

Opinion polls had predicted the “yes” vote would win by an almost two-to-one margin. But with almost all ballots counted, 50.2% of Colombians who voted Sunday opposed the deal and 49.8% favoured it. That was a difference of less than 57,000 votes out 13m ballots.

Why did they reject it?

In the weeks leading up to Sunday’s vote, many Colombians were angered by what they saw as insufficient punishment for those who perpetrated a litany of crimes against their people. It’s estimated 220,000 were killed in the 52-year conflict which displaced as many as 5m people.

At the height of its terror campaign, the armed group seized territory, attacked government forces and conducted high-profile kidnappings. The rebels also hijacked planes, made millions trafficking cocaine and forced children to fight.

For just over half of those who voted, the Farc’s past crimes were too much to forgive.

What happens now?

It is largely unclear what the path forward looks like. Santos said Sunday a ceasefire will remain in place and negotiations will continue in Havana, Cuba, while his counterpart, Farc leader Rodrigo Londono Echeverri, agreed that the referendum result would not sway the former rebels from the path of peace.

The Farc-EP maintains the willingness for peace and they reaf-

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firm their disposition to use only the word as a constructive weapon towards the future. To the Colombian people who dream with peace, they can count on us. Peace will triumph.

Was there a plan B?

The rejection of the plan has left the administration of President Juan Manuel Santos wrong-footed and, as the president himself said, “without a plan B.” Now the rebels and the Colombian government, facilitated by international leaders, will have to go back to the drawing board to re-imagine a peace that is acceptable to the people of Colombia, speaking on behalf of the victims of murder, extortion and kidnapping.

What’s next?

Opponents of the accord, led by powerful former President Alvaro Uribe, said if the accord failed to pass the government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia should return to the negotiating table. Opponents specifically want to renegotiate provisions that would spare jail time for rebels who confess their crimes and give the Farc 10 seats in congress through 2026. Santos says he will send his negotiators to Cuba to confer with Farc leaders. He also says he will consult with opponents of the accord. The Farc, who never wanted the referendum in the first place, has reiterated its commitment to finding peace, without saying if it will renegotiate. Both Santos and the Farc say

the accord as negotiated is the best one possible for Colombia.

Can a new deal be agreed?

The country is divided, says Virginia Bouvier, Senior Advisor for Latin American Programs at the US Institute of Peace, and while the accord represented a “unique and very exciting endeavour to hold accountable those who have committed horrific crimes,” opponents of the deal reduced it to an oversimplified outcome: whether former rebels would see the inside of a jail cell.

“Santos... speaking as president of all those who voted, said that he recognised that he had put it to a vote but maintained that he would be convening all political sectors to enter in dialogue and take that back to Havana.

What could a new deal look like?

It’s unlikely that the Farc leadership would give up former rebels to jail time to satisfy the demands of the slim majority which rejected the deal. Farc members and supporters already feel that the group has conceded too much in its quest for a settlement.

Santos has called a meeting of the principals of the imperilled deal for Monday morning in Bogota to decide what step to next take. One thing is for sure; no one wants a return to all-out conflict between government troops and a dwindling band of rebels in Colombia’s jungles.

As so little is known about what comes next, it is unclear if the pro-

cess to get the derailed deal back on track will happen quickly or slowly. The president still holds a majority in congress and will do so for the two remaining years of his term, so while the vote result is politically damaging he still has a lot of sway in congress.

It is unlikely that the whole deal will be scrapped, but rather the contentious clause which keeps former rebels out of jail will be renegotiated.

Will fighting resume?

The Farc have made clear they want to abandon their half-century armed struggle. For now, a bilateral cease-fire remains in place and neither side is interested in a return to hostilities.

President’s future?

Almost without doubt. The ‘no’ vote was seen as somewhat of a referendum on Santos, who lost support through his agreement to sit down with the rebels.

The ‘no’ campaign was led by his predecessor, Alvaro Uribe, who would like to run again as president.

Santos was one of the main candidates for the Nobel Prize and now he has to go back again. What he said is that he will never lose the chance to negotiate until the last day of his mandate. Now he wants to keep on going, keep on negotiating but of course of things are changing and nobody really knows what will happen tomorrow. l

Sources: AP, CNN

Clinton denounces racism in visit to Charlotte Hillary Clinton denounced racism as she waded Sunday into one of the latest flashpoints of anger over fatal police shootings of blacks in America. The Democratic presidential candidate’s gesture came at a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina where protests erupted over the September 20 killing of Keith Lamont Scott by police trying to serve an arrest warrant on someone else. AFP

THE AMERICAS

Haiti issues red alert for hurricane Matthew Haiti has urged residents in coastal areas to evacuate as Hurricane Matthew, the strongest storm to hit the Caribbean nations since 2007.

Matthew’s slow-moving centre is expected to bear down on south-western Haiti and Jamaica on Monday as a major storm bringing 230km-perhour winds and rain that could trigger floods and landslides. THE GUARDIAN

UK

Protesters rally at UK’s ruling Conservative conference Around 1,500 demonstrators rallied outside the governing Conservative Party’s annual conference, calling for an end to austerity. In a rally which brought together a broad range of grievances, protesters chanted “Tories out”, erected banners saying “End Austerity Now” and waved placards reading “Cut war not welfare”, “Refugees welcome here” and “No to Islamophobia. No to war”. AFP

EUROPE

Turkey extends emergency for 90 days The Turkish government has agreed to extend its state of emergency as Turkey fights to wipe out terrorist organisations following July’s attempted coup, deputy prime minister and government spokesman Numan Kurtulmus said on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference following the cabinet meeting, Kurtulmus said the extension will come into effect on October 19, when the first three months expire. REUTERS

AFRICA

Libyan forces kill 80 jihadists in Sirte Forces loyal to Libya’s unity government said Monday at least 80 jihadists were killed at the weekend in the city of Sirte, a former stronghold of the Islamic State group.

The pro-GNA forces, who reported 8 soldiers killed and 57 wounded on Sunday, said vehicles, arms and ammunition were seized in the latest round of an assault launched on May 12 and executed in phases to recapture Sirte from IS. AFP

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

Taxes: Why it matters in 2016 US election n Tribune International Desk Politicians love trying to use the tax code to highlight their goals to voters. This year, it’s a battlefield between Hillary Clinton, who wants to boost levies on the rich to pay for expanding social programs and Donald Trump, who says cutting taxes would gird the economy. The clash has consequences for the rich, poor and those in the middle, reports The Associated Press.

Where they stand

Trump: The Republican trotted out an initial plan but has pared it back twice so far. He’d slice individual income taxes across the board: the current seven brackets, which peak at 39.6%, would collapse into three tiers with a maximum 33% rate. The corporate tax rate would fall from 35% — which few companies pay because of deductions — to a maximum 15%.

There would be new tax breaks for some expenses for caring for children or the elderly. And he’d eliminate the estate tax, which hits inheritances exceeding $10.9m this year for married couples. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Centre says the proposal would likely bestow “outsized benefits” to the wealthiest families, but it lacks sufficient detail to be too specific.

Clinton: The Democrat’s proposal is more detailed than Trump’s and targets the rich — big-time.

She’d slap a 4% surtax on incomes over $5m, impose a minimum 30% tax on those earning over $1m and cap itemised deductions for higher earners. She’d impose the estate taxes on inheritances starting at $7m for couples. Clinton would leave corporate tax rates alone, though she’d raise levies on US companies shielding overseas income and would eliminate tax breaks for fossil fuel producers. She’d help some families pay for child care but without involving the tax code. The Tax Policy Centre says the bottom

95% of taxpayers — those earning under $300,000 — would see little if any change in their tax bill.

Why it matters

One way or another, tax proposals by whoever becomes president will affect most Americans.

Clinton would hit the wealthy hard and use the money to bolster public works, medical research and other domestic programs. The Policy Centre says the top 1% of households, with annual incomes averaging $2.1m, would pay over three-quarters of the $1.1tn extra federal revenue her proposal would raise over a decade. Her plans would have a “relatively modest” tax impact on everyone else, the Policy Centre says. She’d help working families pay college costs and cut taxes for companies that share profits with workers.

The Policy Centre said last year that Trump’s original plan would reduce revenue by $9.5tn over 10 years. His campaign says his newest,

The exterior of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building in Washington scaled-back version would cut taxes by $4.4tn over that same period. The Policy Centre hasn’t estimated the price tag of Trump’s new proposal, citing a lack of detail, but says some of its estimates are unsubstantiated.

Under Trump’s earlier proposal, people from all income levels would enjoy tax cuts but the best-off would benefit most, the centre said. The top 0.1% of earners — with incomes exceeding $3.7m — would have gotten tax breaks averaging over $1.3m, or 19% of after-tax earnings. Though lacking enough detail to be precise, the group said, Trump’s new plan “is probably somewhat less regres-

AP

sive,” meaning it’s less tilted toward helping the rich.

Major tax overhauls are enacted infrequently because they spark brutal battles over winners and losers, especially if Congress and the White House are controlled by opposite parties.

Yet with Republicans expected to retain House control next year, Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has already outlined plans to cut families’ and businesses’ taxes. He’d no doubt find it tougher to find common ground for reshaping the tax code if Clinton, not Trump, wins the White House. l

Day after 52 dead in stampede, Ethiopia unrest continues n Tribune International Desk Witnesses said violent unrest continued Monday in Ethiopia, a day after 52 people were crushed to death during an anti-government protest at a massive religious festival.

One witness said bodies were still being pulled from ditches where people fell while trying to flee in a stampede from tear gas and bullets, reports The Associated Press.

Clashes between security forces and protesters erupted Sunday evening and continued through Monday morning in the towns of Bishoftu and Ambo in the restive Oromia region, an Ethiopian government official and witnesses said.

“Some people tried to come out en masse this morning to protest the deaths of holiday-goers on Sunday and also demand the release of people arrested during the celebrations,” said Nimona Negash, a tuk-tuk driver in Bishoftu, where Sunday’s disaster occurred. “Today’s protesters were peaceful but dispersed by police violently. I’m not aware of any deaths this morning, but it was violent. But I’m aware of live bullets used this morning in other vicinities of this town.”

He said family members of people who died in Sunday’s

stampede and others looking for their loved ones were flocking to Bishoftu, creating tension there.

Sunday’s stampede occurred as people ran to escape police firing tear gas and rubber bullets and shooting live rounds into the air after anti-government protesters approached the stage where religious leaders were speaking. Huge crowds were celebrating the annual Irrecha thanksgiving celebration in the town 45km southeast of the capital, Addis Ababa.

The Oromia region has been experiencing violent, sometimes deadly anti-government protests since November 2015 as people call for wider political freedoms and the release of detained opposition figures and journalists.

Ethiopia’s government, a close security ally of the West, has been accused often of silencing dissent, at times blocking internet access. The US recently spoke out against what it called the excessive use of force against protesters, calling the country’s situation “extremely serious.”

The head of the Oromia region’s spokesman’s office, Fikadu Tessema, said on Monday that some groups were trying to “continue the violence that they orchestrated on Sunday.” l

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WB retains 6.8% growth forecast n Tribune Business Desk The World Bank has retained its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for Bangladesh at 6.8% in the current fiscal year due to a weaker private and public consumptions.

It was the same projection of the World Bank in its Bangladesh Economic Update released in April.

The forecast is a 0.4 percentage points lower than the government fiscal GDP growth target of 7.2%.

The WB development update has projected 6.2% GDP growth in the next FY’18 as it said the consumption will fall further with a declining remittance flow.

During the launch of report yesterday, World Bank Lead Economist in Dhaka Zahid Hussain termed the Bangladesh’s economic growth a “shared prosperity” one, saying the country’s bottom 40% people’s income growth or consumption per capita is 0.43 percentage points higher than that of the total population.

According to the report, without boosting total factor productivity growth and private investment relative to GDP, Bangladesh is unlikely to sustain 7% growth going forward.

