October 6, 2016

SECOND EDITION

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2016

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Ashwin 21, 1423, Muharram 4, 1437

Court also clears Tahmid of all charges n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu Canadian university student Tahmid Hasib Khan, who walked out of jail on bail after police said he had no link to the July 1 Gulshan restaurant attack, has been cleared of all charges by the court.

Another survivor, former private university teacher Hasnat Reza Karim, who allegedly instigated the terrorists, remains an accused in the case filed over the deadly terrorist attack that killed 23 people including 17 foreigners.

The duo were both pres-

ent during the 12-hour-long siege at Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka’s Gulshan 2 and were rescued by commandos the next morning. The law enforcers interrogated them several times and detained them on suspicion under Section 54 of the CrPC on August 3. Later, Hasnat was shown arrested in the case.

Metropolitan Magistrate Md Nur Nabi yesterday cleared Tahmid and Hasnat from the charges under Section 54 after counter-terrorism unit Inspector Humayun Kabir, also the investigation  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

Badrul targeted Khadiza in 2009 Serajul n Mohammad Islam, Sylhet After taking admission in Shahjalal University in 200809 session, Badrul Alam started staying at Khadiza’s house near the campus as a lodger and stayed there until 2011.

In that year, he was driven out of the house by her parents for stalking the teenage girl repeatedly.

Badrul continued to convince Khadiza Akhter Nargis to marry him, but was

refused; and on Monday, he hacked her with a machete near Sylhet MC College campus as she ignored his offer.

This is not the first time Badrul attempted to kill Khadiza.

He used to wait outside Shafir Uddin School and College for HSC student Khadiza in 2011, which prompted her to stop attending her classes.

At that time, Badrul threatened her with knives several times, locals say.

In 2012, he was severely  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

INSIDE

Sylhet erupts in anger over Khadiza

Glass ceiling couldn’t keep her down

Protests continued in Sylhet and in places around the country for a second day against the attack on the student Khadiza Akhter Nargis by a stalker.  PAGE 3

Marina Tabassum has won prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture, breaking through the glass ceiling designing Baitur Rouf mosque in Dhaka.  PAGE 32

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2016

PM discloses mega Portugal’s Guterres poised to be plan for Payra Port next UN chief n n Tribune Desk

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has disclosed a mega plan centring Payra Port in Patuakhali.

She made the disclosure while replying to a question from AKM Jahangir Hossain (Patuakhali-3) during her weekly question-answer session in Jatiya Sangsad yesterday, reports BSS. The PM told the House that the work on infrastructural development on the Payra Port would be completed by 2023 while construction of three jetties of the port would be completed by 2018.

She said the infrastructural works of the port were divided into 19 components, of which, 2 components would be implemented by the Payra Port Authority with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and on a G2G basis.

The government has already completed feasibility studies of these components and memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed with different organisations very soon, she said, adding that other seven components would be implemented by the concerned ministries.

The premier said the govern-

ment has taken an initiative to establish an authority under the Housing and Public Works Ministry for integrated development of Payra, Kuakata, Taltali, Patharghata, Amtali and Rangabali.

A Land Based LNG Terminal would be constructed in the area adjacent to the Payra Port for which administrative approval was given for acquiring 200 acres of land for this purpose, she informed the House.

The prime minister said the Industries Ministry has taken steps for construction of shipbuilding and maintenance industries in Patuakhali district for which 6,100 acres of land have already been allocated.

The work on construction of two 660MW coal-based power plant at Dhankhali union of Kalapara upazila of Patuakhali district will be operational in 2019.

In the second phase, another power plant (630x2) would be constructed in the area with a 100 MW solar power plant and a 50 MW wind power plant on ash pond of the power plant, she said.

Payra Port would play an epoch making role in making the people of self-reliant through creating employment opportunities. l

Reuters

Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres is poised to become the next United Nations Secretary-General after none of the five UN Security Council veto powers voted against him in a sixth secret ballot yesterday, diplomats said.

The 15-member Security Council cast secret ballots for each of the 10 candidates with the choices of encourage, discourage or no opinion. Guterres received 13 encourage

votes and two no opinion votes.

“Today after our sixth straw poll we have a clear favorite and his name is Antonio Guterres,” Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters with his 14 council colleagues standing behind him.

For Guterres to be formally recommended to the 193-member General Assembly for election, the Security Council still needs to adopt a resolution behind closed doors. The resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes to pass. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Court also clears Tahmid of all charges officer of the case, appealed to the court for clearing them of the charges.

Son of businessman Fazle Rahim Khan, Tahmid was present before the court yesterday. He was represented by lawyer Mosharraf Hossain Kajal during the hearing.

The same court yesterday accepted an application filed by the IO on September 28 to file a prosecution report under Section 176 alleging Tahmid’s uncooperativeness with the investigation despite repeated legal notice. The IO said that Tahmid withheld information on the terrorists during interrogation.

The court set October 16 to hear

the application.

Tahmid was released on bail on October 2 after the police turned in a probe report with a prayer for relieving him from the charges.

In the prayer, the police said they found no evidence of his links to the Gulshan attackers or any other militants.

DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia yesterday said that they had not found any presentable, eligible or considerable evidence against Tahmid.

“We cannot say someone is guilty or innocent if we do not have credible information or evidence,” he said. l

Tahmid Hasib Khan is being taken to metropolitan magistrate court yesterday RAJIB DHAR

beaten up by the locals for stalking the girl in front of her college.

Badrul’s classmates and locals say he was eager to marry Khadiza as she was the only daughter among four children of a Saudi expatriate and he thought that marrying her would make him rich.

Because of his engagement in student politics, poverty and unsuccessful efforts to marry Khadiza, Badrul was irregular in his honours classes. Keeping it incomplete, he took admission in Masters and completed it in 2013. He also tried to be rich through several multi-level marketing companies, but failed.

In February 2014, Badrul joined Alhaj Ayajur Rahman High School in Chhatak, Sunamganj as a parttime teacher. The school’s managing committee expelled him on Tuesday after learning about his crime.

In May, Badrul managed a deputy secretary post in the university unit Chhatra League despite being an irregular student. He soon became reckless because of his close link to the unit’s president, Sanjiban Chakrabarty Partha.

In his written statement, Sanjiban at a press conference yester-

day refused to recognise Badrul as a Chhatra League leader as he had already got engaged in a job which disqualifies his holding a post in the ruling party’s student wing.

“Badrul will have to shoulder responsibility for the brutal acts himself. There is no scope of blaming the Chhatra League for his acts,” Sanjiban said, expressing deep shock over the incident that created much hype across the country.

He claimed that Badrul had secured position in the party concealing information about his job.

“Seeing him in the party’s activities we thought that he was a regular

student,” Sanjiban said.

He, however, admitted that Badrul had not been stripped of his duties formally.

The SUST authorities suspended him from the university on Tuesday.

Vice-Chancellor Aminul Haque Bhuiyan said that they were waiting for the report of an investigation committee formed with acting proctor Prof Dr Rashed Talukder as its chief.

“Badrul was suspended in a proctorial body meeting on Tuesday. The probe report will be submitted soon,” he added. l

‘All ECs in world face muscle Badrul targeted Khadiza in 2009 power, biased reports’ Al Masum Molla n Mohammad from New Delhi, India All the election supervising bodies of the world today face the challenge of preventing the influence of muscle power, money power and biased media reports on election.

These three issues are the main challenges to holding a free and fair election, said a high official of Indian Election Commission (IEC).

“There are three major challenges. I think all the election commissions in the world including your election commission (the EC of Bangladesh) have to overcome these three main obstacles to hold a free and fair election,” Deputy Election Commissioner (DEC) Umesh Sinha told a group of visiting Bangladeshi journalists at the IEC headquarter in Indian capital of New Delhi.

Talking about influence of fictitious media reports on election, he said some media run fabricated news to bring the election environment in favour of, or against, somebody.

“In our country, a section of media – especially local TV channels in district level – try to influence the mind of voters as well as the

electoral scenario by saying that somebody is winning or leading the polls,” he observed.

In reply to a query over the appointment procedure of election commissioners in India, the Indian DEC said senior civil servants having proven integrity and experience are appointed as election commissioners.

“The chief election commissioner is appointed by the President.

And the senior most civil servants of the country are appointed usually after their retirement. The main criterion is that the officers must have proven honesty, integrity and experience,” Umesh Sinha said.

“In India, fortunately all the CECs have proved themselves and undergone the tests of time,” he claimed.

Observing that election commissioners in India enjoy full constitutional safeguard, he said, “There is no influence from any ruling party or ruling government. All decisions are taken independently by the EC. And all political parties have total confidence in Election Commission.”

The DEC claimed that the EC doesn’t hesitate to take any tough action against anybody in case of any irregularity during the election. l

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Sylhet erupts in anger over Khadiza Serajul Islam, n Mohammed Sylhet

called the attacker Badrul an ‘animal’ and called for his exemplary punishment to prevent further crimes of this nature.

They also prayed for Khadiza’s recovery.

Awami League’s Sylhet Metropolitan unit President Badar Uddin Kamran, district unit General Secretary Shafiqur Rahman Chowdhury and Joint Secretary Sujat Al Rafiq, district BNP General Secretary Ali Ahmed, Sadar upazila Chairman Ashfaq Ahmed, former vice chairman Abul Kashem, journalist Maksud Ahmed and many others were present at the event.

Protests continued in Sylhet and in places around the country for a second day against the attack on the student Khadiza Akhter Nargis by a stalker.

There were protests across Sylhet in several places against Badrul yesterday. On Tuesday night a protest rally was held in Khadiza’s home village as well.

People join students’ protest

Students from Sylhet Government Women’s College, where Khadiza studies, took out a procession in the city in the morning. They circled the main roads in the city shouting slogans and came back to take position in front of their college. Common people from the surrounding area also joined their protest.

The protesters shouted for capital punishment for Badrul. The traffic on Chowhatta – Zindabazar Road stopped because of the blockade.

About an hour later the students withdrew from the road after the college’s teachers spoke to them and gave them assurance.

After the protest programme the students submitted a memorandum to the Sylhet deputy commissioner in the afternoon.

Government to bear all treatment costs Sylhet police produce Badrul Alam, who attempted to kill Khadiza Akhter Nargis for rejecting his love proposal, in front of a court yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE Women’s College student and protest coordinator Fazilatunnesa told reporters the students were feeling insecure after the incident.

“Are we women safe in our schools and colleges? How many of us have to die before we feel safe?” she asked.

“We demand the highest punishment for the attacker Badrul,” she said.

The protesting students have called on all teachers and stu-

dents in Sylhet to join a protest rally today.

Awami League, BNP united in protest

Awami League and BNP leaders in Sylhet were seen standing side by side during public protests against the attack.

In Tukerbazar Temukhi area in the Sadar upazila, the public organised a human chain for their protest. During the event, speakers

Health Minister Mohammad Nasim told reporters yesterday that the government would bear all of Khadiza’s treatment costs.

The minister, who was visiting Sylhet, spoke to reporters at the Osmani airport in the afternoon.

The prime minister had instructed him to do everything necessary to get Khadiza better, he said.

The incident was tragic, Nasim said and assured that the person involved would be punished regardless of their background.

Family and neighbours were gathered at Khadiza’s home in Hausa village, where her mother

Monwara Begum collapsed frequently from shock.

Many family members were also found in tears.

Khadiza’s father Mashuk Miah is currently in Saudi Arabia. Elder brother Shahin Ahmed is studying medicine in China. The two younger brothers are also students.

Monwara told reporters she wanted exemplary punishment for her daughter’s attacker.

Khadiza, 23, an honours second-year student at Sylhet Government Women’s College, was attacked on Monday evening by Badrul Alam, fourth-year economics student at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) and a top leader of Chhatra League’s SUST wing, while she was on her way back home after taking an exam at Sylhet MC College exam centre.

Locals rescued severely wounded Khadiza and took her to Osmani Medical College Hospital, while others gave Badrul a good beating before handing him over to Shah Paran police station.

The victim has been trasnferred to Square Hospital in Dhaka where she has undergone surgery and is currently on life support. Doctors have put her in 72 hours of observation and say she has about 10% chance of survival. l

IS reveals Tamim Chowdhury’s identity n Tribune Desk A new Islamic State publication has described militant leader Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, who was killed in a raid on August 27, as its former head of military and covert operations, not the ameer of the terrorist group, in Bangladesh.

The second issue of multilingual Rumiyah magazine released early yesterday identified Tamim as Abu Dujanah al-Bengali in an article written by Tamim, ostensibly before his death on the July 1 Gulshan restaurant attack.

Police on several occasions referred to New JMB chief Tamim as IS’ Bangladesh head Sheikh Abu Ibrahim al-Hanif, before and after he was gunned down during the so-called “Operation Hit Strong 27.” Two other members of his gang were also killed in the drive.

Rumiyah has also published the profiles of the five terrorists who launched the attack on Holey Artisan Bakery and threatened fresh attacks on foreigners. The five were killed in a commando raid nearly 12 hours after they attacked the cafe.

“The Gulshan attack wasn’t the first attack against the Crusaders by the Soldiers of the Khilafah in Bengal and it certainly will not be

the last,” the article reads.

The new faction of outlawed militant group Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), which, according to the police, works as the Islamic State affiliate in Bangladesh, has lost 31 of its members in raids while two killed themselves since November last year.

Detectives claim that local militants close to JMB formed the group to create anarchy and terrorise foreigners in the country.

After Tamim’s death, counter-terrorism officials claimed that the strength of New JMB had almost waned and that they were looking for the spiritual leader, field-level coordinator, financiers and arms suppliers of the group.

Graduated from the University of Windsor, Canada in Spring 2011, Tamim came to Bangladesh on October 5, 2013. He met a top JMB leader, Abul Kashem alias Boro Huzur, in July last year. Known as a great religious preacher working at the Okharabari Madrasa of Dinajpur, Kashem mainly helped Tamim to reunite the JMB members.

The magazine also published an infographic stating 24 out of the 26 attacks the IS supporters have carried out in Bangladesh since

September last year. The victims include foreigners, non-Muslim and non-Sunni preachers, law enforcers and a university professor.

The Salafist group aims at establishing Shariah law in the country and use Bangladesh as its base to launch attacks in Myanmar and India to avenge the “persecution on Muslims.”

Tamim, who also masterminded the July 7 Sholakia attack, used to visit the group’s Kallyanpur den where nine members were killed in “Operation Storm 26” by SWAT on July 26.