Bangladesh has outperformed

World Bank Lead Economist in Dhaka Zahid Hussain India, Pakistan and Bhutan, but fell behind the neighbours in East Asia including China, Vietnam and Cambodia on this indicator in sharing prosperity, it said.

The Bangladesh’s consumption per capita of the bottom 40% grew by 1.77% per annum during 20052010, while that of total population expanded by 1.34% per annum.

Zahid, however, projected a grim picture on the SDG (Sustainable Development Goal)-1 achievement with the poverty reduction and economic growth trends in the country.

He said: “If the country wants to achieve SDG’s goal-1, the Bangla-

COUTESY

desh GDP growth needs to pick up to 8.8% annually or it has to focus on more inclusive growth with the current 6.1% growth average between 2005 and 2010.”

According to the SDG-1 Goal, a country will have to cut its poverty to below 3% rate by the year 2030.

On the 7.05% GDP growth in the last Fiscal Year 2016, Zahid said industrial growth was the main driver to the Bangladesh’s overall GDP expansion with a rebounded export earnings.

“Bangladesh’s export is heavily dependent on the ready-made garments. Its export diversification

policy has not worked. The country should work on the diversification,” he said.

The WB economist said the gap between the government’s investment target in the 7th five-year plan and the achievement is widening which is a bad news for the country.

“Although the country’s savings to the GDP is higher than the investment to the GDP, the private investment is not occurring, it creates question whether the capital flight is going on,” he added.

Explaining about the lower investment than the target, Zahid said Bangladesh is not improving in WB’s doing business indicators and its policy while structural reforms are not getting pace with the entrepreneurs, especially the foreign investors, who are not getting faith here.

The lead economist has cautioned about the increasing urban inflationary trend saying it will affect the inclusive growth of the country.

He said: “The sudden pick of the urban inflation may be an impact of the salary hike of the public servants. But this inflationary pressure needs to tame down.”

The WB development outlook has showed the security and financial  PAGE 14 COLUMN 3

Credit growth rises in August n Jebun Nesa Alo

The country’s private sector credit growth increased in August, one month after it dropped, due to growing demand for implementation of mega projects in infrastructure sector.

The growth rate climbed to 16.2% in August from 16% in July.

It was the highest 16.8% in June, above the monetary target of 16.7% set for September.

The total credit to private sector stood at Tk6,71,900 crore in August.

The upward trend of private sector credit growth is still not a concern for Bangladesh Bank as Advance Deposit Ratio (ADR) is far lower than the authorised limit, said Allah Malik Kazemi, change management adviser to the central bank.

The average ADR in the banking sector was 70.81% as of July, far below the regulatory limit of 80%, according to the Bangladesh Bank data.

The BB official expressed concern about the rising consumer financing, saying that loan growth is not so qualitative.

On the other hand, bankers are very happy about the growing credit demand.  PAGE 14 COLUMN 3

WB: Bangladesh has 8th highest number of poor people poverty line, more than 2.5 times as many as the 86 million in Nigeria, which has the second-largest population of the poor worldwide, said the World Bank report.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on October 17 as part of a global End Poverty Day campaign.

“I’m very much looking forward to seeing firsthand Bangladesh’s progress in improving the livelihoods of tens of millions, empowering women, and enhancing the quality of education,” said Kim. To move to the next level and realise its goals of becoming a middle income country by 2021 and overcoming extreme poverty by 2030,

n Tribune Business Desk Bangladesh is currently the 64th poorest, out of the 154 countries, and accounted for the 8th largest number of people living below international poverty line in 2013, says a World Bank report.

However, the report said: “Bangladesh has done an impressive job in reducing poverty over the last decades and has the po-

tential to end extreme poverty by 2030 if it takes firm steps to make growth more inclusive to benefit all Bangladeshis.”

Under the new US$1.90 poverty line based on 2011 purchasing power, 28 million, or 18.5% of Bangladeshis lived in extreme poverty in 2010, said the report.

According to the report, more than 16 million people in Bangladesh graduated from extreme pov-

erty between 2000 and 2010.

It said achieving the goal of reducing extreme poverty to less than 3% of Bangladeshis by 2030 will require economic growth becoming more inclusive with the poorest 40% of society receiving greater benefits from development.

India is by far the country with the largest number of people living under the international $1.90-a-day

the country needs to sustain its economic and remittances growth, create more and better jobs, focus on energy and transportation infrastructure, and make progress on improving the quality of health and education.

“Bangladesh needs to continue creating enough jobs to employ 2 million young people who enter the job market every year. This requires boosting productivity and foreign and domestic investment by reforming business regulations, reducing infrastructure and energy deficiencies, while enhancing financial efficiency,” said Zahid Hussain, lead economist and author of the Bangladesh Development Update. l

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‘China to be top investor in Bangladesh’ n Tribune Business Desk

China will be the top investing country in Bangladesh as the current relation between the two countries reaches a level that has never been better and closer in terms of economical, political and technical, said Chinese ambassador in Dhaka Ma Mingqiang.

The envoy came up with the remarks at a seminar on “Bangladesh-China Relationship: Opportunities and Challenges,” organised

by Bangladesh Enterprises Institute (BEI) in Dhaka yesterday.

The seminar was aimed at discussing the bilateral relationship of the two countries ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s likely visit in mid-October.

International Affairs Adviser to PM Gowher Rizvi, eminent econo-

mist Prof Rehman Sobhan, former ambassador Munshi Faiz Ahmad and BEI President Farooq Sobhan were also present at the seminar.

“Bangladesh’s garment exports to China market rose by 30% yearon-year while investment possibilities of China are also high in Bangladesh,” said Ma Mingqiang.

Commenting on the investment potentialities, he said: “China will be a major investor. I do believe it will be the number one investor in Bangladesh.”

In the last fiscal year, Bangladesh earned $341bn exporting clothing products to China while Bangladesh’s exports to China stood at $808m against import of $9.64bn.

The Chinese president’s upcoming visit indicates rising extent of cooperation and tangible benefits

for the two peoples, said Jinping adding that the relationship of the two countries is “in such a level that had never been better and closer in terms of economical, political and technical.”

“This is a relationship that is well based on the cooperation and mutual benefits.”

Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar (BICM) Economic Corridor “is very important for the two countries and it will bring inclusiveness in the bilateral relationship.” ambassador said.

“Now we are working hard on how we can give more benefits to people,” he added.

Farooq Sobhan, president of Bangladesh Enterprises Institute, said the Chinese president’s upcoming visit will focus on infrastructural development projects.

He said in seven projects of power and energy, China may invest $7.7bn while it will invest about $6.6bn in roads and bridges projects.

Farooq Sobhan said: “Bangladesh may see $30bn investment in the coming years. In next two years, we will see drastic transformation in infrastructure.”

“And the objectives of the Chinese investment is to enhance capacity and export to the world from Bangladesh,” he said.

“But there are challenges. One of the big challenges is the rise of extremist forces which the whole region is facing. So how to cope with terrorism and how to counter the violent extremism is now our top agenda. It is not only in Asia but across the world also.”

He emphasised the need to cre-

Wasfia becomes GP brand ambassador n Tribune Business Desk

Three-day SATRC begins today n Tribune Business Desk A three-day fourth South Asian Telecommunications Regulators’ Council (SATRC) begins today at Le Meridian hotel in the city with an aim to exchange mutual knowledge and experiences on telecommunication and information technology policies, regulatory frame work and action plan.

BTRC Chairman Dr Shahjahan Mahmood came up with the disclosure while addressing at a press conference at BTRC office in the capital yesterday.

The meeting is being hosted by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) under the auspices of Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT).

It will be attended by more than 100 delegates from nine member countries including Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Iran, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and host Bangladesh with officials from APT and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq will inaugurate the opening session as chief guest while State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam will present as special guest. APT Secretary General Areewn Haorangsi, Posts and Telecommunication Secretary Faizur Rahman Chowdhury and BTRC Chairman Dr Shahjahan Mahmood will also address the inaugural ceremony.

SATRC President RS Sharma, also the Chairman of Indian Telecom Regulatory Authority, will preside over the inaugural ceremony.

BTRC Chairman said Pakistan Telecommunication Regulatory Authority has confirmed their participation at the event. l

ate better life for the people and create possibilities to transform both economies through the joint development initiatives for infrastructures.

“So I believe this is a big challenge and there are opportunities to address them collectively,” BEI president said.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam said China has emerged as a big source of import but the trade gap is a major concern.

He said: “There are about $8bn trade gap, which needs to be reduced.”

“What we want from China are project financing and substantive investment in upgrading existing industries including ICT, relocation of industries, deep sea fishing,” said Shahriar Alam also calling for “market access and brand equity.” l

Wasfia Nazreen is the first Bangladeshi and only Bengali to complete the Seven Summits record and has agreed to work with Grameenphone for empowerment of the society COURTESY

Mobile phone operator Grameenphone has signed an agreement with famous Bangladeshi mountaineer Wasfia Nazreen appointing her as its brand ambassador.

Wasfia is the first Bangladeshi and only Bengali to complete the Seven Summits record and has agreed to work with Grameenphone for empowerment of the society, according to a statement on Monday.

“I feel proud to be involved with a trusted brand like Grameenphone!,” she said in a reaction to the appointment.

“Through the services it has been providing since the beginning of its journey, Grameenphone has won the trust of Bangladeshis and played a key role in empowering them,” Wasfia added. l

PENDING TAX CASES

NBR discusses ways with AG to ease crisis n Tribune Business Desk

The National Board of Revenue and the Attorney General’s Office of Bangladesh yesterday discussed ways to ease the piled-up pending revenue cases in courts.

Currently, around 24,000 cases are pending with the Supreme Court involving around Tk31,000 crore revenue as income tax, customs duty and value-added tax.

The government wants to boost revenue collection resolving the crisis of huge number of pending cases.

Attorney General Mahbubey

Alam attended the meeting at the BCS Tax Academy in Dhaka as the chief gues. NBR Chairman Md Nojibur Rahman presided over the meeting.

The meeting proposed a set of recommendations to the AG Office for faster settlement of income tax cases.

These included allowing tax officials statement in the motion stage of cases, increasing the number of dedicated benches in the High Court, allocating a room with adequate logistic supports and manpower facilities on the court premises.

Currently, there are six dedicat-

ed HC benches to settle revenue related cases along with cases involving the NBR revenue.

According to the NBR sources, the number of pending cases has been increasing gradually due to lack of dedicated benches and shortage of manpower at the AG Office and the Registrar’s Office.

People concerned said the analogous cases can be resolved through a single judgment while the cases involving big amounts of revenues can be included on the cause list for their early disposal.

The NBR requested the AG Of-

fice to prepare a list of all similar cases and dispose them through a single judgment.

It also asked for preparing a case list and bringing those to the cause list for early disposal of cases that involve over Tk1 crore revenue, and taking initiative to prioritise those cases for settlement where the chances of NBR is high to win the cases.

It also requested the AG Office to upload revenue related verdicts on the Supreme Court website so that officials can get those easily when necessary. l

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Pound dips after British Credit growth rises in August minister’s Brexit remarks n AFP, Birmingham The pound hit a three-year low against the euro yesterday after Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain will trigger Brexit negotiations by the end of March and her finance minister warned of “turbulence”.

Sterling weakened to 87.46 pence against the euro, the lowest level since August 2013, after May’s government gave more details about how Britain will leave the European Union at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, central England.

Finance minister Philip Hammond said people should expect

“some turbulence as we go through this negotiating process”, adding that consumer and business confidence could go up and down like a “rollercoaster”.

His comments came the day after May revealed Britain would start the two-year exit process by the end of March, putting it on track to leave by early 2019 and opening the door for painful negotiations with EU partners.

The new premier, who took power in July after David Cameron quit following the Brexit vote, also indicated willingness to leave the single market in order to secure control over immigration from the EU. l

Expressing satisfaction on the existing credit trend, Golam Hafiz Ahmed, managing director of NCC Bank, said the credit demand is rising as the government’s mega project in infrastructure sector is being implemented.