On September 23, IS released its second Bangla video featuring as heroes the five dead Gulshan attackers, who made statements – recorded before the Holey Artisan attack – criticising the democratic system and political leaders of the country. They also came down heavily on the Islamic scholars for resisting the Muslims from joining the armed jihad of the Islamic State.

Only six days after the Gulshan attack, IS released the first Bangla video featuring three Bangladeshi fighters promising more operations in the country. The trio are believed to be fighting for the IS group in Syria. l

RAB produces in front of media the two militants - Abdul Hakim and Mahmudul Hasan - who surrendered at a RAB programme yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

‘Families of militants contacting RAB’ n Kamrul Hasan Families of some suspected militants have been contacting RAB to learn about the procedure and aftermath if their children or relatives surrender to law enforcers, RAB Director General Benazir Ahmed said yesterday.

He made the statement while talking to journalists at a programme held at Bogra Shaheed Titu Auditorium yesterday morning.

He said: “Many families have contacted us to learn about surrendering. We will make the information public after talking needful

measures.”

Earlier in the day, two militants surrendered to the elite force in the programme.

Benazir said RAB will rehabilitate the two militants.

Wishing anonymity, a RAB official said: “We will ensure their [two militants] security. They have been given money to help start their career.”

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who was present at the event, said: “We could have destroyed the militants but Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked us to give them a chance to come back to their families and get rehabilitated. l

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2016

Youth killed allegedly BD envoy presents

by Ansar men in Ctg credential in Sri Lanka Mizanur Rahaman, n FM Chittagong

A youth was killed allegedly after Ansar men opened fire during a clash with a group of villagers in Chittagong’s Hathazari upazila.

Local and police sources said several people were injured in the clash that took place on Tuesday night.

The dead Ali Akbar, 22, worked at a grocery store and was a resident of Bordighir Par area in Hathazari, police said.

However, no one was arrested and no case was lodged in the connection until the filing of this report yesterday afternoon.

Inspector (investigation) Mujibur Rahman of Hathazari police station told the Dhaka Tribune that the incident took place around 9pm on Tuesday.

Quoting locals, he said the clash started after a member of the Ansar camp had asked some youths to leave as they were playing cards on a private property.

The Ansar camp was installed there for an S Alam Group property.

“During the clash with the youths, at one point, locals gathered in the area and tried to besiege the Ansar camp. The Ansar men then opened fired to bring the situation under control but Ali Akbar sustained bullet wounds,” the inspector said.

However, it could not be confirmed how many Ansar men opened fire at the locals. Police said most injuries were sustained during the scuffle.

Mujibur said Ali was rushed to CMCH in critical condition around 10:30pm where duty doctors declared him dead. l

n Tribune Desk

The newly-appointed Bangladesh High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, M Riaz Hamidullah, has presented his credentials to Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena in Colombo.

During the ceremony President Sirisena expressed his conviction that the two countries would work together in further deepening the bilateral relations.

Referring to his earlier visits to Bangladesh, he expressed interest to visit again as the Sri Lankan president in near future.

President Sirisena congratulated the high commissioner and assured him of all-out cooperation during his tenure in Sri Lanka.

On his part, Riaz conveyed to the Sri Lankan president the personal regards of President Abdul

Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The high commissioner pointed out that a number of outstanding major issues of mutually beneficial interest, including the proposed bilateral FTA and the coastal shipping agreement, could be finalised during upcoming high-level interactions.

He expressed eagerness for broadening and strengthening the existing relations between the two countries, and in this endeavour, he sought the kind support of the receiving government.

In the ceremony, acting minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka Harsha De Silva, Secretary to the President PB Abeykoon and Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka Ambassador Esala Weerakoon were present. l

EC gets new secretary n Tribune Report

The government has appointed Muhammad Abdullah as the new secretary to the Election Commission yesterday.

Before this appointment, Abdullah was rector of BCS Administration Academy.

Meanwhile, former EC secretary Md Sirajul Islam has been transferred to the Health and Family Welfare Ministry.

Public Administration Ministry acting secretary (OSD) M Zillar Rahman has been appointed to the Social Welfare Ministry as acting secretary while another secretary (OSD) M Aslam Alam as the rector (Administration Academy) of Bangladesh Civil Service.

The Public Administration Ministry yesterday issued two separate gazette notifications shuffling duties of the four top bureaucrats. l

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Envoys happy with Dhaka's security measures n Abu Hayat Mahmud Envoys working in Dhaka have lauded the security measures taken by the government since the Gulshan attack.

At a discussion organised by Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) at Unimart Supershop building in the capital’s Gulshan 2 yesterday, the diplomats said they were happy with the government's initiatives.

Dhaka north Mayor Annisul Huq chaired the event.

US Ambassador Marcia S Bernicat, Australian High Commissioner Julia Niblett, British High Commissioner Alison Blake, Canadian High Commissioner Benoit-Pierre Laramee, Danish Ambassador Mikael Hemniti Winther, European Union Ambassador Pierre Mayaudon, German Ambassador Thomas H Prinz, Italian Ambassador Mario Palma, Japanese Ambassador Masato Watanabe, Korean Ambassador AHN Seong-doo, Dutch Ambassador Leoni Cuelenaere, Norwegian Ambassador Sidsel Bleken, Spanish Ambassador Eduardo de Laiglesia, Swedish Ambassador Johan Frisell, Swiss Ambassador Christian Fotsch, Turkish Ambassador Devrim Ozturk, Thai Ambas-

Dhaka North City Corporation mayor addresses a view-exchange meeting with foreign delegates on the development and security of Gulshan organised by the corporation at Hotel Center Point in Gulshan 2, Dhaka yesterday MEHEDI HASAN more time to come out of.

US Ambassador Marcia Bernicat and other envoys also addressed the programme. The press were not allowed to cover this part of the discussion.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam, DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia, NSI Director General Maj Gen Mohammad Shamsul Huq, ruling party MPs, a good number of foreign buyers, leaders of different business asso-

sador Kallayana Vipattipumiprates, Iranian Ambassador Abbas Vaezi Dehnavi and Malaysian Ambassador Norlin Binti Othman attended the meeting among others.

British High Commissioner Alison Blake said she was satisfied with the government's steps for the security of foreigners in the city's diplomatic zone.

She remarked that a perception of risk still remained in the minds of foreigners which would need

Deadly mistake costs baby her life

4 policemen closed for bribery n Arifur Rahman Rabbi

Baby girl mistakenly declared dead at birth finally succumbs ing specialist medical practitioners.” doctors who declared the n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong on-duty “We will not tolerate such neglichild stillborn, have been withdrawn The newborn baby – who was wrongly declared stillborn due to negligence of duty of two on-duty doctors and was found alive after two hours – finally died yesterday (Wednesday) noon at a private hospital in the port city.

The ill-fated baby girl died at 1:30pm while undergoing treatment at the Neonatal Incentive Care Unit of Max Hospital and Diagnostic Ltd (MHDL).

Md Azizur Rahman Siddique, Civil Surgeon of Chittagong, revealed the information to media after visiting the hospital at 2:30pm Wednesday.

He observed that the ‘ill-fated’ infant could have been saved if she was not mistakenly declared dead.

Earlier on Tuesday, the premature infant was born around 1am at Centre for Specialised Care and Research (CSCR) Private Ltd in Chittagong and was immediately declared dead by the on-duty doctors.

Jamal Ahmed, managing director of CSCR, told the Dhaka Tribune that Ruma Akter and Iqbal Hossain, the

from regular duty on charges of negligence of duty,.

Meanwhile, Civil Surgeon of Chittagong formed a three-member probe committee headed by pediatric specialist Dr Md Shah Alam to investigate the unfortunate death.

The investigation committee will submit its report within three working days to Prof Abul Kalam Azad, director general at Directorate General Health service (DGHS).

Talking to the reporters after coming out of Max Hospital, Dr Siddique said that usually doctors across the world take three to four hours for declaring a patient death.

Observing that on-duty doctors should not move along while declaring death of any newborn baby, the Ctg civil surgeon suggested, “A panel should be formed by health ministry and health services – to formulate a policy for following some particular procedures before making the declaration of death of a newborn – compris-

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Four officers of Darussalam police have been closed for allegedly threatening a businessman of implicating him in a narcotics case if he did not pay them bribe.

The four are SI Kamrul Hasan, ASI Shyamol Das Bongshi, and constables Kameul Islam and Md Fayez.

A committee, headed by Mirpur division’s ADC Shariful Islam, has been formed to investigate the allegation, said DMP Deputy Commissioner Masudur Rahman.

He said the actions against the

gence of duty at all. Nowadays, it is frequently reported in the media that newborn babies declared dead stir to life later. To put a stop to such a heinous trend, I want to make it sure that the investigation will be a thorough one,” added Siddique.

Expressing hope that this will be the last such case of negligence of duty in the country, he said, “The death of the infant is really painful for all of us.

As it was their first baby, the pain is much more unbearable for the parents who themselves are both doctors. It is a matter of great sorrow that doctors themselves are now becoming victims of negligence of duty committed by doctors.”

In reply to a query of a reporter, the civil surgeon said that it was upto the parents of the deceased baby if they would file any case in this regard.

He said, “The DG of DGHS has assured me that exemplary punitive measure will be taken if anyone is found guilty in this connection.” l

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ciations of Bangladesh and local representatives of Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara and Niketan spoke among others at the event.

Before the discussion, Mayor Annisul Huq made a presentation on different kinds of security measures for diplomats in the diplomatic zones – Gulshan, Baridhara and Banani.

He also spoke about the DNCC's citizen services and special steps taken for transportation and secu-

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rity services in the residential areas where diplomats and foreigners are staying.

At the end of the discussion, Annisul told reporters that the discussion was arranged to assure diplomats and foreign buyers about the security measures after the at Gulshan terrorist attack.

“The foreign envoys are satisfied about the prime minister's directive and her government's current steps. They said just after four months of the terror attack, the present security measures are satisfactory,” Annisul said.

State Minister Shahriar Alam said the terror attack was not a Bangladeshi problem, it was a global threat and the Bangladesh government was always alert about terrorists.

Reply to a query, the DMP commissioner said they were trying to provide quality security all over the city including the diplomatic zone.

Following the militant attack targeting foreigners at a cafe at Gulshan in the capital on July 1, the government took additional security measures for the diplomats working in Dhaka.

At the event, foreigners were advised to take help of law enforcers during visit to other places. l

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policemen were taken yesterday following a newspaper report.

Preferring anonymity, a police official said according to the news report, the four policemen intercepted the businessman when he was at Kallyanpur bus stand buying bus tickets on September 19 around 8:30pm. They frisked him and claimed to have found yaba tablets on him. They later demanded Tk1 lakh from him in default of which they threatened him to implicate in a drug case. The businessman gave them Tk10,000 and some ornaments to get out of trouble. 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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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2016

Rice prices shoot up due to syndicate in Kushtia n Kudrate Khoda Shabuj, Kushtia

The wholesale and retail markets of rice in Kushtia have witnessed a sharp rise in prices due to an alleged manipulation of wholesalers and rice millers.

In last one and a half month, prices of different varieties of rice have risen

by Tk6 to Tk9 per kilogram in Khajanagar of Kushtia, one of the large wholesale markets of rice in the country, affecting the retail markets.

Miniket was sold at Tk46 per kg, Kajol Lata at TK43 and Atash at Tk40 at Millgate in Khajanagar on September 30, while the price of Miniket was Tk40, Kajal Lata Tk34 and Atash Tk34 per kg on August 10, said the members of the district’s mills’ owners’ association.

The rice are being sold at higher prices at retail markets in Kushtia town, eight kilometre away from Khajanagar, than the Milgate, reports our correspondent after visiting the markets.

Housewife Romana Akter and van puller Abbas Mia, who came to Kushtia municipal market to purchase rice, told the Dhaka Tribune that prices of rice rose by Tk4 to Tk5 per kg once again.

They had to buy rice at high prices

before Eid-ul Azha.

They urged the government to take necessary measures in this regard.

There are around 364 government registered rice mills in Khajanagar.

Among them, 31 are automatic rice mills, according to the district’s mills’ owners’ association.

Around 150 trucks with 15 tons of rice each go to different parts of the country, including Dhaka and Chittagong, from Khajanagar every day.

Muktarul Islam Mukti, general secretary to Bangladesh Krishak Shangram Samity (an association that works for farmers’ rights), Kushtia unit, said there was no rice in farmers’ houses. The farmers were now buying rice from markets, he added.

The wholesalers and millers stocked paddy after buying from the farmers at Tk500 per maund four months ago and now, they were selling rice at Tk1000 per maund, said Mukti.

They have paddy and rice in their stocks, as they possess sufficient numbers of storehouses, according to some small mills’ owners in the region.

Nishan Ali, a retailer in the town, said the rice market was unstable right now due to a syndicate of wholesalers.

Joynal Abedin Shadhu, general sec-

retary to Bangladesh Auto Major and Husking Mills’ Owners’ Association, Kushtia unit, and the owner of Dada Rice Mill, said all of the allegations that had been raised against the mills’ owners were not true.

“The mills’ owners are purchasing paddy at higher prices from small traders, who stocked the paddy after buying from farmers, earlier,” said Joynal.

Their storehouses had a capacity of stocking paddy for three months, he added.

Seeking anonymity, an official of Food Department said the prices of rice should not rise now, as there were sufficient stocks of rice in the country.

Besides, the government was selling rice at TK10 per kg to ultra poor people, he added.

Omar Faruk, owner of a big rice mill named Fresh Agro Food Product in Khajanagar, said the prices of rice might not fall till a new harvest.

Jahir Raihan, deputy commissioner of Kushtia, said a discussion would be held with the mills’ owners in this regard.

If proper evidence of manipulating the prices was found against anybody, strict measures would be taken, he added. l

Six women die after two buses collide in Bogra Huda Nasim, n Nazmul Bogra Six women have been killed and 19 others injured, as two buses collided on the Dhaka-Bogra Highway in Kashipur area, Shibganj upazila, Bogra.

Of the deceased, five were identified as Aktara Begum, 28, daughter of Afsar Ali of Lakshmikhola village under Shibganj upzila, Syeda Monowar, 65, wife of Fazlul Karim of Dhaka’s Mohammadpur, Dholi Khatun, 35, daughter of Naya Mia of

Gabtali upzila and her mother Julekha Begum, 55, and Lina Begum, 24, daughter of Abdul Latif, a resident Ramsagar of Dinajpur.

Officer-in-Charge of Mokamtola police station Sub-Inspector Shamim Aktar told the Dhaka Tribune that, two buses collided head-on in the area around 12:30pm, leaving five dead on the spot. Later, another woman died at Shahid Zia Medial College Hospital.