He said the lion’s share of credit went to infrastructure mostly in power projects. The downtrend in lending rates also contributed to the higher credit growth.

The NCC bank official noted that

good borrowers are getting loans at a single digit interest rate while a very few loans are being offered at between 10% and 11%.

Only SME loans are being offered at higher rate, he added.

Hafiz said large borrowers are now mostly interested to take loans from domestic sources instead of foreign sources due to lower lending rates pushing the credit demand up.

On the other hand, banks are

very interested to lend the private sector as the government is not borrowing while the call money market is dull for business.

Lending rate in the banking sector continued to fall in August reaching 10.24% compared to 11.51% in the same period last year. The lending rate was 10.32% in July this year.

Domestic credit growth rose to 13.1% in August against the monetary ceiling of 14.4% set for September. l

and trade shocks as the main downsized risks for the economic development of the country.

“The security shocks have the potential to cause damage to the econ-

omy, particularly impacting investment and consumer confidence,” said Zahid. He also said there are some international shocks like weaker-than-expected global trade,

increased trade protections in some countries, weaker-than-expected remittance and an unexpected tightening of global financing conditions on the Bangladesh’s economy. l

WB retains 6.8% growth forecast

A Texaco service station displays the price of petrol and diesel close to the financial centre of London REUTERS

Oil breaks above $50 a barrel as investors warm to OPEC deal n Reuters Oil rose to its highest since August above $50 a barrel yesterday, supported by a planned production cut by exporter club OPEC, although analysts cautioned the stubbornness of the existing supply overhang could temper a longer-lasting rally.

December Brent crude futures were last up 40 cents at $50.59 a barrel by 1200 GMT, off a session low of $49.74, while US crude futures rose 42 cents to $48.66 a barrel, above the day’s low at $47.78.

Europe’s and Asia’s largest markets, Germany and China, are both shut for public holidays on Monday, limiting trade.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said last week it would cut output to between 32.5 million barrels per day (bpd) and 33 million bpd from about 33.5 million bpd, with details to be finalised at its policy meeting in November.

Initial scepticism last week over the effectiveness of the deal in eroding the global surplus gave way to a wave of short-covering that drove the price above $50 a barrel for the first time since late August on Monday.

“The lukewarm response to the OPEC deal from analysts (rightfully so) probably attracted some premature selling, with technical traders currently in the driving seat. Oil always runs ahead of itself and this time round is no exception,” Saxo Bank manager Ole Hansen said, referring to the price rally.

Aside from doubts over OPEC implementing a final production-cutting deal, those

bearish in the market also note the rise in oil output from member countries to a multi-year high in recent months, including exports from Iran that at 2.8 million bpd are close to their 2011 pre-sanctions peak.

OPEC’s oil output is likely to reach 33.6 million bpd in September from a revised 33.53 million bpd in August, its highest in recent history, a Reuters survey found on Friday.

“Sentiment has been slightly dented by a Reuters survey Friday, showing that despite agreeing to cut production OPEC pumped crude in record amounts through September,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at brokerage OANDA in Singapore. Data last week from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed money managers raised their net long holdings of US crude futures in the week to Sept 27.

Analysts said there was downside risk to oil prices if the planned cut was not deep enough to bring production back in line with consumption.

“OPEC has created its own Q4 risk to oil prices ... In raising expectations of a November deal to cut production, it also risks a steep price decline should it fail to achieve its goal of cutting output back to less than 33 million bpd,” Barclays said in a note to clients.

Despite that, the bank said it did not expect a repeat of the price crash seen late last year after a rally earlier in 2015, citing an improving Asian economic growth outlook, falling oil supplies and rising investor interest in oil markets as support factors. l

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Feature

Change the way you pay n Mahmood Sadi Blending technology with innovative financial services is something that drags us from the time of barter to the time of bitcoin. In today’s world, over 95% money is virtual one and billions of transactions have been made through wire in every minute.

In a country like Bangladesh, people still rely on paper money but the idea of plastic money has started to find its footing, especially in the urban areas in the last one decade. People have also gotten accustomed with other payment options like bKash, Payza and other mobile wallet platforms.

Banking on that, Mohaiman Mostafa, a young entrepreneur has come up with pay365, a newest addition in the mobile wallet market of Bangladesh. He recently sat with Dhaka Tribune and talked about pay365 and his plan with it.

You had been working in successful US Company, what drove you back to Bangladesh?

Right after completing my graduation in Finance in 2013 from The Ohio State University, USA, I wanted to come back to Bangladesh and contribute something valuable for the country. Although it was a hard decision for me to come back because I was working for a fortune 100 company called Nationwide Insurance, I didn’t stop to reconsider. All I did was try to find ways to motivate myself to come back. I did not also want to do something that will benefit me only monetarily. Representing Bangladesh to the world and take Bangladesh to the next level was my primary goal.

How did you come up with the idea of pay365?

While I was in Ohio, I started a fund raising campaign with Bangladesh Student Association at OSU and with that money, we built a school for underprivileged kids with Jaago foundation. These activities helped me network and find a mentoring partner Tanzim Shams with whom the idea of Pay 365 came up. The idea was simple: mobile wallet and payment by a QR code or NFC, an idea new to Bangladesh. But implementation seemed almost impossible. I even opened the company FyneTech in Columbus, Ohio to associate

Google Wallet is in USA.

and educate myself on the IT industry. Finally after we had worked out a business plan and software architecture, I decided to come back in 2014 and build Pay 365 leaving behind a lot of opportunity, IT outsourcing projects, green card and all that.

Can you give us a brief about your journey in implementing pay365?

During the planning stage I was aware that my childhood friend’s father Mahboob Zaman (former president of BASIS) owns an IT company. I called him once and he invited me for discussions.

The whole journey started with DataSoft. The security aspect of Pay 365 was almost unknown to us. DataSoft is one of the leading IT companies in Bangladesh and has provided IT solutions to most of the banks in Bangladesh. We contacted Dutch Bangla Bank Limited (DBBL) and our project started end of 2014. There were a lot of struggles from then on.

We had to work a lot on the tokenisation platform created by DBBL, build security portals by complying with VISA, mastercard and Bangladesh Bank which were major security requirement for a mobile wallet like Pay 365. In short we had to make it as it is in USA and similar to what Apple pay and

How do you rate Datasoft and Mahbub Zaman’s contribution in implementing pay365?

I have to say that throughout the whole journey the only motivating factor was the trust and belief that Mahboob Zaman had on me and our team at DataSoft. We faced no obstacles regarding budget or contacts but as we were building this for the first time in Bangladesh, we spent a lot of time on research. Of course I initiated the idea and was in charge of the whole project, but it’s because of Mahboob Zaman that we have built successfully the first mobile wallet in Bangladesh. This is because Mahboob Zaman believes in changing lifestyles and has contributed a lot for the IT industry of Bangladesh. He believes that Pay 365 will have a transformative effect on people’s lives in a developing country like Bangladesh by bringing easier, faster and safer payment method. Of course I had the support from my friends and family but his support for a startup company and encouragement towards young entrepreneurship is indeed rare in Bangladesh.

How does the app work?

Pay 365 has 3 parts Easy pay, more secure than your physical wallet, and Rewards. User will have to only tag their bank’s information during sign up ONCE. They can also save multiple bank accounts.

They don’t have to carry their cards to cash with them anymore.

DBBL securely saves the bank information and every time some pays they will need to have their money in their bank and they will go to their favorite store and pay.

The payment process is simple you just have to go to the app; tap on pay, a QR Code will generate and just scan the phone. Not only that, we also have reward program where users will be getting rewards every time they use the pay system. The higher they go up in the membership level the more the rewards they will get.

Do you think pay365 will find its footing in Bangladesh?

It should because this is a concept that is successful in most developed countries in the world. Even in India they have Repay and Pay TM. We have more features and surprises coming up. The payment industry is evolving every day. First it was cards then mobile banking now payments have become easier on your smartphone. Smartphone penetrations are also growing in Bangladesh because of cheaper phones. Hence we have to go digital now. We have Dutch Bangla Bank as an acquiring bank now and we are planning to bring other banks on board soon. We are going live in the month of September and user can then use this app in most retail outlets in Dhanmondi , Gulshan and Banani.

What are the obstacles that you think pay355 will face?

Changing people’s spending behaviours and habits can be an obstacle because people first need to understand that smartphones are much safer than your physical wallet. It’s even safer than your card and cash. It’s also important to teach people how to use the

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The payment industry is evolving every day. First it was cards then mobile banking now payments have become easier on your smartphone

app. The challenge will be in conversion marketing and I hope we succeed on that. I also think country’s economic stability is also an important factor because we depend on businesses like e- commerce, retail outlets like coffee shops and restaurants, universities, departmental stores where people will actually go and spend. It’s important that businesses grow and the merchants can use this app as a

tool to increase their business growth. Bringing all merchants under one platform can also be an obstacle because pay 365 also facilities merchants to make their retail marketing strategy more efficient, find the best fit and track the demographics and lifestyle, and make the best use of data analytics. Not all merchants are ready to understand and accept this concept in Bangladesh yet. l

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Yes to the NES Some fun tidbits of the new NES Classic Edition console

n Mahmood Hossain If you haven’t been in the video game loop, Nintendo recently announced the NES Classic Edition – a miniature version of the very first Nintendo Entertainment System gaming console. Not only does it hit you with its detailed authentic design of the past, the NES Classic uses a CRT filter to really bring in that nostalgic gameplay from the 80s.

The cool about this ‘new’ console is that it comes with 30 classic and iconic games already built in so you can play them on your modern television. Gradually, the folks at Nintendo have been providing some pretty cool details for the NES Classic.

For instance, there are three different display options when playing these games. One of them happens to be “pixel perfect” mode, which makes everything look a little crispier to adapt to your HDTVs or monitors. But of course, they won’t take up the entire screen, you’ll have to settle with a square format. Another mode will sharpen the visuals a little, yet keeping with the 4:3 aspect ratio of the original NES.

Finally, there is the mode that adds the CRT filter to make it look like you’re playing the original NES. The final mode is such a throwback, that it’ll even include scan lines as you used to see back in the day of the old tube TVs. Through movies and shows, we’ve seen plenty of creative people putting plenty of old school flavour to new projects.

It’s also important to note that older content should be handled carefully. While the NES Classic doesn’t let you add onto the given

30 titles in the system, it will let you sort the games in many ways. For example, you’ll be able to separate them from single player titles to that of two player games. And obviously, there’s the option to organise the games in alphabetical, chorological or recently played categories.

The NES Classic Edition will be available in November that will cost around the same as a single game for the PS4 or Xbox One. It will be bundled with an HDMI cable and an NES-style controller.

The latter can also be used with

a Wii or Wii U to play Virtual Console games. You’ll be able to buy extra controllers for around $9.99, so you’re basically handing over a little over a Tk1,000. Well, that all depends where you’re getting it from. l “We don’t want all of these ending up on eBay,” says Nintendo of America’s David Young. “We do want to have these available, but a lot of it depends on the market. We know it’s going to be pretty popular, and we’re trying to account for that, but a lot of it will depend on what the consumers really do.”

The big Pixel event What to expect from Google’s Pixel phone event later today

n Mahmood Hossain We’ve already seen what Apple has to offer in the smartphone category, with plenty of other device upgrades yet to come.

Google, however, is set to reveal a new batch of devices or hardware in San Francisco.

Pixel and Pixel XL

This is possibly the biggest announcement and reveal from Google. You’ll see two sizes of a new Google smartphone in the Pixel and Pixel XL. The former is expected to be the smaller version with a 5-inch display. In the ‘phablet’ category, the XL will have a 5.5-inch screen to boast. Also inside these beasts, expect to see the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processer, 4GB of RAM, 1080p (for the Pixel) and quad HD (for the Pixel XL) displays, 12-megapixel cameras, fingerprint scanners and

large batteries.