The injured were admitted to the hospital, the SI he added. l

Three teenagers of Bagerhat go missing Samsur Rahman, n SM Bagerhat Three boys of Shonakur village in Kachua upazila of Bagerhat went missing from Pirojpur and Gazipur around one week ago, causing concern among the people of the locality.

Madrasa student Md Ferdous, 13, went missing from Markajul Ulum Modhho Chothaimohol Madrasa at Nazirpur upazila in Pirojpur on September 30, while Enamul Sheikh, 14, and Rana Sheikh, 13, from Gazipur on September 29.

The madrasa authorities informed the family of Ferdous, son of Daud Sheikh, that the boy went missing from the madrasa, according to the family members.

After that, the family members searched the boy every

possible place, in vain.

They informed Kachua police of the incident.

Later, Daud Sheikh filed a general diary with Nazirpur police station. On the other hand, Enamul, son of Fazar Ali, and Rana, son of Monir Sheikh, remained missing after leaving the restaurant they worked in as staff on the day, said Md Jahangir Alam, owner of the restaurant.

“I filed a general diary (GD) with Joydevpur Sadar police station on October 1 in this regard, as I did not find them anywhere,” Jahangir added.

Md Kabirul Islam, officerin-charge of Kachua police station, said Kachua police were also trying to find them though GD had been filed with the police stations of the areas from where they went missing. l

AL leader stabbed to death over money A Shahriar Milton, n SSherpur A local Awami League leader was killed at Nakla upazila in Sherpur yesterday.

The deceased was Khorshedur Rahman, president of Ostadhar union council 9 No ward unit Awami League, and son of Abdus Sobhan.

Local sources said Khorshedur had a grocery shop in the area and one Moina Mian bought some goods from the

shop for credit Tk180.

Later, Khorshedur demanded the money. But Moina denied for giving the payment.

At one stage the duo got locked into altercation over the issue and Moina hacked Khorshedur with a knife leaving him dead on the spot.

Haider Ali, officer-in-charge of Nakla police station, said on police recovered the body and sent it to hospital morgue.

The police also tried to arrest Moina, said the OC. l

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2016

Collapsed Rangamati building built without municipality approval Death toll reaches five were recovered till the night. n Ziaul Haque, Rangamati Five people were rescued in the Owner of the building that collapsed in Kaptai area, Rangamati did not take any approval from Rangamati municipality before the construction of the two-storey structure.

One more body was recovered from under the debris of a building which collapsed in Rangamati’s Kaptai area, taking the death toll to five.

Firefighters recovered the body of Sajidul Islam, 7, yesterday morning, Navy Commander Rayhan told the Dhaka Tribune. The rescue operation has been called off after the recovery of the body, he added.

Sajidul went missing after the two-storey building collapsed on the Kaptai Lake on Tuesday evening. Bodies of four people

rescue mission jointly conducted by firefighters, army, navy and police.

The building collapsed around 5:30pm near Mohila College Gate area of the town. The causes behind the collapse are yet to be known.

Akbar Hossain Chowdhury, mayor of Rangamati municipality, told the Dhaka Tribune that the building had no approval from municipality. The district administration would take action against the owner of the building.

He said they would take actions according to the suggestion of the probe committee formed over the incident.

It is mentionable that soon after the collapse of the build-

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News

New UN commander for Cyprus leaves Dhaka n Tribune Desk

ing, a five-member committee led by additional district magistrate Moazzem Hossain had been formed to investigate the matter.

Other members of the committee are Engineer of Public Works Department Sukomol Chakma and Executive Engineer of Rangamati Atikullah. The committee has been asked to submit its report within 20 working days.

Moreover, the bodies of the deceased were handed over to families yesterday afternoon after post-mortem examinations at Rangamati Sadar Hospital.

Deputy Commissioner Manzarul Mannan handed over Tk1 lakh to each deceased’s families.

People of the locality have become angry with owner of the building Tayeb as his another

building has collapsed recently that left one person killed. Then, a case was also filed against him.

Locals demanded exemplary punishment for the owner.

Tarekul Islam Tuhin, a resident of Kaptai area, said: “We are passing days in anxiety after the collapse of the building. We are compelled to stay here amid risk, as the house rent of the area is comparatively cheaper than district headquarters.”

After the collapse of the building, a case was filed against three people under Building Code act.

Accused of the case are Rezaul Karim, Tayeb, the owner, and Naimuddin Titu.

Police yesterday afternoon said they could not arrest anyone in connection with the collapse. l

New Force Commander of UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus Major General Mohammad Humayun Kabir left Dhaka yesterday for New York.

He will join the mission as new force commander on October 9 after attending a briefing at UN Headquarters in New York, according to a press release of the ISPR. Earlier, he served UN peace missions in Bosnia and Kongo.

He had been in important posts, including general officer commanding of 17 Infantry Division and director of the Directorate of Military Operations at Army Headquarters. l

100 more public toilets in Dhaka n Tribune Desk

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Sayeed Khokon on Wednesday said an initiative has been taken to set up 100 more public toilets in the city within 2017.

Besides, the work for building another 47 toilets is at the final stage while the renovation work of 17 others is underway, he said The DSCC mayor was talking to reporters after inaugurating a modern public toilet at Bahadur Shah Park in the city. WaterAid Bangladesh in association with DSCC set up the toilet.

Funded by H&M Foundation, the toilet has all modern facilities, including locker, pure drinking water and 24-hour electricity. Besides, a closed-circuit camera was installed outside the toilet.

“We’ll develop a planned public sanitation system in the city for all inhabitants of Dhaka, especially for pedestrians, commuters and women, and for those who pass a long time on streets due to heavy traffic,” Khokon said.

He expressed the hope that no unusable public toilet will remain in the city after 2017.

The public toilets are being built in continuation of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed among Dhaka South City Corporation, Dhaka North City Corporation, Dhaka Wasa and WaterAid Bangladesh to ensure environmental health by proper use of public toilets. l

Relatives of a female patient at Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital seen taking her to anywhere after the intern doctors of the hospital call strike yesterday demanding the arrest of a Chhatra League leader AZAHAR UDDIN

N’ganj sets an example of communal harmony Hossain, n Tanveer Narayanganj Setting an example of communal harmony, Muslims of Narayanganj district have come forward with their helping hands to organise Durga Pujas in this year.

In a heart-warming sign that Muslims in Narayanganj district are jointly celebrating the Durga Puja with Hindus and two Muslim people were elected as the president of Puja celebration committees this year.

Noted, Muslims and Hindus in the district had never engaged in riot and used to live like brothers.

According to district puja celebration committee information, this year, 196 Puja pavilions had been set up in district, while 65 in the city.

Sources said, Masudur Rahman Masum and Monjur Hossain were elected as the presidents of Nitaiganj Projonmo Prottasha Puja Celebration Committee and Khanpur Siddhir Gopal Akhra Puja Celebration Committee in the city, respectively.

Shonkar Shah, president of District Puja celebration committee, who was the president of Nitaiganj Projonmo Prottasha Puja Celebration Committee, before taking charge of the district said: “Masudur Rahman was selected as the president of Nitaiganj Projonmo Prottasha Puja Celebration Committee last year.”

Masudur said: “From our childhood, we have been celebrating Eid and Puja altogether. Religion is for community but festival are for all.”

Monjur Hossain said: “I along

with my friends have been clelebrating Eid and Puja from my early life. Later I was selected as the president of Khanpur Siddhir Gopal Akhra Puja Celebration Committee.”

Rabbi Mia, Deputy Commissiner of the district, hoped that this year people from all religions will celebrate puja with joy.

In the meantime, Muslim youths in the district will involve themselves in the task of ensuring security for Puja pavilions (mandap). l

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SOUTH ASIA

Afghanistan wins aid pledges at Brussels talks World powers pledged billions of dollars for war-ravaged Afghanistan until 2020 at talks in Brussels on Wednesday amid fresh calls for the Taliban to make peace 15 years after they were driven from power.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini announced that the 28-nation bloc will pledge $1.5bn a year and said “I would expect similar levels of engagement from our partners.” AFP

INDIA

Bengaluru building collapse: 2 dead, several injured

A five-storey building collapsed in Bengaluru’s Bellandur area on Wednesday, killing two and injuring several others. Rescue workers’ said that eight people managed to escape from the building, while six were pulled out with minor injuries immediately after the collapse. Among those rescued is a 8-year-old son of the dead security guard. TOI

CHINA

Poll: Chinese rank US as top threat Chinese people believe the US is the top threat facing their country, a poll showed Wednesday, with most suspecting the world’s number one economy of trying to prevent China from becoming an equal power. A survey by the Washington-based Pew Research Center revealed 45% of Chinese consider US power and influence to be a major threat. AFP

ASIA PACIFIC

Vietnam slashes jail term for dissident blogger A Ho Chi Minh City court slashed the sentence of a convicted blogger whose family helped the communist regime during the Vietnam War, a rare reprieve for a dissident in the authoritarian country. Nguyen Dinh Ngoc is one of scores of activists and bloggers behind bars in Vietnam, which has one of the worst press freedom rankings in the world. AFP

MIDDLE EAST

Air strike kills 21 Iraqi progovernment fighters At least 21 Sunni tribal fighters were killed in an airstrike south of Mosul in the early hours of Wednesday when they were mistaken for Islamic State militants, Iraqi police said. Whether the aircraft that carried out the attack belonged to the Iraqi air force or the US-led coalition could not be determined. REUTERS

India tries to hasten US defence deals amid election uncertainty n Reuters, New Delhi India is trying to hasten a deal with the United States to buy Predator drone aircraft for military surveillance, one of several defence and nuclear projects the two sides are pursuing in the final months of the Obama administration.

India’s request for 22 Predator Guardian drones made in June is in an advanced stage of negotiations.

The two sides hope to make enough progress so only administrative tasks remain by the time President Barack Obama leaves office, government officials in New Delhi said.

“It is progressing well. The aim is to complete the main process in the next few months,” said one of the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has built personal ties with President Barack Obama, whose signature foreign policy move has been a strategic pivot to Asia from the Middle East.

The United States has dislodged Russia as the top arms supplier to India. New Delhi is also on the cusp of sealing a US nuclear reactor deal worth billions of dollars.

In return, Washington has given New Delhi access to high-end military technology, such as a new system to launch planes off aircraft carriers, and leaned on other countries to give India membership in the Missile Technology Control Regime, which cleared the way for the sale of the unarmed Predator.

India’s military has also asked for the armed version of the Predator to help target suspected militant camps in Pakistan but US export control laws prohibit such a transfer.

US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter, who visited India in April, is expected to make a final trip there towards the end of the year.

“The administration is eager to get as much done as is humanly possible. They believe the conditions and the personnel in both capitals are uniquely favourable at the moment, and are eager to consolidate and institutionalize the progress,” said Jeff Smith, director of Asia Security Programs at the American Foreign Policy Council.

‘America first’

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy statements have raised questions in India and other Asian nations about a US pullback from Asia.

Trump has said US allies, such as Japan and South Korea, should

INDIA-US STRATEGIC TANGO BILATERAL PACTS Expansive new 10-year defence framework of June 2015 underlines expanding collaboration in maritime security, joint exercises, intelligence sharing & defence production US wants three foundational agreements LSA, CISMOA & BECA. Talks on LSA in advanced stage

JOINT PROJECTS

ARMS SALES US largest arms supplier to India over last 4 years, overtaking Russia, Israel & France Several other Has bagged deals in pipeline. contracts Include $1bn for worth over 4 more P-81 $14bn since maritime patrol 2007 aircraft & $770m for 145 M-777 ultra-light howitzers

JOINT EXERCISE India & US hold 50 exercises annually, from table-top ones to full-fledged combat ones Bilateral Malabar naval exercise now includes Japan as regular participant despite China’s protests. After last Malabar in Bay of Bengal in October, next one off Okinawa in June Four IAF Sukhoi-30MKIs, 4 Jaguars, 2 IL-78 mid-air refuellers & 2 C-17 Globemaster-III aircraft on way to Alaska for Red Flag exercise from April 28 to May 13

2 Jaguars being re-fuelled over Armies hold Dubai by-IL-78 counter-terror Vajra while on way to Prahar & Yudh Abhyas Red Flag annual exercises exercise in US Two ‘Pathfinder’ projects on Joint working groups on mobile generators & NBC warfare co-development of jet engines protection gear being finalised and aircraft carrier technologies

pay more towards their defence.

He told the New York Times in an interview in March he could withdraw US troops from bases in Japan, and raised the idea of letting Japan and South Korea develop their own nuclear arsenals.

“It is a serious concern, and may lead to Chinese pre-eminence in Asia far sooner than expected,” said Dhruva Jaishankar, a specialist on India-US ties at Brookings India.

But Trump adviser Walid Phares, an American scholar and expert on Islamist radicals and counter-terrorism, said India had no reason to worry.

“With India, there is the ongoing partnership against terror and both countries have suffered from jihadi urban attacks. One can only project cooperation,” Phares said.

Modi’s office set up a six-member research group in July to help identify ways to engage with Trump, an aide said.

India’s diaspora in the United States, led by the Overseas Friends of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party,

has also opened a line to both presidential campaigns.

The comfort level is much higher with the Democratic candidate, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, said a member of the Overseas Friends of BJP who is based in New Delhi.

Manoj Ladwa, a London-based political strategist who served as communications director for Modi’s 2014 campaign, said Trump had sent contradictory messages to India.

“On the one hand, he says he values business relations with India, but then mimics Indian call centre workers, and disregards the competitiveness that a partnership with India could provide the US,” he said.

“His unpredictability is worrisome in a world that requires steady and mature statesmanship.”

Strategic programmes

The centrepiece of the military collaboration is the help the United States is giving India in developing

its biggest aircraft carrier.

Washington has offered flight launch technology that is being inducted into its own carriers to fly heavier fighter planes off the deck, which could allow the Indian navy to leapfrog a generation of technology.

In June, the United States reached agreement on exchanging confidential information on development of carriers with India - its only non-treaty ally with such an arrangement.

“They have already started helping us on our first indigenous carrier, in terms of certification, quality testing,” said the Indian government official. “The challenge will be to sustain the momentum over the next decade.”

In August the Modi government signed a logistics agreement giving each country access to the other’s military bases, after 10 years of negotiations. Also on the table are two other defence agreements, one on securing communications and the other on sharing spatial data that Washington has been pushing for. l

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Myanmar asked to review disputed terrorism case after law reform n Reuters, Yangon

Campaigners are calling for Myanmar to review the convictions of 20 Muslims jailed on terrorism charges after the Southeast Asian country repealed an authoritarian law under which they were convicted.