Both phones have been manufactured by HTC, but of course, with Google’s branding. As expected, they will have premium materials and finishing. Also, instead of having the fingerprint scanners in the front like most phones, the Pixel models will have them in the back, similar to last year’s Nexus 5X and 6P. Both models will run the new Android 7.1 Nougat, which includes a new app launcher and icon design.

However, don’t expect for these smartphones to be too affordable.

They are, after all, flagship premium phones.

And the rest

Google plans to get into the homes for those who are already familiar with Google gadgets and software.

If you seem to be confused, don’t be. Google Home is a competitor to Amazon’s very popular Echo

system. The device is a small speaker that allows you to talk to its Google Assistant, in order to control certain aspects of your life.

It’s as simple as playing a playlist in several rooms to turning on and off certain switches around your home, from your lights to your TV. It will even make sure to keep your reminders and schedules in check.

It’s what you would expect from a smart home.

The team at Google are also planning to release Google WiFi. The router is a multi-point router system that will compete with the likes of Eero and similar routers. And of course, there will be smart home features in them to make everything click. There’s also Chromecast Ultra, which will support 4K and HDR content. This might be a tad expensive than the standard Chromecast. But it’s expected to be a bit pricey since it has higher-end capabilities. l

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| event |

JCI Bangladesh recognises outstanding youth

In a gala event held on October 1, 2016, at the Grand Ballroom of Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel, Junior Chamber International (JCI) Bangladesh awarded their coveted Ten Outstanding Young Person Award to ten young Bangladeshi

individuals in different fields. This year marks JCI’s third TOYP Award in Bangladesh.

Present at the event as the Chief Guest was Mr. Nasrul Hamid MP, Honorable State Minister of Power, Energy, & Mineral Resources,

and as the Special Guest was Mr. Shahriar Alam, MP, Honorable State Minister of Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Also present were Senator Shakawat Hossain Mamun, 2016 National President of JCI

Bangladesh, who congratulated all the awardees and committed to organise such event in bigger stature in the coming years; Senator Waqar Chowdhury, 2002 National President of JCI , 2004 JCI Vice President, Chairman of the Advisory Council of JCI Bangladesh and Chairman of the Jury Committee TOYP 2016 encouraged more members to join JCI and do more community development work, while Irfan Islam, 2016 National Treasurer & Chairman of the organizing committee of TOYP thanked the members of JCI for active participation in such a gala event, thanking the sponsors and the media partners for their graceful support.

JCI members, media personnel, diplomats, government officials, business leaders, leading entrepreneurs, sponsors and dignitaries were also present in the event.

The Award recipients recognized this year were Mr.

Hedayetullah for his Outstanding Contribution in Entrepreneurial Accomplishment; Mr. Imran Karim for his Outstanding Contribution in Entrepreneurial Accomplishment; Mr. S M Saifur Rahman for his Outstanding Contribution in Medical Innovation; Mr. Shamim Kabir for his Outstanding Contribution in Personal Accomplishment; Mr. Tahsan Rahman Khan for his Outstanding Contribution in Cultural Achievement; Mr. Razee Mohammad Fakhrul, MP for his Outstanding Contribution in Political Leadership; Ms. Nafisa Kamal for her Outstanding Contribution in Moral Leadership; Ms. Syeda Kamrun Nahar Ahmed for her Outstanding Contribution in Technological Development; Mr. Mehdi Hasan Khan for his Outstanding Contribution in Technological Development; and Mr. G. Sumdany Don for his Outstanding Contribution in Voluntary Leadership.l

| initiative |

Friendship organises workshop on cancer screening and management A workshop on ‘Resource Mobilization for Cervical Cancer Screening & Management in Remote Areas of Bangladesh’ was held on September 26, at a local hotel to discuss on how to effectively mobilise local and national resources to create community-level awareness and provide screening and capacity development services to women in remote areas of Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh, cervical cancer is reported to be the second most prevalent type of cancer among the female population after breast cancer. A 2014 estimate under ICO Information centre on Human Papillomavirus (HPV) indicates that 11,956 females are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, out of whom 6,582 die. In the hard-toreach and most underprivileged river islands, women do not even have adequate awareness, let alone access to its treatment.

Friendship, a non-governmental organisation, has intervened in those areas by providing them screening and treatment services for this disease. Prior to providing such services, Friendship also had to design and execute behaviour change campaigns so that rural women voluntarily participate in the screening programme.

Additional Director General,

Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Prof. Dr A H M Enayet Hossain attended the workshop as the Chief Guest. Founder & Executive Director of Friendship Mrs Runa Khan was the Chair of the event.

The workshop was also attended by other speakers and guests from government, corporate and development sectors to discuss and present ideas on effective ways of resource mobilisation for cervical cancer screening and management in remote areas of Bangladesh.

Speaking on the workshop Prof.

Dr A H M Enayet Hossain said, screening of cervical cancer is on the government agenda, publicprivate partnership is necessary to address this issue. A low-cost intervention is necessary for remote areas so that government can work in collaboration.

Associate Profession of Cancer Epidemiology, National Institute for Cancer Research Hospital Dr Habibullah Talukder Raskin emphasised that noncommunicable disease (NCD) prevention and cancer screening need to be incorporated with primary healthcare. The government aims to provide

screening of all kinds of NCD cancers including breast cancer, cervical cancer and oral cancer. He also mentioned that Friendship can collaborate with the government by exchanging patient data to be incorporated within government’s cancer data capturing tool.

Program Manager (PHI), NCDC, DGHS Dr Tanveer Ahmed Choudhury said, Friendship’s well organised cervical cancer screening and management programme is well aligned with governments plan.

Founder and Executive Director of Friendship Runa Khan said we have built a platform that provides integrated development services,

which ensures sustainability of our projects. Cervical cancer screening and management in remote areas require effective utilisation of available resources through a partnership between government and NGOs. Only through partnerships, overhead of such projects can be minimised to ensure sustainability.

Head of Health, Friendship Dr. Kazi Golam Rasul mentioned that from two floating hospitals, Lifebuoy Friendship Hospital & Emirates Friendship Hospital and two health clinics in the north, which are fully equipped with necessary medical equipment and expertise to provide the treatment for the cervical cancer patients,

Friendship has been providing the service in northern areas of Bangladesh. With the support of government and private sectors this program needs to be further extended to remote and vulnerable areas in the north as well as in the south. Due to limited accessibility, affordability and lack of access to mass media awareness, these people have limited access to primary health facility.

Team Leader, Hospital Services, Health Sector at Friendship Dr Naheed Nazrul highlighted that Friendship screened more than 51,700 women since 2012 out of which 1,580 were found VIA positive. l

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20 Editorial

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

TODAY

Why Clinton is having such a hard time It is the irony of ironies that someone whose lifestyle involves stepping out of his penthouse into his limousine and onto his personal plane has successfully sold himself as the champion of the working class whites PAGE 21

End the silence

DHAKA TRIBUNE

When it came to reporting or complaining about the incidences of harassment, we found a conspiracy of silence PAGE 22

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Standing still, still standing?

If there’s more time spent cursing the VIP-caused traffic that’s holding up your ride to your next job interview, the country has one less eligible employee 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.

For a more competitive Bangladesh angladesh has placed 106th out of 138 countries in the Global Competitiveness Index published by the World Economic Forum.

Such a performance is woeful, and only a very slight improvement over last year.

While the methodology behind such rankings is never beyond reproach, some of the findings about Bangladesh cannot be denied. It is clear that the two main factors holding us back are corruption and inadequate infrastructure.

Problems with governance and deterioration of the financial sector are also hurting our competitiveness with respect to the rest of the world. While neighbouring India has zoomed up to the 39th spot, Bangladesh languishes in all key indicators.

We need to do better.

It would help to learn from the practices of countries that have been ranked most competitive in the world -- Switzerland, Singapore, and the United States.

All of these countries have properly functioning institutions, comprehensive infrastructure, accessible health care, a well-developed education system, and a stable macroeconomic framework.

A lack of proper road transportation infrastructure, for example, has caused a myriad of problems for Bangladesh, including hiking up supply costs for businesses.

The planned expansion of our railway network and plans to build more land and sea ports, if implemented properly, would increase competitiveness, as would the construction of better roads and highways.

Crucially, we need to bring down all kinds of institutional barriers to doing business in order to remain competitive vis-à-vis the rest of the world. Eliminating corruption, making it easier to enforce contracts by improving the court system, and speeding up property registration processes through digitisation are all initiatives which would make Bangladesh more attractive for business.

The Bangladesh economy has shown tremendous resilience and consistent GDP growth over the years, but continues to lag behind in global competitiveness.

We hope the government undertakes the right initiatives to help the country move up this list.

Crucially, we need to bring down all kinds of institutional barriers to doing business in order to remain competitive vis-àvis the rest of the world

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

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Why Clinton is having such a hard time putting Trump away The race is likely to remain a toss-up till the end Trump keeps getting away with outrageous behaviour

n Fakhruddin Ahmed

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resident George W Bush’s political strategist Karl Rove operated on the conviction that the best way to win an election is to go after the opponent’s strengths.

During the 2004 election campaign, Rove went after Vietnam War hero and Democratic nominee Senator John Kerry’s war record.

He ran ads featuring the socalled “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth” who claimed (falsely) that Kerry was no war hero. It worked, and “swift-boating” has since become a pejorative American neologism. Donald Trump draws his strength almost exclusively from working class whites. In the first presidential debate, Clinton had several opportunities to strain or sever the umbilical cord that attaches Trump to his base.

She failed to do so every time.

Unless she succeeds in the next five weeks, Trump will continue to be within striking distance of winning the US presidency.

When Clinton proffered that the reason Trump would not release his tax return is because he probably paid no taxes, Trump responded with: “That makes me smart!” With Trump leaving himself wide open for a knockout punch, Clinton stuck to her script and said blandly: “So if he’s paid zero, that means zero for troops, zero for vets, zero for schools or health.”

To drive a wedge between Trump and his working class base, Clinton should have expressed outrage and echoed Vice President Joe Biden’s indignation when

he addressed students of Drexel University in Philadelphia the next day: Trump should tell that to the janitor in the hall, or to his (Biden’s) dad who worked 60 hours a week, or to the mothers and fathers who were “breaking their necks” to send their kids in the audience to school.

“It angers me!” Biden said, seething with anger. To her detriment, Clinton is incapable of showing such emotional outrage in public.

When Clinton accused Trump of rooting for the collapse of the housing market in 2008 so that he could make a profit, Trump interrupted with the boneheaded comment: “That is called business.” Instead of going after Trump for the gaffe, Clinton stayed on script and pointed out that many people had lost jobs because of it, and that the Obama administration had brought us back from the brink.

Biden’s response was different.

The vice president reminded the students that a lot of their parents had lost the equity in their homes -- equity that helped them send kids to college and plan for retirement.

“That equity was insurance,” Biden hissed. “That equity’s what gave them peace of mind when they got into bed. And this is a guy who wants to be president, and said that it was good business to see the market fail! What in the hell is he talking about?”

Imagine if Clinton had countered with (as suggested by a columnist): “No, Donald, that’s actually not business at all.

That’s just the greedy, heartless speculation that real CEOs

and real patriots despise, because it destroyed American families while you got rich and laughed.

Which is why even your fellow business leaders don’t respect you.”

That would have strained, if not severed, Trump’s emotional connection with working class white voters. Unless Clinton learns to do that, Trump will continue to bounce back after every blunder.

On the road leading to our residence, there is a house that sports two Trump signs in its front yard. Two old pick-up trucks are parked in the driveway of the house. That scene encapsulates Trump supporters -- loyal, blue collar, and white. They will be with Trump come hell or high water.

No one has articulated their grievances -- immigration (legal and illegal), browning of America, unfair trade practices, exporting manufacturing jobs abroad -before Trump. They don’t care if President Trump will actually build a wall along the US-Mexican border, ban Muslims from entering America, deport illegal immigrants, or bring back the jobs from abroad. They are rewarding Trump for raising issues important to them not through dog whistles, but boldly and unashamedly.