President Htin Kyaw had signed off on a bill abolishing the notorious Emergency Provisions Act of 1950, which was frequently used by previous military governments to quash dissent, his office said in a statement on Tuesday.

But the repeal is not retroactive, and the convictions of 20 Myanmar Muslims serving lengthy prison terms under the law were not being reviewed, ruling party and government spokesmen have told Reuters, despite activists’ concerns about the judicial process.

“It is incumbent upon the government to review cases that involve defendants who possibly were wrongly convicted under this law,” said Matthew Smith, founder of campaign group Fortify Rights.

“To not do so raises some serious questions about the government’s commitment to ensuring the prisons are free from political prisoners.”

Aung San Suu Kyi, the democracy hero and Nobel laureate who

assumed power in April after winning elections last year, has been criticized for not speaking up for Myanmar’s Muslim minority.

Communal violence in the western Rakhine State displaced about 125,000, most from the Rohingya Muslim group. Riots have broken out elsewhere in the Buddhist-majority country, while anti-Muslim hate speech has proliferated online.

Lawyers and family members told Reuters the 20, most hailing from central Myanmar, were travelling to a wedding in the eastern Shan State in August 2014 when they were detained by military intelligence officials, accused of plotting terrorist atrocities and charged under the 1950 law.

In January 2015, 19 men and women were sentenced to 14 years in prison each and a boy, who was 15 when he was arrested, got seven years, said lawyer Khin Moe Moe. “Usually we’re not able to defend people in cases involving Military Security Affairs. They have a policy to never lose,” she said, referring to the military intelligence agency.

Several appeals had been rejected, Khin Moe Moe said.

“The president agreed this law led to mistreatment of the people, and many still suffer in prisons

Aung San Suu Kyi

REUTERS

throughout the country, so they should have an amnesty,” she said.

‘Years wasted’

One of the 20, Bo Bo Aung, had hoped for release when the new government took power, but that hope had faded, his wife, Khin Moe Aye, told Reuters.

“It’s two years wasted in prison,” she said. “My family and others are suffering because these people were jailed without justice by the previous government.”

Lieutenant Colonel Myat Min Soe, a military intelligence official involved in the investigation, said that while no weapons had

been discovered, the suspects had all confessed under interrogation to contacting unidentified militants.

“They tried to link with a terrorist organisation from a foreign country. They planned to attack busy markets and crowded areas,” he said.

According to Fortify Rights, which has reviewed more than 300 pages of court documents, a name card for a rebel army commander and an audio file of a speech with alleged Islamist militant content, retrieved from a computer, were the only evidence presented to court. l

NEGOTIATING BRITAIN'S EXIT FROM THE EU These two men will lead the talks Member of Parliament (deputy) 1987 Foreign Office 1994 minister -97

Ran for the Conservative 2005 Party leadership, but beaten in first round

by David Cameron

David Davis 67 years old (GBR)

Secretary of State for Exiting the 2016 European Union

prime minister Theresa May, David Davis—a strong privacy advocate—most recently sat on the Commons’ back benches as he campaigned against the thenhome secretary’s so-called Snoop-

Early voting underway in US presidential race Tens of thousands of Americans have already cast their votes for Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump or other candidates well ahead of November’s presidential election, part of an early voting tradition that is gaining popularity. According to professor Michael McDonald, an early voting specialist at the University of Florida, about 130,000 people have already voted - out of 130m expected voters. AFP

THE AMERICAS

Head-to-head: How Barnier and Davis compare Born in 1951, Michel Barnier is the younger of the two, but only by three years. Where there are greater differences is in terms of when they went into politics. Barnier graduated from the ESCP European Business School in Paris and was elected at the age of 27 as Member of the French National Assembly.

Davis, on the other hand, pursued a career in business before being elected MP for the Boothferry constituency in 1987 at the age of 38.

Barnier, who twice served as a European commissioner (internal market and services, 2010-2014, and regional policy and institutional reform, 1999-2004) most recently held the post of security and defence special adviser to the commission’s president. Over in France, Barnier had held ministerial posts in agriculture (20072009), foreign affairs (2004–2005), European affairs (1995-1997), and the environment (1993-1995).

Before being appointed Brexit chief on July 14 by new UK

USA

Colombia ceasefire with Farc to end October 31

BREXIT NEGOTIATIONS

n Tribune International Desk

DT

World

1978 Deputy 1993 -95 1995 -97 992004 2004 -05 2007 -09 2010 -14

The EU negotiating team Michel Barnier Commission Sabine Weyand (GER) Deputising Guy Verhofstadt (BEL) EU Parliament Didier Seeuws (BEL) Council of Europe

(France) Environment minister

European affairs minister European Commissioner for regional policy French Foreign Affairs Minister for farming and fisheries European Commisioner for the internal market and financial services 2015 Defence advisor to -16 J.C. Juncker Juil Chief negotiaor, EU 2016 side, for Brexit talks

ers’ Charter. Prior to that, he held senior positions when the Conservative Party was the main opposition to New Labour. He was shadow home secretary (20032008), shadow lord chancellor

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said Tuesday that a ceasefire with Farc rebels will end on October 31, as both sides scramble to find a solution to the half-century conflict after voters rejected a peace deal. “I hope we can move forward to realise the necessary agreement to find a solution to this conflict,” Santos said in a televised address. AFP

UK

Farage rules out UKIP return after successor quits Nigel Farage ruled out returning to lead Britain’s anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) on Wednesday after his successor unexpectedly stepped down just 18 days into the job. Diane James’s resignation plunges Britain’s third biggest party into further disarray as it grapples with in-fighting and an existential crisis following the vote to leave the European Union AFP

EUROPE

2 Brussels police stabbed in possible terrorist attack Two police officers were stabbed in Brussels on Wednesday in what prosecutors said could have been a terrorist attack. According to public broadcaster VRT, one officer was stabbed in the neck and another in the stomach. The attacker, identified as 43-year-old Belgian Hicham D, was shot in the leg and taken away by ambulance, prosecutors said in a statement, adding that the police officers’ wounds were not life-threatening. REUTERS

AFRICA

Morocco votes after 5 years under Islamists Michel Barnier 65 years old (FRA)

and shadow justice secretary (2002-2003), and foreign minister (1994-1997) during the Tories’ wilderness years. Since May 1997, Davis has been the MP for Haltemprice and Howden. l

Morocco will elect a parliament on Friday for the first time since an Islamist-led government took office following Arab Spring uprisings that toppled leaders across the region. The Islamist Justice and Development Party came to power in 2011 after swelling protests prompted concessions from King Mohammed VI, the scion of a monarchy that has ruled the North African country for 350 years. AFP

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FACTCHECK

Claims in the vice-presidential debate n Tribune International Desk Virginia Senator Tim Kaine repeatedly challenged Mike Pence during Tuesday’s vice presidential debate, attempting to tie the Indiana governor to some of Donald Trump’s most controversial statements about women, immigrants and foreign policy. Trump’s running mate maintained a folksy, soft-spoken demeanour, even as he mounted an uneven defence of the New York billionaire, reports The Associated Press.

The two men engaged in a surprisingly contentious back-and-forth on the debate stage at Longwood University, a 90-minute exchange that introduced two little-known politicians to the national stage.

Not all the claims in the vice presidential debate stand up to scrutiny. A look at some of them and how they compare with Fact Republican Mike Pence: “The fact that under this past administration, we’ve almost doubled the national debt is atrocious. ... Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine want more of the same.”

Fact: As a share of the total US economy, the national debt has gone up 35%; not a doubling.

Still, the debt has ballooned to $19.6tn.

This largely reflected efforts by the Obama administration to stop the Great Recession.

The Clinton plan with its tax increases would increase the gross debt — both privately and publicly held— by $450bn over 10 years. Mind you, that is on top of an $8.8tn increase already projected by the government under current law.

As for Donald Trump, the committee says his tax-cut-heavy plan would increase the gross debt by $4.3tn —nearly 10 times more

than Clinton’s plan would do.

Democrat Tim Kaine on immigration: “Our plan is like Ronald Reagan in 1986.”

Fact: There are similarities for sure but Clinton’s proposal would have far broader impact.

The estimated population of immigrants living in the United States illegally is now roughly 11 million. In 1986, the so-called Reagan amnesty bill legalized the immigration status of about 3 million people.

There are also some notable differences between the law signed by President Reagan and Clinton’s proposal. The Reagan law included a provision that made it illegal for businesses to hire workers who don’t have the legal right to work in the United States.

Enforcement of that provision has never fully materialized. Clinton’s plan as laid out in her campaign website does not address workforce enforcement.

Kaine on Trump’s tax plan: “The second component of the plan is massive tax breaks for the very top, trillions of dollars of tax breaks for people just like Donald Trump. The problem with this ... is that’s exactly what we did 10 years ago and it put the economy into the deepest recession — the deepest recession since the 1930s.”

Fact: There’s no serious argument that the Bush tax cuts brought on the recession. The recession was driven largely by the bust in the housing market. Critics might blame lax oversight by the Bush administration of the financial markets and of lenders, but the tax cuts were not a major factor in the recession.

It’s true they failed to spur significant income growth before the housing bubble popped nearly a decade ago, leading to a wave of foreclosures as the economy plunged into its deepest downturn since the Great Depression.

Kaine on fighting the Islamic State: “Donald Trump doesn’t have a plan.”

Fact: Clinton also doesn’t have a plan that is materially different than what President Barack Obama is already doing.

THE RACE FOR US VICE-PRESIDENT The 2 nominees debate in Farmville, Virginia

Tim Kaine Democrat

Mike Pence Republican

Age: 58

57

Moderate Democrat Senator for Virginia Former governor of Virginia Ex Democratic Party president Lawyer, Spanish speaker Debate audiences in millions of TV viewers

69.9 Joe Biden

Sarah Palin Oct 2008

Describes himself as “Christian, conservative and Republican” Governor of Indiana Lawyer Senior Republican leader Former supporter of Ted Cruz in the primaries

51.4

Joe Biden Paul Ryan Oct 2012

Pence: Calling Clinton the “architect of the Obama administration’s foreign policy,” says the crisis in Syria was the result of a “failed and weak foreign policy that Hillary Clinton helped lead.”

Fact: Clinton, as secretary of state, actually pushed for increased US intervention after Syrian President Bashar Assad used chemical weapons against rebels. But Obama is the commander in chief and nothing has swayed him thus far. Whatever her failings might be on foreign policy, it’s a stretch to accuse her of helping to lead a weak policy on Syria.

Pence: “Hillary Clinton had a private server in her home that had classified information on it about drone strikes. Emails from the president of the United States of America were on there, her private server was subject to being hacked by foreign ...”

Kaine: “A Republican FBI director did an investigation and concluded ... there was no reasonable prosecutor who would take it further.”

Fact: Both are right, but they left out key details. Of 30,000 emails examined from Clinton’s private server, more than 2,000 did contain some classified information. But nearly all were designated classified long after they were either sent or received by Clinton. FBI Director James Comey also said the FBI found that Clinton’s server was vulnerable to hacking by foreign powers but found no evidence that her system was breached.

Pence: “We’ve seen an economy stifled by more taxes, more regulation, a war on coal.”

Fact: The coal industry’s woes don’t come solely from onerous federal regulations.

Pence omitted the effects of steep competition from cheap natural gas. l

International court rejects Marshall Islands nuclear case n Tribune International Desk The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday rejected suits filed by the tiny Marshall Islands against the world’s nuclear powers that sought to force them to do more to disarm. Though the suits failed on procedural grounds, India, Pakistan and Britain were brought to the court to answer the complaint at public hearings in April.

In its ruling in the country’s case against India, the first of the three to be decided on Wednesday, the court said it had accepted Indian arguments that the ICJ, also known as the World Court, should not have jurisdiction in the case.

Judges said that while the Marshall Islands may not be satisfied with progress on nuclear disarmament, it had failed to show that it has any ongoing legal dispute with India fit for the court to adjudicate. It later rejected the Marshall Islands’ suit against Pakistan on the same grounds. The third suit, against Britain, was still to be decided.

The other nuclear powers, including declared powers China, France, Russia and the United States, as well as undeclared nuclear states Israel and North Korea, did not respond to the suit the islands filed last year.

The Marshall Islands, population 53,000, was the site of dozens of atomic-bomb tests by the United States after World War Two. It had argued that nuclear powers were failing

to adhere to the 1970 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, notably by developing a new generation of “tactical” nuclear weapons.

In 1996, at the request of the UN General Assembly, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion on nuclear weapons. Besides finding them probably illegal unless possibly used in self defence, it also found that countries are obliged “to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects.”

Horrific weapons

The so-called “Operation Castle” tests in March and April 1954 were particularly devastating and resulted in massive contamination due to nuclear fall-out. The NPT commits all nuclear weapon states “to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date.”

Critics had argued however that the ICJ action was a distraction as the islanders’ real fight was with Washington. They contended the case was unrelated to the victims’ claims for increased compensation, better health care and clean-ups to render the sites habitable again.

The islands hoped however to reignite the debate over the disarmament talks, which have stalled over the past two decades. l

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2016

TOP STORIES

Government urged to defuse energy crisis for RMG sector n Tribune Business Desk

WB: Brexit has little impact on Asia Britain’s shock decision to leave the European Union will not be as damaging to developing Asia’s economies as feared, the World Bank said yesterday as it increased its growth forecast for the region this year. PAGE 13

Stocks continue uptrend on large-cap vibe Stock markets yesterday continued the upward trend when the large-cap securities of the market advanced further on active buying.

PAGE 13

Facebook launches buy-and-sell ‘Marketplace’ Facebook yesterday launched a new online “Marketplace” allowing members of the huge social network to buy and sell with each other. PAGE 14

IMF: European bank woes highlight global financial risks European banks’ weakness looms large on the horizon as threat to global financial system, with thin margins and an unsafe share of poor quality loans, the IMF said yesterday. PAGE 15

Capital market snapshot: Wednesday DSE Broad Index

4,714.1

Index

1,130.1

0.1% ▲

30 Index

1,783.9

-0.1% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk

5,267.9

-6.3% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

173.5

-6.4% ▼

All Share Index 14,491.6

0.2% ▲

30 Index

0.1% ▲

0.1% ▲

CSE

Selected Index Turnover in Mn Tk Turnover in Mn Vol

13,095.4 8,822.3

0.1% ▲

384.0

16.3% ▲

11.4 -10.1% ▼

RMG manufacturers have called upon the government not to hike gas prices and resolve gas and electricity supply problems to help the industry attain $50 billion export target by 2021.