African-American President Barack Obama won close to 40% of the white votes in both 2008 and 2012. Astonishingly, Hillary Clinton, a white woman, is winning only 37%. She is losing white male votes by a staggering 60%.

She leads Trump only among college-educated white women.

Unless Clinton manages to dent Trump’s nearly universal support

REUTERS

It is the irony of ironies that someone whose lifestyle involves stepping out of his penthouse into his limousine and onto his personal plane has successfully sold himself as the champion of the working class whites among working-class whites, and makes some emotional connection with them herself by addressing issues that matter to them, the presidential race will continue to be close.

The good news for Clinton is that she did get a bounce in the polls after last Monday’s overwhelming debate victory.

Nevada and Florida have moved back into her column. According to Nate Silver, she now has a 67% chance of winning.

But we have seen this movie before. Following a successful Democratic convention in late July, Clinton’s chances improved to 89% by August 14. After Trump shook up his campaign and remained on script and read from the teleprompter, while Clinton disappeared from the campaign trail, over the next six weeks, Trump slowly caught up with Clinton.

Last week was disastrous for Trump. After he was crushed by Clinton in the debate, Trump went after the 1996 Miss Universe Alicia Machado. Clinton had accused Trump of calling Machado “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping” (she is Latina) for putting on weight during her reign.

In a Twitter storm at 3am Friday morning, Trump reiterated (false-

ly) that Machado had gained 50 pounds (infuriating all overweight Americans), called her “disgusting,” and accused her (falsely) of appearing in a sex video.

Quickly, BuzzFeed unearthed a Playboy soft porn movie of 2000, in which Trump made a cameo appearance. This is the latest instance of Trump doing something absolutely outrageous, something which would have disqualified any other candidate.

As had happened repeatedly before, Trump’s core supporters will shrug it off, and remain steadfastly loyal to him. It is the irony of ironies that someone whose lifestyle involves stepping out of his penthouse into his limousine and onto his personal plane has successfully sold himself as the champion of the working class whites.

One wonders if Clinton will relapse into old habits and attempt to coast to victory. Trump’s handlers will make sure that he gets back to message next week.

Unless Clinton matches Trump’s indefatigable efforts, rally for rally, TV appearance for TV appearance, the presidential race will remain a toss-up until the end. l Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed is a Rhodes Scholar.

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Opinion

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

End the silence We need to talk about sexual harassment

Do you know who to call for help?

Haque Khondker and n Habibul Juwel Rana

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n late August 2016, Risha, a 14-year old eighth grader at Willes Little Flower School, was attacked in broad daylight with a knife by an assailant as she was leaving the school premises.

Her death, three days later, sparked protests from her schoolmates, teachers, and parents -- and with time, the anger receded and, like many such tragedies, was overtaken by other news.

The present study was prompted by that tragic event and the circumstances that led to the murder of Risha, who was harassed by the assistant of a tailor on the phone for a while before the fatal attack.

As we studied the tragedy, we speculated on different ways to prevent it. Risha is only the tip of the iceberg in the long list of incidencts of sexual harassment in Bangladesh.

At one level, it was a case of an irate young man who could have been dealt with, had complaints

REUTERS

When it came to reporting or complaining about the incidences of harassment, we found a conspiracy of silence

been made to the police and had there been a trust in police to take appropriate action swiftly and robustly.

With all these questions in mind, we decided to conduct an online study on sexual harassment. 300 questionnaires were sent out to young women selected purposely from acquaintances online with promises of full anonymity.

Clearly, the samples are not representative of the young female population in Bangladesh, and represented a segment of broadly middle class, educated women.

With this caveat, we analysed 200 or so responses that we received -- some with detailed narratives of their experiences.

The majority of our respondents (95%) were university students.

The average age of our respondents was 23, and 88% of our respondents claimed to have been harassed in one form or other.

Fifteen percent of our respondents experienced sexual harassment, and another 17.5% experienced physical harassment, and 36% were subjected to bullying. The percentage of “eve teasing” was 5%.

Close to 45% of the incidents of harassment took place in public places, 9% were harassed on the phone, and another 9% harassed online.

When it came to reporting or complaining about the incidences of harassment, we found a conspiracy of silence produced by a culture where a young woman does not openly discuss such

harassment lest she lose face.

This is clearly a result of the gender inequality that Bangladeshi women suffer from. 15% of our respondents did not discuss their experience with anyone else. A majority of the 85% of those who had discussed had confided in their friends, and only 25% had discussed with their parents.

Why did they not report their experiences to the police or to other family members? Some were afraid that their family members would blame them.

Some were embarrassed to talk about it. Others wanted to, but did not because they were afraid of being judged by others as different.

One respondent was raped by someone she said was a “so-called religious teacher.” She did not

report it to anyone lest her family reputation becomes compromised.

“I was also afraid that my family might abandon me if they hear about it.”

The respondent, now proficient in karate, is waiting to avenge the perpetrator.

About 95% of the respondents did not report to the police for a variety of reasons. Some preferred to deal with it privately, outside the bounds of law with the help of family members.

One respondent said: “I solved an incident of harassment in a bus by slapping the culprit.” Others did not report incidents because it might have tarnished the “prestige” of the family.

And when the harasser is a family member or someone known, she would not think of complaints to avoid “shame.”

About 10% of our respondents were harassed at home, and 14% in educational institutions.

What can be done to reduce the evil of sexual harassment in Bangladesh?

A more open discussion about the incidents will help, which must begin with reassuring girls that they are persons with rights to their own bodies and privacy of physical space, and any infringement or violation of her rights must be dealt with appropriately.

Our findings corroborate the issue of victimhood as well. A national survey for the BALIKA project of Population Council in 2013 conducted by Sajeda Amin et al reported that 35% women agreed that “if a woman is raped, it is her fault.”

BALIKA study revealed that 49.6% of respondents agreed that “a woman deserves to be beaten in some instances.” Such norms must change.

A woman must be reassured of her rights and that she must not be made to feel vulnerable. The police must launch a campaign of public awareness to assert that sexual harassment and violence, no matter who the perpetrator is, are crimes and would be dealt with accordingly.

A mixed gender special unit in a police force, a telephone hotline, and an online portal for reporting incidents of harassment and violence will help. However, the most important step would be a wider public discussion of what is appropriate and what is not and to ensure gender justice. l Habibul Haque Khondker and Juwel Rana are sociologists.

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Opinion

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

Standing still, still standing?

All we ever do is wait

n SN Rasul

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n Friday, as the prime minister arrived, in preparation, thousands thronged to welcome her back into the folds of this nation.

Thousands more stood, standing still in the hot humid air of Dhaka’s polluted presence, suffering delays, enduring frustration, and feeling an increasingly aggravating irritation.

If ever there was a way to experience no traffic in a city that is all traffic, this was it.

In some cases, pedestrians weren’t even allowed to cross Airport Road. A cousin of mine spent an hour and 15 minutes on the Banani side, waiting to cross the street over to Cantonment so that she could go home to Mirpur.

Bangladeshis have lived and relived history enough times to know that political party sycophants are not to be trusted on occasions such as this. They should’ve stayed at home and looked at the news of how, surprisingly, the entire city of Dhaka was empty on that Friday night. I suppose they deserved the traffic for going out in the first place.

As a country, we are not very good at moving, and moving along. With the very nature of how we tend to move, with abject impatience and complete disregard for the sanctity of human life, it is ironic that we are unable to even keep moving along, be it on the road (the reasons need not be mentioned), in the government (a Kafkaesque nightmare), in politics (politicians over people).

A few days ago, the entirety of Bangladesh’s economy had two guns to its head: The government says don’t ruin our roads by over-packing your trolleys, and the packers say stop fining us incessantly so as to increase your annual bribery budget.

Fair points on either side.

But, with each group with its own agenda unable to give the other a bit of leeway so that they can move forward, now the entire nation must suffer at the stand still. Just like on roads, just like in queues, just like everywhere else in a nation of impatient people who’ve just about had it with waiting. And, thereby, making the wait much, much longer.

A person spends about one-third of their life sleeping.

For Dhakaites (and other Bangladeshis, who don’t just merely deal with traffic, who

cannot afford the Tk1,500 to jump the queue at the passport office) add waiting to the mix, and you have two-quarters of your life always going somewhere, with no destination in mind.

And if a nation’s people move that way, logic dictates that so must the nation. If there’s more time spent cursing the VIP-caused traffic that’s holding up your ride to your next job interview, the country has one less eligible employee. If there’s more time spent holding your dying wife’s hand in the ambulance as you stay stuck behind two bus drivers arguing over who was at fault, who rammed into whom, we have lost another partner, worker, beautiful individual.

And if there’s more time spent in line waiting to get your new national digitised-for-Digital Bangladesh ID, that’s less time you spend looking after your child who you found out is really good at math.

These things add up. That’s why we, the most resilient nation on earth, lag behind in every

If there’s more time spent cursing the VIP-caused traffic that’s holding up your ride to your next job interview, the country has one less eligible employee

It’s probably better to stay at home single world ranking except for corruption and population. And these viruses replicate and repeat, spread across the veiny rivers of our country, sucking life out of its lands, and making us more corrupt, more populated, more polluted, more frustrated, more impatient.

You make a person wait for too long, and he just can’t wait anymore. Every nook and cranny is an opportunity for a minor victory against the suffocating

plethora of dog-eat-dog politics that plague us. “I” of all people want all that “I” can get while “you” must be left behind.

In a survey carried out recently, unsurprisingly, Bangladesh was found to be one of the most capitalist-minded countries in the world, an ideology whose philosophy is better phrased as: “I can, so I will. If you can, why don’t you?”

Hypocritical pithy adages of harmony and peace, and “to me

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

my religion and to you yours,” and how Qurbani sacrifices help feed the poor (a completely socialist concept) can be found like litter, growing like weeds on the sides of the street. Only when you have brownie points to score with God do these things seem to matter.

How many cows did you sacrifice in the name of the poor, and not in your name? Not many, I presume.

How did we end up here, from ministers to cows, from money to waiting, from 1971 to a so-called

Digital Bangladesh? How we all end up here: Waiting, waiting, to go ahead, for things, for futures to brighten, and when, nothing comes, forging ahead and flipping the bird to every single individual who comes in between.

See, for a nation that is standing constantly standing still, waiting to move, it won’t be long before it’s no longer still standing. l SN Rasul is a Sub-Editor at the Dhaka Tribune. Follow him @snrasul.

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24 Sport

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

TOP STORIES

Bangladesh want to utilise conditions Bangladesh started their mission for the ODI series against England after the Afghanistan series and the Tigers will have six days of preparation ahead of the first of three ODIs series, starting from October 7, in Mirpur. PAGE 25

Atletico at the La Liga summit Atletico moved top of La Liga as Celta Vigo edged Barcelona in a 4-3 thriller, whilst Real Madrid’s run of draws stretched to four against Eibar on Sunday. Three goals in 11 first-half minutes put Celta in command. PAGE 26

India reclaims top Test spot India’s bowlers propelled the hosts to a comprehensive 178-run win over New Zealand in the second Test yesterday, to clinch the series at Eden Gardens in Kolkata and reclaim the top spot in the world rankings. PAGE 27

Balotelli is hero and villain as Nice go top Controversial Italian striker Mario Balotelli delivered a trademark performance as he scored to give Nice a 2-1 win against Lorient on Sunday that put them top of the Ligue 1 standings and was then sent off in stoppage time. PAGE 28

England fast bowler Steven Finn poses for photographs alongside the Sreepur girls’ cricket team at the Academy ground in Mirpur yesterday.

This unique girls’ cricket team was created through a charity founded

by British Airways staff 30 years ago MI MANIK

England aiming to get acclimatised n Ali Shahriyar Bappa England cricket team practised yesterday morning at the National Cricket Academy ground ahead of their first practice match of the tour. The visitors will play their first practice match today against Bangladesh Cricket Board XI at Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah.