They made the call at an inaugural ceremony of the two-day Denimsandjeans.com Bangladesh Expo held in the capital yesterday.

The show ends today.

The sixth edition of Denimsandjeans.com Bangladesh show began at Radisson Blu with the aim of sharing information about the latest fashion trends in denim products and bridging a relation between buyers and manufacturers.

The exhibition provides a platform for the global denim manufacturers, buyers and retailers to assemble with the objective to share, interact and establish business ties with the suppliers of Bangladesh.

“In the country, there is a good number of green and global standard RMG factories complied with safety issues. If the present export growth continues, Bangladesh will be able to fetch $50 billion exporting apparel products by 2021,” said Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) vice-president Fazlul Haque.

He suggested that the government resolve gas and electricity crisis and ensure that gas prices

RMG workers at a garment factory in Dhaka do not increase.

If these issues are addressed properly in line with political stability, Bangladesh will make tremendous progress, added the BTMA leader.

“Bangladesh has made a lot of progress in denim products and manufacturing quality products,” Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh, Devrim Öztürk, said while addressing the programme as the chief guest.

“There are some good factories in the country and I hope the export of denim products from Bangladesh would see a big jump in the next few years.”

In the expo, Bangladeshi participants have shown strength of denim industry, which is growing very fast with innovation and quality products and also with ontime delivery.

The booming denim industry has great potential, the market of

RAJIB DHAR

which is expected to reach $64.1 billion by 2021. 70% of the amount could come from Asia.

The country has become the key manufacturing and sourcing hub among Asian countries. Nurturing this hope, the show has come into being and it would help bring global denim buyers land here.

Some 28 companies from across the world participated in the expo with their latest trendy denim fashion products. l

5 million users opt for WoWBox lifestyle n Tribune Business desk The new WowBox App reached 5 million authenticated users in with still ongoing strong user growth,” says a Grameenphone statement released yesterday.

Launched in May 2015 in Bangladesh, WowBox has attracted youths through its unique offering of highly contemporary content, exciting deals and exclusive offers. Its vast user base of 5 million has made WowBox the most used lifestyle application in Bangladesh with over 1.5 million weekly active users.

The WowBox App works as a distribution channel both for Grameenphone and local partners. A potentially key tool to reach Telenor´s “Internet For All” – target, both by engaging with existing, and acquiring new, Internet users. WowBox aggregates

lifestyle in a uniquely rewarding manner.

With the app, Grameenphone subscribers can easily access a wide range of engaging content such as trending news, sports, smart health tips, jokes, fun-toplay games, free latest music, best hotel and restaurants deals, and last but not the least—special offers on Grameenphone products.

Customers are not charged data for using WowBox, thanks to its zero-rated free to surf platform.

Furthermore, WowBox provides exclusive offers and deals ranging from weekly 20MB free data to discounts and privileges at restaurants and hotels.

“The immense popularity of WowBox, within one and half year of its launch, foretells the future of digital services in Bangladesh.

Grameenphone has an ambition

to digitise the lifestyle of the people of Bangladesh through introducing new and innovative digital services with the support of local and global innovators. WowBox supports our vision to become customers’ favorite digital partner, as we strive to simplify the life of our customers through digi-

talisation,” said Yasir Azman, CMO of Grameenphone.

Over the upcoming months, more and more exciting new features will come to the application as it aims to continuously excite users through creative communication, enriched content and attractive offers. l

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2016

WB: Brexit has little impact on Asia n AFP, Singapore Britain’s shock decision to leave the European Union will not be as damaging to developing Asia’s economies as feared, the World Bank said yesterday as it increased its growth forecast for the region this year.

Countries in the Mekong region led by Myanmar are projected to expand at the fastest pace in the next three years, the bank said in an updated report on East Asia and the Pacific, though Thailand was projected to be a laggard.

World Bank chief Asia economist Sudhir Shetty said the upgrade for the regional economy came after the group noticed positive early results from the June 23 vote by Britain to leave the EU. “That has translated also into relative stability in terms of exchange rates and in terms of capital flows, so that has been helpful for this region,” he told Asia-based journalists in a video conference from Washington.

Global markets went into freefall immediately after the vote as dealers feared a recession in Britain that could hit the global economy.

But since then, world markets have

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim takes to the stage to deliver remarks at the plenary session at the IMF-World Bank annual meetings at Constitution Hall in Washington REUTERS rallied and Britain’s economy is picking up.

Shetty said based on the bank’s initial analysis “the bottom line right now is that there’s likely to

be very little impact of Brexit” over the short term as the region is “not very connected” to Britain in terms of trade and financial links.

The region’s developing econo-

mies will grow 5.8% this year, the Washington-based institution said, up 0.1 percentage point from its forecast made in April. It also tipped 5.7% growth in 2017 and 2018.

Stocks continue Britain starts Brexit; now so might banks uptrend on largepreserve most of the access to the as the ECB’s back yard will appeal. n George Hay single market. It depends how genWhile it would be a brave bank that cap vibe erous the remaining 27 member goes first, none will want to be last Britain’s newly updated timetable for states want to be.

– which suggests when relocations leaving the European Union starts Tribune Business Desk n The worst-case scenario would start, they will happen en masse. the clock ticking for jittery LonStock markets yesterday continued the upward trend when the large-cap securities of the market advanced further on active buying.

All the major sectors, including ceramics, IT, food and allied, engineering and financial institution, maintained price indices in green zone at the country’s twin stock exchanges, reports BSS. The broader DSEX of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) finished the day 5.26 points up at 4714.05. The Shariah DSES followed it by 0.71 points up at 1130.07. The blue-chips DS30 was slightly 1.07 points down at 1783.85.

Similarly, the prime CASPI index at Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) was 22.83 points up at 14491.59.

The transaction at DSE was over 17.35 crore shares and the total value of the shares was around Taka 527 crore. At DSE, out of the day’s 322 traded issues, 148 closed higher against 111 losing scrips. At CSE, 250 issues traded while 126 closed higher against 86 closed lower.

The major gaining issues were Standard Ceramic, Intech, Gemini Sea Food, Renwick Ja and Premier Lea. The major losing issues were Standard Insurance, Fine Foods, Beach Hatchery, Shyampur Sugar Mills and Pragati Insurance. l

don-based foreign banks. UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s Oct 2 revelation that the official two-year process will kick off by March at the latest adds much-needed clarity to the timing of Brexit. It also makes banks more likely to start shifting staff.

The likes of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan still don’t know what kind of deal the UK will get from its negotiations. Even if May were to outline her negotiating objectives and strategy in detail, financial groups wouldn’t know if they face a “hard” Brexit whereby they are no longer able to do business with European counterparties, or an equivalent regime that could

be to wind up locked out of doing certain kinds of business once the two years is up. That means, though, that the time to start moving has already passed. Relocating a big chunk of staff is a process that could take at least three years, according to one senior banker. The process for UK-based firms to gain equivalence could take a lot longer than that.

Most of all, moving early means having the pick of real estate, and being at the front of what will be a long and probably slow-moving queue to be vetted by the European Central Bank. Paris has already been giving London-based groups the hard sell, while Frankfurt’s status

There’s clearly a risk of jumping the gun. But May’s deadline – supported by ardent Brexiters in her cabinet – also means Britain will begin its negotiation in the middle of next year’s German and French election campaigns. Sterling’s depreciation on Oct 3 suggests the chances of access to the single market on Britain’s current terms are getting slimmer. For global banks that points in one direction: away from London. l George Hay coordinates European financial coverage and writes about macroeconomics, the euro zone and UK/European financial policy.

Marcel new fridges catch the upswing n Tribune Business desk

Marcel’s new models of refrigerators, featured with equal space for both normal and deep chambers, have received huge response from consumers as it has more space to store food stuff.

Marcel, a local manufacturer of electronics and home appliances, has released three models of refrigerators in August targeting Eid

ul-Azha sales. Within a short time, these refrigerators drew a huge customer attention for their unique designs, said a press release.

Abul Kashem, a resident of Hasangonipur village of Dagonbhuiyan Police Station in Feni, said: “For a long time, I had been waiting for such a refrigerator in which I could preserve sufficient amount of fish and meat, but I could not find large deep-based re-

frigerator in the fridge outlets.”

As there are refrigerators in few families in villages, neighbours request the families, who have refrigerators, to preserve their fish and meat.

Thus a large deep-based refrigerator is very essential. In August this year, I bought a refrigerator of Marcel brand, which has large and equal space for both normal and deep chamber, he said. l

The bank, however, warned a hike in US interest rates, widely expected in December, and a potential sharp slowdown in China could impact its forecast.

Myanmar, which has embraced democracy following decades of military rule, will grow 7.8% this year, 8.4% in 2017 and 8.3% in 2018.

Once isolated Myanmar has rapidly transformed itself into one of the world’s fastest growing economies since its once brutal junta handed power to a reformist government in 2010, sparking the lifting of most international sanctions and a flood of foreign investment.

The impoverished nation has boasted average growth rates above eight percent the past five years.

However, while the World Bank report noted stronger-than-expected growth in Thailand during the first half of 2016 it added that “a broad-based and self-sustaining recovery has yet to take hold.” It projected 3.1% expansion for 2016, up from 2.8% last year.

Thailand’s economy has struggled with years of political instability since the military seized power in 2014. l

Thailand keen to import Hilsa fish from Bangladesh n Tribune report Thailand is interested in importing Hilsa fish from Bangladesh to meet its fish demand. Thai Ambassador to Bangladesh Panpimon expressed his country’s interest for importing Bangladeshi Hilsha fish during a meeting with the Fisheries and Livestock Minister Sayedul Haque at the latter’s secretariat office in the city yesterday.

During the meeting, the minister also expressed his willingness to explore the possibility of the exporting fish from the country.

The minister also informed the Thai Ambassador about a record amount of Hilsh fish caught this season and he sought Thai assistance in fishery sector.

Thai Ambassador invited the fishery minister to visit Thailand while and the minister requested the Thai Fisheries Minister to visit Bangladesh for assessing the possibility to export Hilsa fish from Bangladesh.

Thai ambassador said for export Hilsa fish from Bangladesh to Thailand as these sector requirement accept the Bangladeshi export goods to Thailand.

Bangladeshi minister said: “There is huge demand of Hilsha fish in neighbouring West Bengal, India. l

Business

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2016

Facebook launches buyand-sell ‘Marketplace’ n AFP, San Francisco Facebook yesterday launched a new online “Marketplace” allowing members of the huge social network to buy and sell with each other.

The new feature puts Facebook squarely in competition with local online selling platforms led by Craigslist, and offers an alternative to mar-

ketplaces like eBay. Facebook said the new program formalizes what some members have already been doing in Facebook Groups for years.

“Facebook is where people connect, and in recent years more people have been using Facebook to connect in another way: buying and selling with each other,” said product manager Mary Ku in a blog post. l

CORPORATE NEWS

Mr Kazi Zeeshan Hasan, director, Kazi Food Industries Limited (KFIL), has recently inaugurated the 45th franchise outlet of Kazifarms Kitchen at Main Road, Mirpur 11, Dhaka 1216. Zakaria Hossain, head of Marketing, and Mizanoor Rahman, head of Sales of KFIL, were, among others, present on the occasion. Fried and frozen food stuff, plus two brands of ice cream — Bellissimo and Za’n Zee — are available at the outlet. The new outlet offers a 20% discount on its fried and frozen items only from 3rd to 9th October

bKash Limited has recently signed an agreement with Association of Export Oriented Ship Building Industries of Bangladesh (AEOSIB), said a press release. AEOSIB will disburse monthly allowances to the participants of its training programmes under the agreement. CEO of bKash, Kamal Quadir and Engr Md Sakhawat Hossain, general secretary of AEOSIB have signed the agreement

Samsung Electronics Bangladesh has recently opened a new shop in Chittagong, said a press release. The company’s managing director, Seungwon Youn inaugurated the shop

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Advertisement

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2016

IMF: European bank woes highlight global financial risks n AFP, Washington European banks’ weakness looms large on the horizon as threat to global financial system, with thin margins and an unsafe share of poor quality loans, the IMF said yesterday.

The International Monetary

Fund’s review of the health of the world’s financial system came as global investor jitters persisted over the fate of Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest but capital-weak and troubled lender.

Dangers in the near-term have lessened since April, according

the Fund, as commodity and asset prices rise and markets adjust to the shocks of Britain’s vote to secede from the European Union.

But trouble is brewing in the medium-term, according to the global crisis lender, which said that more broadly, banks, retirement funds

and insurance companies needed to clean their portfolios and adjust to an era of low growth and low rates.

In advanced economies, 25% of banks, holding $11.7tn in assets, would remain weak even in a cyclical recovery. The solvency of many life insurance companies and pen-

sion funds is threatened by the prolonged period of low interest rates intended to stimulate recovery from the Great Recession.

Weak credit demand in advanced economies, in addition to low rates, is also hindering profitability, according to the IMF. l

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Agro aid through the wire How communications networks are changing the face of agriculture

nMahmood Sadi When it comes to seeking agricultural advice, most farmers in Bangladesh’s rural countryside still prefer the age old style - learning from the elders.

Agricultural advice flies free in the village tea shops under the banyan tree, or in the courtyard of the matobbor (wise man in village).

With the modernisation of seeds, fertiliser and pesticides, the advice from the elders often fail to save the day for the new farmers.

So, the next best option for the farmers is to seek information and advice from the government appointed agricultural officer in the vicinity.

However, a farmer seeking information and farming advice through dialling into call centres, or using the Internet or mobile apps, was still a rare occurrence in the rural areas of Bangladesh.

Until a few years ago. Now, this is an everyday reality.

Meet Jahir Uddin, a farmer from Kapasia of Gazipur. Jahir cultivates rice, potato and chillies throughout the year. For long, he has been consulting the elders or the local agricultural officer whenever he faced any problems.

Now, he calls into the call centre.

Advice through the wire

A few days ago, Jahir was facing problems with his tomato cultivation.

“During the upcoming winter season, I planted tomato in three bighas of my land. After few days, many of the tomato plants were attacked by insects - I didn’t know what to do. A fellow farmer advised me to call the call centre.

He gave me a number that I dialled and explained my problem. The person at the other end of the line advised me to use a certain pesticide. I used it and got the benefit almost immediately,” said Jahir Uddin.

He soon spread the word to other farmers. “Now, many of us consider calling that number as it is very beneficial. Whenever we face any problem, we do that,” he added.

The number that Jahir dialled was 16123 and the person who received the call and provided advice accordingly was a designated person employed by the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) of the Bangladesh government.

Solutions to nearly all problems

Tahsin Rahman, an agricultural officer of DAE, said that one can get all sorts of information and consultation by calling this number. “Our call centre service is located in Khamarbari in Dhaka.

Here, designated agricultural officers are assigned to receive the calls and listen what the farmers have to say.”

Rahman said that they have ready solutions for all the common problems. “We have charts and manuals for all sort of crops.

Whenever we receive any common complaint related with farming, pesticide and fertiliser usage, we immediately provide the necessary solutions.”

He also said that if they come across any new problem for which they don’t have immediate solutions, or need to visit the site in person to understand the actual scenario, they provide necessary advice, numbers and addresses, so that farmers can contact the agricultural officers at the zone where they are located.

Farmers can call the centre on any day except Fridays and government holidays, from 9 am to 5 pm. At first farmers were able to call the centres free of charge, but now they need to spend 25 paisa per minute to make calls into the number.

“This call centre service has been immensely popular among the farmers, and its popularity is increasing day by day,” said Rahman, adding that the DAE started the initiative in June 2014.

Similar initiatives taken by mobile operators

The initiative of aiding farmers through call centre services is still a very new concept in the country.

Mobile operator Banglalink first started the service of providing agricultural advice at its call centres. Other operators and some non-governmental organisations also took several initiatives to aid farmers through digital services.

Banglalink now provides different services to the farmers through its ‘Banglalink Krishi Jiggasha’. A farmer can call 7676 and can ask all sort of questions related to farming and agriculture.

Banglalink has been providing this service since 2008, and it has created a database comprising of nearly 40,000 questions and answers related to farming, pesticide and fertiliser usage and

Photo: Bigstock many more. They also started a separate service in 2011. Under that service, a farmer can call 2474 and can place queries about the market price of any agricultural products. They can also receive advice on buying crops and where to sell crops for maximising profits.

Grameenphone has also started a service for helping farmers. The operator provides agricultural services to the farmers through its 27676 call centre number.

Grameenphone is also aiding the DAE to facilitate it service.

Providing similar services to farmers, Robi has an SMS-based ‘mfarmer’ service. It also has another call centre service named ‘Krishi Barta’. Through these two services, the farmers not only get various information and advice, but also can learn about the weather forecast.

Other initiatives to make life easy for farmers

Meanwhile, a non-government organisation named Bangladesh Institute of ICT in Development (BIID) has been providing call centre and ICT services to farmers since 2008.

One of its services, named ‘e-krishak’, is very popular among the farmers. Under ‘e-krishak’, there is a helpline for getting agricultural information, advice on marketing the products online and planning assistance for maximising profit on cultivation.

The farmers can get these services by calling 16250.

Grameen-Intel Social Business, another social business company, has also started providing services to the farmers through mobile apps and call centres.

Under a project titled ‘krishē’, Grameen-Intel engages a call center to reach farmers located at remote places with appropriate fertiliser related information. The combination of telecommunication platform and

software technology to provide correct fertiliser recommendations for the farmers is key to this project.

Another of GrameenIntel’s e-Agro software ‘mrittikā’ is providing fertiliser recommendations that are delivered to farmers across the country using the telecommunication network.

Meanwhile, a software named Nutrient Manager for Rice (NM Rice) has also been providing information about the right usage of fertiliser for last two years.

This country-specific software was jointly developed by the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and functions like a decision-making tool. It provides farmers with recommendations on how much and when to apply fertilisers to have a higher yield after some specific information is given as input. l

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For a bit of a smile Active Citizens and their support of child cancer patients at BSMMU

n Shuprova Tasneem For the uninitiated, walking down the narrow corridors of any public hospital in Bangladesh can be a difficult experience, where you will almost certainly see patients lying on floors outside overcrowded wards, and families desperately trying to find the resources to run basic tests and purchase medication.

At the Paediatric Hemotology and Oncology of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), home to the child cancer patients of the hospital, it is almost impossible to walk through without a lump forming in your throat. Despite your best intentions, your first instinct will be to block out the cries from behind closed doors, or look away from the silent suffering on the parents’ faces, who sit next to the tiny beds, doing whatever they can to make the little ones a bit more comfortable, a bit less in pain.

But there are some who don’t turn away. A team of eight volunteers from different backgrounds have been dedicatedly working in the Paediatric Hemotology and Oncology department since

June, 2014, as a part of a social action project titled ‘For a Bit of Smile’. Operating under the British Council’s Active Citizens Programme, this group of youngsters spend at least one day a week trying to bring a smile to the faces of children suffering with cancer, as well as reach out to their families and help them through their difficult times. In addition, the volunteers also devote their energy to raising awareness regarding child cancer through awareness programmes and school visits.

Awareness is crucial

“We started off with wanting to do something for those who really need it, and we wanted a platform from where we can make a positive contribution to society, which was provided by the British Council,” explains Sumaiya Akter, co-founder and coordinator of the ‘For a Bit of Smile’ project.

While there are many such projects run by young people across the city, what made this special is that it has endured – no matter what, the core volunteers have continued to give their services whenever it was needed at the department, under the

leadership of Prof Md Afiqul Islam.

“Our main aim here is to give care to the children, and while my team and I specialise in providing medical care and therapy, there is also a need for supportive care, and an important part of this is to also focus on the parents and help them to cope with these conditions. The volunteers who come here play a role in this – standing by the parents and giving them courage,” shares Prof Islam.

“Another important role they play is in spreading awareness.

The problem is, many people still consider cancer to be a death sentence, and a lot of people also do not even know that children can get cancer. It is really important to get these messages out, and to assure people that cancer is curable; in fact, children are more likely than adults to survive cancer,” he added.

Against this backdrop, the project’s team has been working to organise events and disseminate information about child cancer at different schools and colleges, as well as provide suggestions about lifestyles and food habits that could help prevent it.

Within the wards, they also provide information to parents

of affected children on how to maintain the best hygienic conditions, since patients are at high risk of contracting infections, especially after receiving chemotherapy.

The biggest obstacles are financial

However, one of the core activities of the group are to spend time with the children

To learn more, visit: https:// www.facebook.com/ forabitofsmile/?fref=ts

themselves.

“Obviously, it is difficult for them to be here, and chemotherapy and spinal injections can be very painful for the children. We have a small play area in the corner of the ward, and the volunteers do their best to play with the children, involve them in activities, and just talk to them and try and make them smile,” says Prof Islam.

While this mental and emotional support is necessary and often ignored for patients and their families, the biggest obstacle faced by the department is always financial. Their research suggests that there are plenty of families who refuse treatment once they realise cancer, firstly because of the misconception that it is not treatable, but also because of a lack of funds to afford it.

“It’s really sad, how much the families struggle to come up with the resources. That is why although we mainly focus now on non-financial support, we have also been trying very hard to raise funds for treatment,” says Fatimatul Botol, Adviser for ‘A Bit of Smile’ and project coordinator at Democracywatch.

“At the end of the day, we don’t want to just donate some toys and post some pictures on Facebook. Our involvement is hands-on, and we will ensure that this project continues no matter what, because the smiles on the faces of these children is better than any reward,” adds Sumaiya Akter. l

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Bangladeshi Without Borders n Dibarah Mahboob Meet Iqbal Huda, known as “Tidal”, a Cox’s Bazar native who has spent his entire life helping people in distress access free, need-based medical care— irrespective of creed, race, religion or political convictions.

“It was 1992. I was getting out of my mama’s house in Cox’s Bazar and I saw Bangladeshis as well as foreigners busy at work,” described Tidal. “Curious, I walked over. An organisation called Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also called Doctors Without Borders, was setting up an emergency medical humanitarian project for Rohingya refugees who had just crossed from Myanmar.

I had seen Rohingya refugees before in 1978 when I was a school kid. We were even called from school one day to help them . I knew we had to do whatever we could for the refugees in 1992 too.

When I met the MSF Country Director I was very happy that an organization was present to support. After a brief talk I

volunteered immediately.” That’s when Tidal first joined MSF. As volunteers, members of MSF understand the risks and dangers of the missions they carry out, but they make no claim for themselves. They do so out of compassion, out of the desire to simply hand others a baton for the possibility of life. Tidal says he worked for MSF under no fixed designation the first four years of his career, “and they never let me leave, and here I am.”

Twenty-seven years later, Tidal was leading a medical project in Chechnya till just a few weeks ago, where drug-resistant Tuberculosis (TB) is a life-threatening issue as a result of years of poor diagnosis and interrupted treatment. With almost 100 MSF staff, the project Tidal runs is now focusing on the extensively drug-resistant (XDRform of the disease after handing the management of multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB patients over to the Ministry of Health in 2015.

The project also supports the laboratory, health promotion and offers psychosocial assistance for

TB patients and their families. We also conduct research activities,” he explained. “In fact, the drug we are using now for XDR-TB patient is a new drug recently approved by the World Health Organisation,” MSF is a Nobel Prize-winning private international association made up mainly of doctors and health sector workers providing assistance to populations of distress— whether they are victims of natural or man-made disasters or victims of armed conflict.

“As members, we undertake to respect our professional code of ethics and maintain complete independence from all political, economic, or religious powers,” Tidal explicated. “This includes financially – 90% of all MSF’s money comes from private donors,

not governments.”

Tidal has been out coordinating MSF projects since 2003. He has worked in several contexts, even braving the risks involved in working in conflict zones.

“Just a few years back we had to completely pull out of Chechnya,” he said, “But we worked hard and are back again now. There is need and there are Chechen doctors and nurses bravely struggling to heal people, who benefit from our support.”

So what is it like to work in the field? “It’s not for everyone,” he chuckled. “I have worked in

places like Somalia, tribal areas in Pakistan, Afghanistan and South Sudan. Each had different challenges” MSF’s projects range from emergency response, medical research projects treatment of neglected diseases like Kala Azar and long-term conditions like TB and HIV/AIDS. Last month Tidal came back to his country to visit his family and to revisit Cox’s Bazar, where it all started on the eve of the 1978 FIFA World Cup. Tidal is scheduled to join yet another MSF project in October—this time in Iraq.l

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| earning |

Everjobs career workshop at NSU Everjobs.com.bd, the fastest growing online career portal in Bangladesh, conducted a career workshop at North South University in Dhaka on September 28, 2016. The conference, part of Everjobs’ “Conquer Your Career” programme, was attended by more than 200 students who had the opportunity to learn about the dynamic job market in Bangladesh.

The sessions included

renowned speakers such as Devendra Singh, country manager and MD, Everjobs Bangladesh, Phani Kiran, country manager, Kaymu Bangladesh, Araf Habib, marketing and communication manager, Beximco Petroleum Limited, Shahriar Mahmood, GM-HR, bKash, and Zubair B.A. Siddiky, MD and co-founder, Foodpanda Bangladesh. Faisal Wali, director, CPC, NSU, Shahnaz Islam, senior job counselor, CPC,

NSU, Al Amin, faculty member and adviser of HR club, NSU and students of SBE, NSU were also in attendance.

If you are looking forward to finding a fresh start, a better job, or a new career direction, job-seekers can find a wealth of exciting opportunities at this career event “Conquer Your Career” by Everjobs Bangladesh.

A variety of employers from private sectors will be eager to

hire for immediate openings in a wide range of fields.

Events like “Conquer Your Career” connect fresh graduates and last semester’s students with top HR professionals from top companies in Bangladesh. All the participants can get enormous support and a strong career guideline, and tips from such career events can help them to build a stronger, more innovative career in Bangladesh.

Everjobs provides free services, resources, and tools to assist both job seekers and employers with the entire job search process, including hiring and employment

needs. Everjobs has services available online and onsite to assist job seekers including an automated Job Match System, Internet access, local papers, employment counselling and career assessments, as well as workshops on job searching, resume writing and interviewing techniques.

To find thousands of amazing job opportunities in Bangladesh, please visit www.everjobs.com.bd For more information, please contact Zahurul H Khan at 01959926050 or zahurul.khan@ everjobs.com.bdl

| event |

| celebration |

UC events bring wedding showcase to Lakeshore Hotel

Celebrate Durga Puja at Dhaka Regency

Looking to shop for the upcoming wedding season?

Well, look no further! UC Events brings yet another extraordinary wedding showcase, taking place on November 4-5, 2016 at Lakeshore Hotel, Gulshan-2, from 10 am to 10 pm.

The UC Fashion Showcase was founded in May 2015 with the first exhibition at EFES Restaurant. Following that, several exhibitions were held, focusing on the festivities of

Eid and Pohela Boishakh. With a client base of more than 400 customers, over 4000 people attended these events in the past. This wedding season, they are back with more than 40 talented brands from all over Bangladesh.

The event will showcase diversified brands and designers with their exclusive collections, all under one roof. Popular brands such as Golden Threads, Ray’s Collection, Sapphire’s

and D’s Fine Jewelry are just a few of the notables who will showcase their collections at the event.

UC Events will also coorganise another grand event, along with a fashion show, in Chittagong Radisson Blu on November 24 and 25, 2016.

For more information, contact: +8801724697777 and visit the Facebook page www. facebook.com/events.uc. l

With Durga Puja around the corner, restaurants in the capital have geared up to provide mouthwatering fare to celebrate the advent of the goddess.

Some hotels, restaurants and eateries have come up with special menus for the Puja celebrations, while some have laid out more traditional fare.

At Dhaka Regency’s Grandiose Restaurant, there will be a special

menu during the ten days of the puja.

This Puja festival, Dhaka Regency offers special buffet lunch and dinner at BDT 1616 and BDT 1515 for Premier Club members.

Dhaka Regency is also offering a specially decorated vegetable thali priced at BDT 999 per person. All of this is net pricing, and Regency’s way of contributing to the Puja spirit.

This offer is valid for 10 days only – from October 5 to 15, 2016. The restaurant will also offer continental dishes like osso bucco, chicken zurich, prawn provencal, pasta marinara etc. For more information or reservation, please call 01713332661.l

DT

20 Editorial

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2016

TODAY

The Indo-Pak internet war India’s media has been fraught with the aspirational chauvinism of the expanding urban middle class. They have no strategic insight or any desire for fact checking PAGE 21

Time to end World Bank immunity A federal law enacted in 1945 provided IFC the same immunity from suit and every form of judicial process as is enjoyed by foreign governments PAGE 22

The curious case of Tahmid Before arguing on whether Tahmid was a terrorist or not, one should go through the past records of the attackers who got killed during the military operation and whose identities have also been confirmed 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.

BIGSTOCK

Get to the bottom of custodial deaths

H

uman rights organisation Ain O Salish Kendra’s recently reported custodial death statistics for this year are highly concerning.