England stand-in captain Jos Buttler has already said the upcoming series will be competitive. But Bangladesh’s impressive home record will not be the only challenge for the visiting England team.

Scorching heat and humid conditions will be big challenges for England in this month-long tour.

It was visible in the morning session as the English players were working hard to adapt with the conditions.

Both the batsmen and bowlers took short brakes between sessions to cope up with the condition and took plenty of fluid to prevent dehydration.

Opener Jason Roy admitted that they will have to adjust accordingly.

“Probably getting your fluids on more than anything, that’s probably the hardest thing, because you don’t realise how much you’re sweating and the next minute you’re feeling a bit weird,” Roy told the media.

“Concentration is going to be a key - ticking over and trying to bat for as long as possible.

“But you can’t think about it too much, you’ve just got to get on with your job, score runs and that’s it,” he said.

Roy has been one of England’s resurgence in both the shorter formats in the recent past. Roy’s aggressive style of batting with Alex Hales and Buttler took England to

new hights in the ODI format in the last two years.

Roy scored three hundreds last year and formed a good opening combination with Hales.

But Roy will have a new partner at the top of the order in today’s practice match following Hales’ refusal to commit to the tour due

England opener Jason Roy walks out from the nets during their training session at the Academy ground in Mirpur yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

to security fears.

Newcomer Ben Duckett or Moeen Ali could open for England while James Vince is another option.

All-rounders Moeen and Ben Stokes batted for a long time in the nets. Later, they bowled long spells as well. England batsmen were particularly concentrating on playing spinners as countering slow bowling in this condition will be the key in the forthcoming series.

Leg spinner Adil Rashid bowled in almost every session in the nets. The leggies will be crucial in Bangladesh’s wickets.

England have played attacking cricket in the last 18 months or so and achieved significant success in all three formats.

Recently, they won against Pakistan and Sri Lanka on home soil.

But England will be heavily tested against the hosts Bangladesh as the Tigers also clinched six consecutive home series in the last two years, defeating big teams like Pakistan, India and South Africa.

England head coach Trevor Baylis led the training session in the morning. His arrival was delayed due to visa problems.

Meanwhile, fast bowler Steven Finn on behalf of the England team met the Sreepur girls’ cricket side after their training session yesterday. This unique girls’ cricket team was created through a charity founded by British Airways staff 30 years ago. l

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Sport

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

Bangladesh want to utilise conditions n Mazhar Uddin

Bangladesh started their mission for the upcoming ODI series against England after the Afghanistan series and the Tigers will have six days of preparation ahead of the first of the three-match ODI series, starting from October 7, at the Sher-e-Bangla National stadium.

Mashrafe bin Mortaza and his troop had an intense fielding session yesterday followed by a net session at the Academy ground centre pitch while few of the batsmen batted at the indoors amid scorching heat.

Tigers coach Chandika Hathurusingha has definitely chalked out the mistakes, especially the fielding and batting departments where the Bangladesh cricketers were not up to the mark during the Afghanistan series.

And the Tigers think tank would also want to stay ahead of the visiting England in terms of taking advantage of the hot and humid conditions as fielding and assistant coach Richard Halsall worked on the ground fielding while Hathurusingha was busy giving high catches during the training session.

The first challenge for the English side will be the weather as

Bangladesh paceman Al Amin Hossain made a comeback to the national side and joined the Tigers’ training at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK they start their sub-continent tour where they will tour India after completing their month-long series in Bangladesh.

Jos Buttler and his team already faced the heat and had a tough time in the training session yesterday where most of the players tried to cope up with the hot and humid conditions and were busy keeping

themselves cool during the net session.

Bangladesh would want to be in a position of advantage in terms of fitness and making full use of the conditions against England in both the ODIs and Test series.

Meanwhile, youngster Mosaddek Hossain, who had a brilliant ODI debut against Afghanistan,

is looking forward to enjoying his game as he informed that his mission for the England series started yesterday.

The 20-year old Mosaddek was the only bright spot for the Tigers in the second ODI against Afghanistan where the right-hander remained unbeaten on 45 as he added 43 runs for the last wicket with

Mamunul does u-turn, joins camp n Tribune Report Within less than a month after announcing his retirement from international football, midfielder Mamunul Islam yesterday officially joined the national team’s training camp ahead of Bangladesh’s crucial tie against Bhutan next week.

Mamunul was earlier included

Former Bangladesh captain Mamunul Islam (C) trains under the watchful eyes of Belgian head coach Tom Saintfiet during training at Kamalapur Stadium yesterday.

Bangladesh are preparing for the Asian Cup Qualifiers Play-off against Bhutan, scheduled to be held in Thimphu this Monday COURTESY

in the 33-man preliminary squad named by Belgian head coach Tom Saintfiet on Thursday, two days before the national camp began. Mamunul couldn’t decide whether he would join the camp till Sunday as his side Chittagong Abahani were busy with the premier league in Sylhet.

Former national captain Mamunul decided to hang up his

boots on September 5 after being excluded from the final 23-man squad for the first leg at home where they played out a goalless draw against Bhutan. The return leg will be held in Thimphu this Monday.

Mamunul explained why he returned to the national side.

“The away match against Bhutan is very important for us. Let’s

see if I can give something to the nation against Bhutan. I have a responsibility to the country that is why I came back. I don’t care who says what,” said Mamunul.

Meanwhile, Saintfiet got his full squad for the first time on his third day of the camp after eight players from Chittagong Abahani, including Mamunul, joined the camp. l

Rubel Hossain to help the home side to go past the 200-run mark.

He also picked up two wickets with his off-spin, becoming the maiden Bangladeshi ODI cricketer to take a wicket in the first ball.

“Coach (Hathurusingha) told me to enjoy myself before my debut match where he said I should not think about my performance and play my natural game as I played for Abahani in the Dhaka [Premier] League. I tried to do accordingly,” Mosaddek told the media.

According to Mosaddek, the upcoming England series will be much tougher than the Afghanistan series. However, he informed that the third ODI win to seal the series against the Afghans will boost the confidence of the Tigers for the upcoming series.

“Obviously England are a much better side and I am hoping of a competitive match but as we won six consecutive series’ at home, we will definitely go out to win the series. We played ODI cricket after over 10 months and we faced some difficulties in the first two games.

But we came back well in the third game and I think it’s a plus point for us. We got our rhythm back before the England series,” he added. l

Salahuddin plays down Solidarity Cup participation n Tribune Report Bangladesh may not take part in the inaugural edition of the Asian Football Confederations Solidarity Cup if they fail to qualify for the Asian Cup Qualifiers Playoff, hinted Bangladesh Football Federation president Kazi Salahuddin yesterday.

The BFF chief said he is not interested to participate in the tournament comprising the teams ranked bottom in the Asian Cup Qualifiers.

Although Bangladesh still have a good chance of qualifying for the next round, Salahuddin said, “National team [management] committee will decide whether Bangladesh will participate but if you ask my opinion, I’m not that interested. Rather, I will request the committee to rebuild the national team for next year’s Saff Championship. The professional football league is ongoing and we don’t have time to prepare them.”

National team management committee chairman Kazi Nabil Ahmed is confident Bangladesh will overcome the Bhutan obstacle.

“We are focusing on the Bhutan match and we all are optimistic of advancing to the Asian Cup Qualifiers. We may think about the Solidarity Cup only after the match against Bhutan ends,” said Nabil.

Meanwhile, the Solidarity Cup will be held for the first time from November 2-15 with the participation of nine teams. l

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

Real not in crisis, says Zidane after 4th draw in a row n Reuters, Barcelona Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane denied his side were facing a crisis after they drew 1-1 at home to La Liga minnows Eibar and racked up a fourth consecutive draw for the first time in more than 10 years.

The last time Real drew four games in all competitions was in March 2006, when the club were reeling from on-field and institutional crises and president Florentino Perez had recently resigned.

Although Real remain unbeaten in the league, they are without a win in their last three games and are on 15 points from seven games, the number Zidane’s predecessor Rafael Benitez had earned at the same stage last season. The Spaniard was sacked three months later.

“We are not in crisis, we’re only in October. What we need to do is improve, we can’t lose our minds over this,” Zidane told a news conference on Sunday.

“I’m not going to go crazy and neither are my players, all I can see is that we need to work harder and be more intense at the start of games.”

Real fell behind to Fran Rico’s header in the sixth minute after a lapse in concentration at the back and a mistake from goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who let the ball slip through his hands.

Real’s next game is away to Real Betis in a fortnight’s time, after the international break.

“We leave tonight with a bad taste in the mouth. We let our opponents play in the first half and we knew that they could score like that and we didn’t deal with it,” added the coach, who lead Real to their 11th European Cup last season and last month saw them match the La Liga record of 16 straight wins.

“We can’t blame fitness issues, we just need to work with more intensity, starting with me. When the players return from international duty we have to turn this around, we can’t continue like this.” l

5 THINGS WE LEARNED FROM LA LIGA Aspas returns to haunt Barca Iago Aspas scored twice as Celta inflicted Luis Enrique’s heaviest ever defeat at Barca boss 4-1 on his return to Balaidos last season. Little over a year on, a Celta-inspired Aspas hit their former boss for four once more in wild 4-3 win. The former Liverpool striker was involved in all three of Celta’s first-half goals in a 11-minute spell that swung the game in the hosts’ favour.

Modric magic missed For the second consecutive home game Madrid were without Luka Modric and just as against Villarreal 10 days ago, they paid for a lacklustre first-half display in a 1-1 draw. The European champions will have to learn to deal with the Croatian’s absence quickly as he underwent knee surgery on Sunday morning that is set to see him miss the next month.

Atletico reach new heights

Celta Vigo’s Sergi Gomez and FC Barcelona’s Luis Suarez in action during their Spanish La Liga match at Balaidos, Celta Vigo on Sunday REUTERS

Barca defeat and Real draw send Atletico top of La Liga n AFP, Madrid Atletico Madrid moved top of La Liga on Sunday as Celta Vigo edged Barcelona in a 4-3 thriller, whilst Real Madrid’s run of draws stretched to four against Eibar on Sunday.

Three goals in 11 first-half minutes sentenced a Barca side once again without the injured Lionel Messi as Pione Sisto, Iago Aspas and a Jeremy Mathieu own goal put Celta in command.

Gerard Pique and a Neymar penalty reduced Barca’s deficit.

LA LIGA Team

P W D L GD Pts

Atletico Madrid 7

4

3 0 12

15

Real Madrid

7

4

3 0 9

15

Sevilla

7

4

2

1 10

14

Barcelona

7

4

1

2 10

13

Villarreal

7

3

4 0

5

13

However, a Marc-Andre ter Stegen howler teed up Pablo Hernandez to restore Celta’s two-goal lead before Pique headed in his second late on.

Real Madrid remain two points

ahead of the champions, but were booed off at the Santiago Bernabeu after a 1-1 draw against the Basque minnows. Atletico lead their city rivals on goal difference at the top of the table despite missing two penalties as Antoine Griezmann and Kevin Gameiro netted in a 2-0 win at Valencia.

Barca boss Luis Enrique’s heaviest defeat in charge came in a 4-1 hammering at the hands of Celta last season and the former Celta coach suffered another embarrassing return to Balaidos. l

Almost two years ago to the day, Atletico travelled to Mestalla days after a draining 1-0 win over Juventus in the Champions League and promptly found themselves 3-0 down inside 13 minutes. One of the most impressive aspects of a 2-0 win despite missing two penalties at Valencia was that this time Simeone’s men had the depth to shrug off a Champions League hangover just four days after beating Bayern.

Alves burdens penalty legend If anyone deserved not to be on a losing side this weekend it was probably Valencia ‘keeper Diego Alves, who saved two penalties from Griezmann and Gabi, but still couldn’t prevent Los Che falling to a fifth defeat in seven games this season.

Espanyol project false starts Only Espanyol’s equally miserable start to the season keeps Valencia out of the relegation zone. However, a 0-0 draw at home to Villarreal leaves Espanyol with just six points from their opening seven games and Flores the latest La Liga coach in the firing line.

FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED FROM PREMIER LEAGUE Slick Spurs are title contenders

Conte stiffens Chelsea defence

Lucky Arsenal

With Jose Mourinho arriving at Manchester United, Manchester City snaring Pep Guardiola, Antonio Conte joining Chelsea and big-money signings at Arsenal and Liverpool, there was little talk of the challenge Tottenham might pose in the Premier League Tottenham produced a sublime display to beat City 2-0, condemning Guardiola to his first defeat in the job. Guardiola’s men could not handle Spurs’ Son HeungMin, goal-scorer Dele Alli and Victor Wanyama.

Three was the magic number for Antonio Conte as the Chelsea manager was rewarded for changing his defensive tactics in a 2-0 win over Hull on Saturday. Shocked by the sloppy displays given by his back four this season.

Conte opted to switch to a system that deployed three centre backs at the KCOM Stadium. David Luiz, Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta made up the reconfigured back three and the trio quickly adapted to Conte’s switch as they kept only Chelsea’s second cleansheet of the season

A match away to Burnley had all the hallmarks of being the kind of fixture that has prevented Arsenal winning the Premier League title for more than a decade. But while their usual elegance was missing, they still managed to win 1-0 thanks to Laurent Koscielny’s goal in the third minute of stoppage time that might have been ruled out for both handball and offside.

Foxes on the run Leicester are discovering the perils of defending a title. Claudio Ranieri’s side

POINTS TABLE

became the most unexpected English champions ever when they lifted the title last season, but they have won only two of their seven league matches this term.

Team

Liverpool grit Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool have played some scintillating football this season.

But they fell behind to an eighth-minute Leroy Fer goal at struggling Swansea City and saw Adam Lallana hobble off with a groin injury. But Klopp’s men dug deep, equalising through Roberto Firmino’s header and eventually prevailing courtesy of a late James Milner penalty.

P W D L GD Pts

Man City

7

6 0 1

11

18

Tottenham

7

5

2 0 9

17

Arsenal

7

5

1

1

9

16

Liverpool

7

5

1

1

8

16

Everton

7

4

2

1

6

14

Man Utd

7

4

1

2

5

13

Chelsea

7

4

1

2

3

13

Crystal Palace 7

3

2 2

3

11

West Brom

7

2

3 2

1

9

Southampton 7

2

3 2

1

9

27

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Sport

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

India reclaims top Test spot n AFP, Kolkata India’s bowlers propelled the hosts to a comprehensive 178run win over New Zealand in the second Test yesterday, to clinch the series and reclaim the top spot in the world rankings.

Chasing 376 runs for victory, New Zealand were bowled out for 197 in the final session on the fourth day in Kolkata, with India’s Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja taking three wickets each.

Shami claimed the final wicket of Trent Boult, sparking celebrations in the Indian team

who take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, after winning the first Test in Kanpur.

The victory also sees India jump back to the top of the International Cricket Council Test rankings after starting the series just one point behind archrivals Pakistan.

Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who took five scalps in the first innings, shared 12 wickets between them on a two-paced track at Eden Gardens that offered the seam bowlers of both sides great help.

India skipper Virat Kohli paid tribute to his bowlers. l

India wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha takes a catch to dismiss New Zealand’s Tom Latham during their second Test at Eden Gardens, Kolkata yesterday REUTERS

Rashford, Lingard in England squad n Reuters, London England caretaker manager Gareth Southgate has recalled Marcus Rashford and included the uncapped Jesse Lingard in his first squad for this month’s World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia after stepping in for the sacked Sam Allardyce.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Fraser Forster (Southampton), Joe Hart (Torino, loan from Manchester City), Tom Heaton (Burnley); Defenders: Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Stoke

City), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur); Midfielders: Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Michail Antonio (West Ham United), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur) Forwards: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City) l

DAY’S WATCH FOOTBALL STAR SPORTS 1 7:30PM Indian Super League 2016 North East United vs. Goa

Manolas breaks Inter hearts with late winner n AFP, Milan Greek defender Kostas Manolas relaunched Roma’s Serie A title hopes with a superb late header to hand the Giallorossi a precious 2-1 win over inconsistent Inter Milan on Sunday.

Frank De Boer’s Inter travelled to the Stadio Olimpico looking to bounce back

from a second successive defeat in the Europa League and last week’s 1-1 draw at home to Bologna.

Thanks to results elsewhere, Inter dropped to ninth at seven points off the lead and two points behind city rivals AC Milan, who launched a late fightback to secure a 4-3 win over Sassuolo at the San Siro. l

SERIE A Team

P W D L GD Pts

Juventus

7

6 0 1

11

18

Napoli

7

4

2

1

8

14

Roma

7

4

1

2

7

13

Lazio

7

4

1

2

6

13

Chievo

7

4

1

2

3

13

DT

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Sport

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

Ton-up Gazi shines for Barisal n Tribune Report

Barisal v Dhaka Metropolis (tier one)

Sohag Gazi shined with the bat, scoring a century for Barisal to aid the side post 419 runs in the first innings on the second day against Dhaka Metropolis in the National Cricket League.

At stumps, Dhaka Metro trailed by 274 runs with seven wickets remaining in their first innings.

Batting at number six, Gazi propelled the innings with his 142 off 190 balls and emerged as the first centurion in the tournament this year.

Monir Hossain provided valuable support, making 62. Mohammad Ashraful, who made his return to competitive cricket through this game, bagged three wickets while left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny

picked up as many.

Later, Dhaka Mtero lost three wickets to register 145 runs on the board by the end of the day. Opening batsman Shamsur Rahman was going well before being run out for 49.

Dhaka v Khulna (tier one)

The second day of the game got called off due to the wet and unplayable outfield.

Rajshahi v Chittagong (tier two)

Rajshahi ended the second day in the driving seat as they took a 341run lead in the first innings against Chittagong. Rajshahi opener Mizanur Rahman led the side with 144 off 163, along with Jahurul Islam, who added 131 runs to the tally.

Rajshahi, after dismissing Chittagong for a below par total in the

Nice striker Mario Balotelli reacts with teammate Dante after scoring against Lorient during French Ligue 1 match on Sunday REUTERS

Balotelli is hero and villain as Nice go top n Reuters, Paris Mario Balotelli delivered a trademark performance as he scored to give Nice a 2-1 win against Lorient on Sunday that put them top of the Ligue 1 standings and was then sent off in stoppage time.

RESULTS

Angers

1-1

Capelle 90+3

Nice

Thauvin 64

2-1

Pereira 11, Balotelli 86

Lyon

Marseille

2-0

Lorient Moukandjo 61

Saint-Etienne

Darder 41, Ghezzal 88

The Italian striker scored his fifth goal in three league appearances, firing the ball into the top corner four minutes from time after Lorient’s Benjamin Moukandjo had cancelled out Ricardo Pereira’s early opener.

Balotelli, who joined from Liverpool on a free transfer during the close season, was then sent off two minutes into added time for picking up a second yellow card.

Nice started brightly and converted their first opportunity after 11 minutes, Pereira finding the back of the net with a low shot after being set up by Mathieu Bodmer.

The visitors threatened through Jimmy Cabot but keeper Yoan Cardinale stayed alert.

LIGUE 1

Team

P W D L GD Pts

Nice

8

6

2 0 9

Monaco

8

6

1

1

13 19

Paris SG

8

5

1

2

11

16

Toulouse

8

4

2 2

5

14

Lyon

8

4

1

6

13

3

20

Moukandjo levelled in the 61st minute with a chip after collecting Mohamed Mara’s through ball.

Nice have 20 points from eight games and lead neighbours Monaco, who demolished Metz 7-0 on Saturday, by one point. French champions Paris St Germain, who beat Girondins de Bordeaux 2-0 on Saturday, are third on 16 points. l

first innings on day one, resumed day two with an overnight score of 121 runs for the loss of a wicket.

Heroics from Mizan and Jahurul steered the innings to a huge tally - 482 runs for five wickets.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Hamidul Islam was unbeaten on 90.

Sylhet v Rangpur (tier two)

Debacle in the lower order saw Rangpur get all out in the first innings for 217, starting the second day on 191 for seven. The side lost three wickets adding only 16 runs to the tally, credit to Sylhet bowlers Abul Hasan and Abu Jayed for the early strikes. Sohrawardi Shuvo was unbeaten on 30 while Shahanur Rahman and Alok Kapali picked up three wickets each for Sylhet.

18TH NCL, RD 2, DAY 2 TIER ONE BARISAL 301/6 lead DHAKA METROPOLIS 145/3 (Shamsur 49, Asif 33, Shawon 1/22) by 274 runs KHULNA 172/1 v DHAKA TIER TWO CHITTAGONG 141 trail RAJSHAHI 482/5 (Mizan 144, Jahurul 131, Hamidul 90*) by 341 runs

RANGPUR 217 (Dhiman 45, Kapali 3/43, Shahanur 3/52) lead SYLHET 214/6 (Zakir 91, Mahmudul 2/47, Tanveer 2/38) by three runs Despite a good show with the ball, Sylhet batsmen failed as they lost six wickets posting 214 runs on the board. Wicketkeeper-batsman Zakir Hasan was unbeaten on 91. Rangpur bowlers had put up a joint effort with Mahmudul Hasan and Tanveer Haider picking up two wickets each. l

BKSP girls reach quarters in India n Tribune Report BKSP junior women’s football team made it into the last eight of the Subroto Cup Under-17 International Tournament as group champions after beating Telangana comfortably by 2-0 at Dr Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi yesterday.

Sabina and Akhi netted one goal apiece in the first half. BKSP won all their three matches from Group D, scoring a total of 17 goals in the process and conceding only one. They thrashed Maharashtra 11-0 in the opener before outplaying Chandigarh 4-1 in their second match. The quarter-finals will be held tomorrow.

Meanwhile, a total of 32 teams split into eight groups are taking part in the tournament. l

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Location (4) 5 Live coal (5) 8 Keen insight (6) 9 Bill of fare (4) 10 Perform (3) 12 Steal cattle (6) 13 Bowman (6) 15 Tentacle (6) 18 Falls into disuse (6) 20 Period of time (3) 21 Roman garment (4) 23 Rubber (6) 24 Small anchor (5) 25 Fondles (4)

DOWN 1 Dance (5) 2 Frozen formation (3) 3 Garment (5) 4 Flightless bird (3) 5 Suffers (7) 6 Annoying child (4) 7 Scold (4) 11 Aid to detention (4) 12 Arbitrator (7) 14 Bellow (4) 16 Unbound (5) 17 Brings up (5) 18 Undesired escape (4) 19 Discharged a debt (4) 21 Faucet (3) 22 Obtain (3)

29

DT

Downtime

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 12 represents W so fill W every time the figure 12 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

SATURDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

DT

30

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

Showtime

Bangladesh Short and Documentary Film Festival launched n Showtime Desk On October 2, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) launched Bangladesh Short and Documentary Film Festival 2016 jointly with all the 64 district Shilpakala academies.

Asaduzzaman Noor, the minister of cultural affairs, inaugurated the festival at the National Art Gallery Auditorium which is dedicated to the recently deceased writer Syed Shamsul Haq. The inaugural program was presided over by Liaquat Ali Lucky, the director general of BSA, while filmmaker Syed Salauddin Zaki, Morshedul Islam and Manzare Hasin Murad and others graced

the occasion.

On the opening day, Zahir Raihan’s documentary Stop Genocide, Morshedul Islam’s short film Agami, Tareque Masud’s documentary Adam Surat, Aminur Rahman Mukul’s short film Oborodh and Yasmin Kabir’s documentary Porobashee Mon Amar were screened.

Federation of Film Societies of Bangladesh (FFSB), Bangladesh Short Film Forum and Bangladesh Documentary Council collaborated with BSA to organise the festival.