In the past nine months, ASK reports that at least 150 people were killed in so-called cross-fires or gunfights at the hands of law enforcement agencies.

Some of these killings are accounted for -- this figure includes the 19 militants killed in the successful raids following the Gulshan attack.

Questions remain, however, about the 83 people who died in police custody and the 34 people who died in RAB custody in the past year, either before or after arrest, as well as deaths that took place under the watch of DB police, SWAT, joint forces, BGB police, and Ansar/rail police.

Why has no punitive action been taken against law enforcement personnel who were involved in killings that were not justified? As we have seen in past years, such extra-judicial killings get repeatedly glossed over, despite what the agencies may claim.

Personnel within law enforcement found guilty of criminal action are usually let off with a slap on the wrist, like a temporary suspension or demotion. This does not get to the bottom of the problem.

We need to do a better job of holding law enforcement agencies accountable for any human rights violations committed in the name of upholding the law.

This includes demanding punitive action for those responsible for unexplained deaths in custody.

Nobody should be above the law.

The authorities have a basic duty to uphold the rights of all citizens, regardless of the crime with which they are charged. Let us not sweep due process under the rug.

We need to do a better job of holding law enforcement agencies accountable for any human rights violations

DT

21

Opinion

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2016

The Indo-Pak internet war The real war between India and Pakistan is being played out in the media wake of the Uri attack and India’s limited surgical strike just across Kashmir line of control.

The expectation of sanity from Pakistan, however, is comparatively much lesser given the long regression of their society for various internal and external reasons. It has already become a monolithic Muslim country and, if further deterioration isn’t prevented, it is very much on its way to becoming a similarly Sunni one.

Roguery and madness abound in Pakistani society and in state apparatus. Many of its societal elements cause severe injury to society and the state and still they find a way to keep co-existing due to little or no corrective action.

India, on the other hand, has maintained a much better internal atmosphere with more openness in public debates, resulting in better rationality in state and societal behaviour. However, cracks can be seen nowadays with saffron bigots and opportunistic and reactionary media houses increasingly taking over more space in public discourse and subscribing to the right-wing clout.

militancy. So is the case in Indian Kashmir.

No country, other than Pakistan is interested in delving into whether an attack on a counterinsurgency security force camp in a troubled area by politically motivated insurgents constitutes an act of terror or not.

Almost everyone around the world who has made statements on the incident has flatly deemed it to be a terrorist attack. Hardly anyone is asking any difficult questions to celebrity Indian media anchors and security experts.

Only Hamid Mir of Pakistan’s Geo TV was heard shouting to an Indian commentator: “If Bhagat Singh is a freedom fighter, then why not Burhan Wani?” In the current atmosphere, no one outside of Pakistan is paying any heed to such exclamations.

One thing worth noticing is that, this time around, Pakistani security commentators have the opportunity to justify, in their way, their country’s possession of nukes as deterrent, notwithstanding the fact that Pakistan doesn’t abide by the “no first use” option like other nuclear states, including

General Assembly speech came as no surprise.

India’s media has been fraught with the aspirational chauvinism of the expanding urban middle class. They have no strategic insight or any desire for fact checking; they have clearly been intoxicated by cheap media hyperbole. Their ill-informed gibberish betrays the already super-power mind set.

Sadly, the reality is quite different altogether. International media though, is doing a great disservice to the ambition of this new middle class, putting India’s hollow battle-cry after Syria and the American presidential campaign.

Much more severe military conflicts and fatalities are happening in the world now -- in the Middle East, the Pak-Afghan border region, in under-reported Africa, and Latin America.

Indians seemed completely consumed by this one-off incident.

It’s not the Pakistanis, rather Indian over-reaction, which is internationalising the Kashmir issue again.

In this politico-military scenario, some of the Indian

India’s media has been fraught with the aspirational chauvinism of the expanding urban middle class. They have no strategic insight or any desire for fact checking; they have clearly been intoxicated by cheap media hyperbole Is India blowing things out of proportion in Srinagar?

REUTERS

n Sarwar Jahan Chowdhury

I

t isn’t easy for an ordinary observer to quickly grasp the underlying dynamics of IndiaPakistan relations, although he or she is actually an important stake-holder despite being halfeducated on the issues, and is able to generate a certain pressure on national leadership, especially in this era of social media, interactive news websites, satellite TV, etc.

So, they, especially the urban semi-well-off to affluent, do tend to influence the media and the decision-makers to a considerable degree.

It’s also the responsibility of the experts, the drivers of the media, and leadership to do the reverse in a positive and educating way.

Unfortunately, some of the wellknown media figures are no better than their viewers, readers, or listeners. This is being played out in both Pakistan and India in the

It seems that India’s liberal resolve is giving in to the saffron jingoism plunging the nation in the path of its hostile neighbour.

Interestingly, this time around, across the western border of India, there seems to be a bit less show of false pride and hollow rhetoric, especially in the internationally visible media.

Perhaps their “underachievement” after so many proud conceited statements of the past and resultant ridicule over the years has brought them back closer to reality.

But that’s just the overt veneer of that society -- inside, there is no dearth of madness. The presence of numerous non-state jihadi actors and their sponsoring by state intelligence reassert this fact.

Pakistani media and intelligentsia’s defensive posture is also due to the changed international scenario which is now unfavourable for any form of

their arch adversary. But none in the Pakistani media or security community is talking about aggression first and teaching India a lesson by beating them in a war.

It’s clear that they have learned their lesson.

Also interesting is the phenomenon of the Pakistani media and politicians across the ideological camp getting behind the Pakistani military despite their recent past distaste for the latter, who every now and then, undermine the political class, civil society, and even the judiciary. The Pakistan Army clearly dictates security issues and foreign relations, undercutting the authority of the elected civilian government.

A politically weakened Nawaz Sharif seemingly has accepted this strange and humiliating arrangement. Therefore, the news of him calling General Raheel Sharif before making the UN

intellectuals and media’s focus on India’s size , population, economic might, etc, vis-à-vis comparative military capability and preparedness is noticeable.

However, the real experts and the reliable media houses, for example, the Indian Express, held their ground of objectivity in analysis and predictions. They have prescribed for broader restraint by India, pointing out its proven long-term diplomatic benefits.

They, the sane, will be proven right, in the end. That’s perhaps the only silver lining in the cloud of media and internet warfare threatening to escalate it to a real one. l Sarwar Jahan Chowdhury is a freelance commentator on politics, international relations and geo-strategy. He is a former military officer and currently works for BRAC Institute of Governance and Development.

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22

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2016

Long Form

Time to end World Bank immunity Why should WB remain above the law? This is the first part of a two-part long form

n Sushovan Dhar

F

isher-folks, farmers, and marginal wage earners in Gujarat, India were shocked to hear about the US federal district court ruling in March this year that the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private lending arm of the World Bank Group, enjoys absolute immunity and therefore cannot be sued in the US. Earlier, Budha Ismail Jam and others filed a suit against the IFC. The plaintiffs accused the IFCfinanced Tata Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project -- a 4,000MW giant coal-fired project -- of destroying their lives and livelihoods.

According to the plaintiffs, “who live, fish, and farm in the shadow of the plant, its main legacy has been environmental and social harm -- to the marine ecosystem, to the quality of the air, to plaintiffs’ health, and to their way of life.”

They complained that “the IFC, which provided $450 million for construction of the plant, is primarily responsible for their injuries,” and therefore sued IFC in the US federal district court “seeking several forms of equitable relief or, in the alternative, compensatory and punitive damages.”

To their dismay, they heard from John D Bates, the US district judge, that that IFC enjoys immunity from suits in the US courts and therefore the case was discharged. The judgment says: “It is well-established that statutes like the IOIA that grant immunity to foreign nations and international organisations limit the District Court’s jurisdiction over parties that are entitled to such protection.”

Background

In 2008, the IFC announced a $450m loan to a Tata Group subsidiary for building the power plant in Gujarat. The promoters claimed the project as essential to help fuel India’s ongoing “economic growth.”

However, the locals charged the project with severely damaging the local environment and lives of the local residents. The plant had damaged the local marine environment, causing fish to move further away from the coast, and damaged local water supplies used for drinking and irrigating farmers’ fields.

As Bharat Patel, head of the Association for the Struggle for Fishworkers’ Rights in the Kutch

The IFC has resorted to a deviant route area of Gujarat, observed: “The Indian government’s motto is all about industrial development, but traditional communities -- like fishermen and farmers -- are going into poverty because of the IFC.” They accused the IFC of “irresponsible and negligent conduct in appraising, financing, advising, supervising, and monitoring its significant loan to enable the development of the Tata Mundra Project in Gujarat, India.”

The project is located on the Kutch coast, in the western part of India. This area around the Arabian Sea is replete with abundant natural resources.

The construction phase already witnessed huge losses due to the displacement and devastation of mangrove forests. The dredging of streams and waste dumping destroyed precarious natural resources.

It is important to remember that mangrove forests play a central role in transferring organic matter and energy from the land to the marine ecosystems.

It is apprehended that after the completion of the project, the region would be severely impacted by pollution from flying ash, coal dust, and hot water.

Tata Mundra uses open cycle cooling, which is less efficient than

closed cycle cooling. The latter also has the capacity to reduce water usage by 85%. Secondly, coal for the project would be imported from Indonesia, which is supposed to be high in sulphur. Tata Mundra decided to forego installing flue gas de-sulfurisers in their chimneys. A decision which would result in higher sulphur emissions in the atmosphere.

The pollution from the plant has already negatively impacted the fisheries and marine life that the fish workers rely on for their livelihoods, and the environmental impacts are very closely linked to the economic ones. Independent fact-finding missions reveal that severe respiratory diseases among children have increased by 20% in the villages around the power plant.

Coal dust and flying ash are endangering horticulture and the lives of people and animals.

Water in the outlet channel is at a whopping 35.6-35.8 degree centigrade, which no marine life accustomed to a Gulf of Kutch’s “normal” of 30-31.8C would be able to bear.

Releasing the report, senior activist Soumya Dutta said: “The impacts which were noted by the fact finding team was at a time when only one unit of the

A federal law enacted in 1945 provided IFC the same immunity from suit and every form of judicial process as is enjoyed by foreign governments 4,000MW plant was operational.

Today, since all units of the project are on steam, the impacts are manifold and no agency, either of the governments or of the financial institutions, are monitoring it and people and the environment are at high risk.”

Faced with such charges, the IFC could not, in any reasonable or sustainable manner, refute the merit of the argument.

In order to dodge genuine concerns, IFC resorted to a deviant route. It claimed immunity under International Organisations Immunities Act (IOIA). A federal law enacted in 1945 provided IFC the same immunity from suit and every form of judicial process as is enjoyed by foreign governments.

The IFC also claimed that waiving this immunity could “produce a considerable chilling effect on IFC’s capacity and willingness to lend money in

developing countries” by opening “a floodgate of lawsuits by allegedly aggrieved complainants from all over the world.”

This carapace of protecting capital from any sort of environmental, socio-political, economic, or moral safeguard relieved IFC of any commitment towards popular democratic opinions. It acts to justify false intentions and flawed processes.

By fooling people through shams and dubious acts, the attempt is to push private investments in all possible sectors, with scant regard for social and environmental impacts without any democratic and participatory processes. l The concluding part of this article will be published tomorrow.

Sushovan Dhar is an activist. He is based in Kolkata.

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23

Opinion

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2016

The curious case of Tahmid Despite evidence to the contrary, many jumped to conclusions and presumed his guilt

n Aaqib Md Shatil

O

ne should never underestimate Bangladeshi people’s supersonic ability to reach conclusions, sometimes even faster than NASA spaceships, basing on trivial events. And when it comes in the form of video footage or photographs, they never hesitate to harshly comment, no matter how foolish it may sound.

Tahmid Hasib Khan, who has been released on bail very recently, is now going through extensive criticism by a sizeable number of social media commentators, who have concluded that he is a terrorist. Some of them were found assuming some sort of corrupt connection between the government and his wealthy father.

The curious case of Tahmid Hasib Khan began the very moment the Holey Artisan attackers decided to spare the Bangladeshi diners of the restaurant. They took them to another room where they were served food and treated with respect, according to the statements of some of the hostages.

Tahmid, a student of global health at the University of Toronto, fortunately or unfortunately, somehow managed to include himself among the Bangladeshis who were decided not be killed that night.

Though the exact version of the events inside the restaurant during the siege is yet to come into light, curious readers who follow The New York Times can have a slight idea about what happened then.

According to a report published on July 8 this year, several times during the siege, the attackers ordered Mr Khan and Mr Karim to perform specific tasks for them, and one of those tasks was to carry a gun and go with them to the roof of the restaurant.

Citing at least two hostages who detailed the events under anonymity, the newspaper wrote that Tahmid was reluctant to carry guns, and the attackers even fired it to show him the magazine was empty.

Evidence in the form of photographs, which surfaced within weeks of the event, showed how Tahmid had accompanied one of the terrorists to the roof with Mr Karim in the morning.

Those photographs drew much flak on social media, where many of the commentators opined that

Innocent until proven guilty?

Tahmid must have been among the attackers, and should be tried summarily.

Before arguing on whether Tahmid was a terrorist or not, one should go through the past records of the attackers, who got killed during the military operation, and whose identities have been confirmed.

All of the deceased attackers were missing for several weeks, according to their families, prior to the attack. They went incommunicado, and cut their bonds with their families. Families of some of them even contacted the law enforcers, and according to the agencies, they were searching for them.

On the other hand, Tahmid, a model UN practitioner, was ready to join Unicef in Nepal as an intern from early July. According to The New York Times, an official letter from Unicef in Nepal confirmed this information, and Tahmid was ready to fly for Nepal on the first week of July, according to the ticket he bought prior to the attack.

People with experience in UN operations are well aware of the fact that none of the UN bodies provide internship opportunities

RAJIB DHAR

Before arguing on whether Tahmid was a terrorist or not, one should go through the past records of the attackers who got killed during the military operation and whose identities have also been confirmed

to someone overnight, and one’s papers need to go through a rigorous selection process for such opportunities.

This evidence at least clarifies that, unlike the attackers, Tahmid was in constant contact with his family, and with the office of a UN body that even permitted him to join them as an intern.

But what made all of us doubt the possibility of his innocence and victimhood was his smiling face on the roof with a terrorist, and the photographs published on national dailies, convincing many readers that Tahmid was comfortable with the terrorists during the siege.

An interesting thing noticed

by Dhaka Tribune’s social media curators is the contrast in the

reaction between the readers of the Bengali portal and the readers of the English version.