A total 84 films have been selected for screening in the festival which is to take place simultaneously across all the 64 district shilpakala academies until October 8. l

October releases in Bollywood n Showtime Desk After a few shocking flops and some surprise hits, Bollywood is eagerly waiting for October since the month has a list of wonderful projects set to release.

Mirzya: October 7

Shalini Arora and Vikki Ahuja playing supporting roles with special appearances by Gauhar Khan, Sunny Leone, Ranbir Kapoor, and Sharman Joshi. Sunny Leone will be dancing in the song in which Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif have recited poetry.

The film depicts the story

Ek Tera Saath: October 14 Popular television actor Sharad

Malhotra, who is winning accolades for his role as Rishi Singh Bedi in Ekta Kapoor’s popular soap, Kasam, has one more feather to his cap!

The actor, who was recently in news for his ‘true gentleman’ act by taking a stand for his exgirlfriend, Divyanka Tripathi, is gearing up for the release his film, titled 1.13.7- Ek Tera Saath.

One of the big releases of the month is Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Mirzya starring Harshvardhan Kapoor and Saiyami Kher. It will serve as Anil Kapoor’s son’s debut and the film’s music is already being appreciated by all.

Fuddu: October 14 Fuddu is an upcoming romantic comedy film directed by Sunil Subramani, made under the supervision of Anurag Basu.

The film is being produced by Pradeep Gupta under the banner of Mahima Productions and co-produced by Mahima Gupta, Gandharv Sachdev and written by Pawan Kumar Sharma.

The film stars Shubham and Swati Kapoor, with Pritosh Sand,

in cramped houses in the city of Mumbai. His entire world tilts upside down when his wife leaves him for reasons which are untrue.

His family too, discards him and disrespects him.

of Mohan, who has just arrived from Banaras to Mumbai. He is disturbed to see how people live

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil: October 28 There is little doubt that Ae Dil Hain Mushkil is going to be one of the biggest releases of the year.

May be this is the reason why some controversies have already started to shadow the movie. It all started with Ajay accusing Karan of paying Kamal Rashid Khan (KRK) Rs25 lakhs to support Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. However, Karan declined to comment on the whole issue. And last but not the least, Pakistani actor Fawad Khan is now a big issue in India considering the on-going hostile situation between the two countries.

Karan Johar’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

starring Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Fawad Khan is high on romance, love and heartbreak.

Karan Johar is directing a movie after a long break. The film is also getting a lot of attention due to the steamy chemistry between Ranbir and Aishwarya. People have almost tagged this as Ranbir’s comeback film.

Shivaay: October 28 Shivaay, in contrast to Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, is an action thriller directed and co-produced by Ajay Devgn. It features Ajay Devgn, Sayyeshaa Saigal, and Erika Kaar portraying the lead roles. There is a battle going on between the two films. The battle will ultimately

come down to how well they perform at the box office. And looking at the way PVR cinemas have been promoting Ae Dil Hai Muhskil, KJo seems to have an upper-hand with the prominent multiplex on his side. l

Tahsan conferred with TOYP Award

n Showtime Desk Tahsan has been honoured with various awards for his contribution in the field of music and acting on numerous occasions. However, this time the musician and actor received a special honour from Junior Chamber International (JCI), a non-profit international non-government organisation, for his overall contribution in culture.

On Saturday, October 1, 2016, Tahsan was conferred with JCI’s

Ten Outstanding Young Person (TOYP) award.

State minister Nasrul Hamid of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, and state minister Shahriar Alam of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were present on the occasion.

Tahsan said, “It’s really encouraging to receive an award from an international organisation.

I am honoured to receive an award from a business organisation, despite being a cultural person.”

Other recipients of this year’s awards are Syeda Kamrun Ahmed, Mehedi Hasan,Razee Mohammad Fakhrul, Imran Karim, Sumdany Don, Nafisa Kamal, Mohammad Hedayetullah, Saifur Rahman and Shamim Kabir.

Junior Chamber International is a non-profit international nongovernment organisation of young people between 18 and 40 years old. It has members in about 124 countries, and regional or national branches in many of them. l

31

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Showtime

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

Kim Kardashian held at gunpoint in Paris n Showtime Desk Kim Kardashian, who had been visiting Paris, was tied up and held at gunpoint in the French capital by unidentified robbers who stole millions of pounds worth of jewellery. The five armed, masked men carried out the raid at about 3:00am local time.

Police said they tied Kardashian up and locked her in the bathroom before escaping on bikes. They remain at large.

An unnamed police source revealed that a ring worth around €4 million, or about $4.5 million, has been stolen, along with a case of jewelry worth around €5 million and two mobile phones.

The incident happened as Kardashian attended the French capital’s fashion week.

A spokeswoman close to the reality star said that she was “badly shaken but physically unharmed.”

Meanwhile, Kanye West cut short a concert in the US following the incident. The 39-year-old stunned fans at Meadows Festival in Queens, New York, when he abruptly

ended his set. Before walking off stage, he said “I’m sorry, I have a family emergency. I have to stop the show.”

It has not been confirmed whether Kim and Kanye’s children - North, three, and Saint, nine months - were with her at the time. Kardashian, 35, had been photographed on Sunday evening at a Givenchy fashion show with her sister Kourtney and mother Kris Jenner, and was later reportedly seen out for dinner at a local restaurant.

Last week, Kardashian reportedly filed a police complaint after she was ambushed by a prankster as she entered a Parisian restaurant. l

Lawrence in the limelight n Showtime Desk Actress Jennifer Lawrence popped up at Paris Fashion Week on Friday to attend the Dior runway show at the Rodin Museum, and posed for photos outside before heading to her front-row seat. Jennifer rocked a dressy-casual sheer top and boyfriend jeans, and took in the Spring 2017 collection next to other fashion insiders. The Hunger Games star has been the face of Dior’s campaigns since 2012 and has frequently worn the brand for red carpet appearances.

This is the first time Jenifer was at a high-

profile event in roughly five months; she made a stop at The Tonight Show back in May and attended the GLAAD Media Awards with Robert De Niro that same month. While it seems she’s been keeping a low profile, we’ll likely see more of her out and about when she begins promoting her upcoming space drama Passengers, alongside Chris Pratt later this year.

Meanwhile, she has proved that action heroes don’t always have to be men - a lesson Lawrence is teaching Hollywood, $1 million at a time. As Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games movies, she fights for her life against a tyrannical government without spending much time worrying about which boy she’s going to choose. Her butt-kicking ways have helped the franchise earn $1.5 billion so far, with two more movies on the way. She also showed off her action chops in

the recent X-Men: Days of Future Past. As shape-shifting mutant Mystique, Lawrence had plenty of fight scenes and her star power helped make the movie the highest-grossing of the X-Men films, with $700 million at the global box office so far.

That combination of action hero and award-winning actress makes Jennifer Lawrence the most powerful actress in Hollywood right now, according to the critics. l

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

WB RETAINS 6.8% GROWTH FORECAST

PAGE 12

BANGLADESH WANT TO UTILISE CONDITIONS PAGE 25

TAHSAN CONFERRED WITH TOYP AWARD PAGE 31

No trace of doctor in 5 days since abduction n Arifur Rahman Rabbi A doctor of Islami Bank Hospital at Mirpur police station in Dhaka went missing from in front of the hospital five days ago.

Riyad Nasser Chowdhury was forcefully picked up in a car when he came out of the hospital to have tea at a roadside tea stall in front of the Purobi cinema near the hospital, said family sources.

His family members alleged that he was picked up around 3:30pm on September 29 by a group of unidentified people who introduced themselves as members of law enforcement agencies.

Riyad’s brother Fahad Nasser Chowdhury told Dhaka Tribune that they had filed a case with Pallobi police station in this regard, and had also informed the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

“Four days have passed since his going missing, but we still have

not succeeded to locate him or find his whereabouts. His mobile phone is also switched off,” he added.

Claiming that his brother has neither any political involvement, nor any monetary/land dispute with anybody, Fahad said, “He is not involved in any criminal or terrorist activities. In addition to his job, he was studying MBA at a private university where one of his female classmates recently got divorced and her husband blamed him for this,” he added.

In reply to a query, Fahad said: “In January this year, Riyad and his wife Tamanna Taslima got divorced over family dispute. Meanwhile, Farhad Sarkar’s wife Luna Anika also divorced her husband. Somehow or other, Lieutenant Commander Farhad Sarkar – the husband of the female classmate and also an ex-RAB official currently posted at Coast Guard – suspected that Luna and Riyad are involved in an illicit affair. In

Japanese scientist wins Nobel prize in medicine n Tribune Desk

Japan’s Yoshinori Ohsumi won the 2016 Nobel prize for medicine or physiology for his discovery of how cells break down and recycle their content, which could lead to a better understanding of diseases like cancer, Parkinson’s and type 2 diabetes.

“Ohsumi’s discoveries led to a new paradigm in our understanding of how the cell recycles its content,” the Nobel Assembly at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute said in a statement on awarding the prize of SEK8m ($933,000).

“His discoveries opened the path to understanding … many physiological processes, such as in the adaptation to starvation or response to infection,” the statement added.

Ohsumi’s work on cell breakdown, a field known as autophagy, is important because it can help explain what goes wrong in a range of

diseases.

“Mutations in autophagy (‘self eating’) genes can cause disease, and the autophagic process is involved in several conditions including cancer and neurological disease,” the statement said.

Ohsumi, born in 1945 in Fukuoka, Japan, has been a professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology since 2009.

“I am extremely honoured,” he told Kyodo News agency.

The prize for Physiology or Medicine is the first of the Nobel prizes awarded each year. Prizes for achievements in science, literature and peace were first awarded in 1901 in accordance with the will of dynamite inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel.

This year, the Karolinska Institute, the institution that awards the medicine prize, has been immersed in a scandal over the hiring of a controversial surgeon.

The Swedish government dismissed several members of the board in September. l

Family members alleged that he was picked up on Sept 29 by unidentified people posing as law enforcers August, two people tried to forcefully pick-up Riyad from the street but they failed as local people interfered into the matter and foiled the kidnap attempt. At that time, all three including my brother were taken to the police station.

“We then talked to Farhad over the phone in order to settle the issue, but he threatened us with dire consequence.”

Informing that Riyad filed a general diary with Mirpur police station at that time over the threat,

Fahad said: “It is quite clear that Farhad Sarkar is behind this abduction and only he can confirm where my brother is and whether he is still alive.”

After Riyad went missing, his family members filed a case with Pallabi police station mentioning Farhad’s name as a suspect for the abduction.

Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Abu Sayeed, who is investigating the case, told the Dhaka Tribune that they have collected CCTV

footage of the place from where Riyad was picked up in a car. “In the footage one person was seen opening the car door while three or four persons shoved Riyad into the car forcefully. Then the car moved onward,” he said.

He also said: “We found that the car’s number plate was fake; the plate actually belongs to the vehicle used by the OC of Ghior police station. We are still investigating the issue and are yet to locate the whereabouts of kidnapped Riyad.”

When contacted, Lieutenant Commander Farhad Sarkar told the Dhaka Tribune that he was at sea on duty when this abduction took place. “I was not involved in the said abduction. He is just a classmate of my ex-wife. I am not at all concerned about what she does at present as we are already divorced.

“Police are investigating the matter. They can say what actually happened,” he added. l

Pope likely to visit Bangladesh n Tribune Desk Pope Francis will visit Portugal next year and is “almost sure” to visit India and Bangladesh.

Still to be determined is where in Africa he’ll visit and whether Colombia’s peace accord is “certain, certain, certain” enough to enable a papal visit, reports Indian Express.

Francis outlined his 2017 travel plans while flying home from Azerbaijan Sunday. Complicating his travel schedule is that next year is

already full of appointments with visiting bishops whose 2016 visits were put off due to Francis’ Holy

Year of Mercy, which ends in November.

But Francis confirmed that as of now, he planned a May 13 trip to the famed Marian shrine at Fatima in Portugal. India and Bangladesh were planned as well and an Africa trip was under study. The destination depends on weather conditions, time of year and regional political and conflict situations, he said. l

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