This happened probably because the photographs came as a shock to the Bengali readers, who may not have read The New York Times articles that gave a brief detail of the events on the roof.

Contrarily, English daily readers had read those articles and were not shocked to see those images.

Notwithstanding the photographs, questions are there whether they are enough to tag him as a terrorist right. This case is indeed a curious one. l Aaqib Md Shatil is an Executive of Brand Development at Build Better Bangladesh Foundation.

DT

24 Sport

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2016

TOP STORIES

DBBL becomes title sponsor Dutch Bangla Bank Limited has been awarded the title sponsorship rights for the Bangladesh-England series beginning tomorrow.

The series has been titled as the “Rocket Dutch-Bangla Bank Mobile Banking Series”. PAGE 25

Gundogan ready to fill Schweini’s role Ilkay Gundogan says he is ready to fill Bastian Schweinsteiger’s midfield role in Germany’s upcoming 2018 World Cup qualifiers. Germany host the Czech Republic on Saturday and N. Ireland next Tuesday. PAGE 26

Bangladesh cricket team physio Baizidul Islam attends to limited-over captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza, who returned to training for the first time since the third and final ODI against Afghanistan MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Sporting wicket on the agenda against England n Mazhar Uddin

Seven-star Shuvo wreck Sylhet Sohrawardi Shuvo recorded impressive bowling figures of 7/45 to propel Rangpur to a 56-run win against Sylhet during the fourth and final day of the 18th National Cricket League’s second round yesterday. PAGE 27

Correa keen for role in Messi absence Argentina’s Angel Correa says he is ready to fill the void left by Lionel Messi for their World Cup qualifier away at Peru today. Messi will miss the fixture with a thigh problem, giving the 21-year-old Atletico Madrid forward Correa a chance to add to his five caps. PAGE 28

Quite a few questions were raised regarding the pitch after the first two matches of the Afghanistan series where the home side wanted to prepare a rather slow and spin-friendly track.

But the idea did not work according to expectations as the home side struggled to post enough runs on the scoreboard.

Bangladesh scored 265 all-out in the first ODI against Afghanistan, despite having a good start, as the Bangladesh middle-order was unable to launch in the last 10 overs of their innings.

However, the hosts did manage to win the game by a close margin of seven runs.

It was a rather poor batting display by the Bangladesh batsman in the second ODI and at one stage, they were struggling on 165/9, but debutant Mosaddek Hossain added 43 runs with Rubel Hossain for the last wicket to take the Tigers past the 200-run mark.

All the Tigers batsmen got starts but were unable to convert their knocks into a big one.

At the same time, one should also praise the Afghan slow bowl-

ers, especially leg-spinner Rashid Khan and experienced off-spinner Mohammad Nabi, as they utilised the pitch and conditions to perfection and eventually snatched a nervy two-wicket win to level the series.

The Tigers team management was looking for a suitable bowling partner for Shakib al Hasan in the spin department and tried Taijul

Mosharraf Hossain, the experienced left-arm spinner in the domestic circuit, was brought back to the national team in place of Taijul for the third ODI, making his comeback to international cricket after eight long years. He bowled brilliantly and ended up with figures of 3/24 from his eight overs. Bangladesh bowlers displayed a much better show and

As we will be playing at our home, obviously we will have the advantage.

Pitch will be very good and even if they post 300-350 runs, we will be able to chase that as we have the ability Islam. But the left-arm spinner only picked up a wicket in two games and was unable to threaten the opponent batsmen, despite having a spin-friendly pitch.

The home side finally opted for a sporting deck, offering more runs in the third and final ODI, and posted 279/8, riding on a magnificent hundred by opening batsman Tamim Iqbal, who has been in terrific touch throughout the series.

bundled out Afghanistan for 138 to win the series and finally get the much-needed momentum ahead of the England series.

As a result, the Tigers think tank is looking to prepare sporting pitches for the upcoming ODI series against England. The lone practice match between the Bangladesh Cricket Board XI and England turned out to be a high-scoring affair as the visitors chased

down their target of 310 runs quite comfortably.

Sabbir Rahman, who was promoted to No 3 for the first time in his 50-over career in the third Afghanistan ODI, batted well, scoring 65 runs off 79 balls, featuring three sixes and half a dozen fours as he, along with Tamim, added 140 runs for the second wicket and laid the foundation for a big total.

According to Sabbir, the home side have the ability to chase down big totals like 300-350 against England.

“As we will be playing at our home, obviously we will have the advantage. Pitch will be very good and even if they post 300-350 runs, we will be able to chase that as we have the ability,” Sabbir told the media yesterday.

The attacking right-hander also informed that he is ready to bat in any position. However, he admitted that he enjoys batting at No 3 in the 50-over game.

Sabbir also stated that they are not worried about English leg-spinner Adil Rashid and said the Tigers have already faced a much better leggie during the Afghanistan series, indicating Rashid. l

25

DT

Sport

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2016

BANGLADESH-ENGLAND SERIES

DBBL becomes title sponsor Tickets will be sold in shohoz.com n Ali Shahriyar Bappa Dutch Bangla Bank Limited has been awarded the title sponsorship rights for the Bangladesh-England three-ODI and two-match Test series beginning tomorrow. The series has been titled as the “Rocket Dutch-Bangla Bank Mobile Banking Series”.

The sponsorship rights for the Bangladesh-England series was declared in a press conference by the Bangladesh Cricket Board at Shere-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.

BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury, Impress Matra Consortium managing director Faridur Reza Sagor and DBBL managing director Kazi Shason Tabrez were present in the ceremony. The Test and ODI series trophy were also unveiled during the programme.

Meanwhile, Uttara Motors has been selected as the team kit partner for the series. And Shohoz.com has been selected as the ticketing partner. The tickets of the Bangladesh-England series will be available online via www.shohoz.com.

Nizamuddin, Uttara Motors

head of marketing Naimur Rahman and shohoz.com CEO Maliha Kadir were present among others in the press briefing at SBNS. Tickets of the Bangladesh-Afghanistan ODIs were also available in the same website.

During the occasion, the ticket prices were also declared. A Grand Stand ticket has been priced Tk2000, VIP Stand Tk500, Shaheed Jewel and Mushtaque Stands Tk300, Northern Stand Tk150 and Eastern Stand Tk100.

Twenty-five percent value added tax will be added with the original price.

A person can buy maximum three tickets online against his/ her mobile number or National ID Card. After registering, a confirmation message will duly be sent to his/her mobile number. Then the buyer has to collect the tickets from the outlets of Lotto, a shoe manufacturing company, by showing the confirmation message. Extra Tk25 will be charged for online ticket-buying.

Tickets will be available at the outer stadium area of SBNCS on the match-days.l

The Bangladesh-England Test and ODI series trophy were unveiled at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday in the absence of the captains of the two sides MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Mamunul, Ameli make returns in attacking squad n Tribune Report Bangladesh’s Belgian head coach Tom Saintfiet included midfielder Mamunul Islam and striker Jahid Hasan Ameli in his final 23-man squad announced yesterday, ahead of their crucial Asian Cup Qualifying Play-off away to Bhutan this Monday.

Former national captain Mamunul was a surprise omission from Saintfiet’s final squad for the first leg at home early last month, following which the Chittagong Abahani midfielder in his immediate reaction decided to retire.

Saintfiet admitted that he needs a player like Mamunul with the upcoming game scheduled to be held on artificial turf.

The current crisis in scoring is one of the key reasons behind the decision to call back Ameli. The Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra striker has been out of the national squad for more than eight months due to injury and lack of form. The last time he featured in a red and green jersey was in the Bangabandhu Gold Cup in January this year.

Looking at the newly-shaped squad, Saintfiet’s intention seems clear as the Belgian tactician named 10 forwards, including strikers and wingers, against five defenders and as many midfielders.

“This is a very important match for all of us. A must win game. If we draw 1-1 we will be satisfied. But we must qualify,” said Saintfiet.

He added, “I didn’t select many

defenders because my idea is we need to score.”

Saintfiet is expecting a physical challenge against Bhutan.

“Our strategy is that the whole team will play a defensive role. I would expect Bhutan to attack.

They would try to take advantage of the 2400m altitude, 16 degrees weather and full house crowd,” the 43-year old said before adding, “In

the first half we are going to play compact. We are not going to play blind attack. We are going to play with good organisation. And hopefully this time we score goals.

“The altitude, it’s very difficult to play for 90 minutes. We should not lose energy unnecessarily. We need to be focused.”

Meanwhile, Ameli was a picture of happiness after being included

in Saintfiet’s main squad.

“I’m very happy to have returned to the team after a long time. The coach was satisfied with me in the practice sessions. The team are in good shape. Hopefully we will win the away match because the team are a mixture of young and experienced players.”

The men in red and green will fly off for Thimphu tomorrow morning.

SQUAD

Bangladesh striker Jahid Hasan Ameli, who returned to the side after an eight-month break, speaks in a press conference yesterday in the presence of Belgian head coach Tom Saintfiet (C) and BFF vice president Kazi Nabil Ahmed (2R) COURTESY

Goalkeepers: Ashraful Islam Rana, Mamun Khan and Mohammad Nehal Defenders: Topu Barman, Mamun Mia, Rayhan Hasan, Rezaul Karim and Atiqur Rahman Meshu Midfielders: Enamul Haque Sharif, Emon Mahmud, Mamunul Islam, Mohammad Abdullah and Atiqur Rahman Fahad Forwards: Hemanta Vincent Biswas, Sohel Rana, Rubel Mia, Enamul Haque, Jewel Rana, Jahid Hasan Ameli, Shakhawat Hossain Ronny, Jafar Iqbal, Mehbub Hossain Nayan and Sohel Rana Jr Stand-by: Yeamin Munna, Mansur Amin and Masuk Mia Joni. l

DT

26

Sport

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2016

Five European games to watch out for in WC qualifying n AFP, Paris

European qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia resumes this week with every nation playing twice after starting their campaigns last month. AFP Sports picks out some of the highlights amid a vast array of matches:

Southgate leads troubled England

England turn their back on the brief Sam Allardyce era as caretaker manager Gareth Southgate leads the team in a double-header of Group F matches against minnows Malta at Wembley and away to Slovenia.

Allardyce left his post last week after just 67 days at the helm, departing “by mutual consent” after being caught giving advice about how to circumvent transfer rules and mocking his predecessor, Roy Hodgson, in a newspaper sting. His one game in charge ended in a 1-0 win in Slovakia, secured by a late Adam Lallana goal. Southgate, the England Under-21s coach, has recalled Manchester United duo Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard and confirmed that Wayne Rooney will continue as captain, describing him as “the outstanding leader in the group.” Burnley defender Michael Keane has also been called up to replace Stoke City’s Glen Johnson, who was ruled out through injury. A slip-up against Malta, ranked 176th in the world, is unthinkable, but Slovenia could prove sticky opponents with a squad notably containing Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak. England needed a late Rooney goal to win in Ljubljana in Euro 2016 qualifying.

Spain seek Italy revenge

Italy and Spain meet in a heavyweight clash in Turin just over three months after the Azzurri knocked the reigning champions out of Euro 2016 in the last 16 at the Stade de France. Giorgio Chiellini and Graziano Pelle scored Italy’s goals that day but much has changed in the short time since. For a start, both sides now have new coaches, with Giampiero Ventura replacing Chelsea-bound Antonio Conte at the helm of Italy and Julen Lopetegui taking over from Vicente del Bosque. “Spain will be in a new state of mind and will be looking to avenge their Euro 2016 defeat to us,” said Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci. “They have the best players. All you need is a look at their squad list to tell you that.” Italy won 3-1 in Israel in their Group G opener last month while Spain hammered Liechtenstein 8-0. After today’s game, Spain visit Albania on Sunday while Italy go to Macedonia.

France look for kick-start

Didier Deschamps’ France return to the Stade de France when they play Bulgaria tomorrow, their first match there since losing in extra time to Portugal in the Euro 2016 final. Since that agonising defeat, Les Bleus got off to something of a false start in their World Cup qualifying campaign, drawing 0-0 away to Belarus.

They could really do with a win against Bulgaria before facing their main Group A rivals, the Netherlands, in Amsterdam next Monday.

Bulgaria have a new coach in Petar

Hubchev, who played when they last came to France in 1993. That night, a 2-1 Bulgarian win famously denied their hosts a place at the following year’s World Cup in the USA. “I’ve heard it spoken about but I was eight, it is quite a long time ago,” said France defender Laurent Koscielny.

“It’s in the past.” There are two new faces in the French squad in defence in the shape of Athletic Bilbao stopper Aymeric Laporte and Presnel Kimpembe of Paris Saint-Germain.

Kosovo play first ‘home’ game

Kosovo’s competitive debut last month ended in a creditable 1-1 draw away to Finland, with Valon Berisha scoring their maiden World Cup goal in the Group I encounter. It was a remarkable result given that FIFA only gave their approval for a host of players to represent the Balkan outfit on the day of the game. Now Albert Bunjaki’s side play their first “home” game, although they will face Croatia in the Albanian city of Shkoder because the facilities in Pristina, the Kosovan capital, are not yet deemed up to the standards of FIFA. In an extremely tough group, they follow today’s match by playing Ukraine on Sunday. That match will be played in the Polish city of Krakow.

Iceland, Turkey meet again

Iceland’s remarkable journey to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 started with a 3-0 home win against a stunned Turkey in Reykjavik in their opening qualifier in Septem-

Wales’ Sam Vokes and Gareth Bale during training at the Vale Resort, Hensol, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales yesterday REUTERS ber 2014. Now with Heimir Hallgrimsson in sole charge after Lars Lagerback departed following the Euros, Iceland host Turkey again in

World Cup qualifying Group I. Both teams drew 1-1 in their opening matches, Iceland in Ukraine and Turkey in Croatia.l

Deschamps backs Pogba to come Gundogan ready to fill good given time at United Schweinsteiger’s role n Reuters Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba needs to be given more time to demonstrate his quality in England as his hefty price tag has

raised expectations to a very high level, France coach Didier Deschamps has said.

Pogba, who helped France reach the Euro 2016 final in July, has endured a mixed start at Old Traf-

France’s midfielder Paul Pogba prepares to kick a ball during a training session in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines near Paris on Tuesday AFP

ford since making a world record 89 million pound ($112.95 million) move back to Manchester from Juventus in August. Pogba was anonymous in last month’s defeats to Manchester City and Feyenoord but scored his first goal for the club in an improved display in a 4-1 win over Leicester City before another lacklustre performance in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Stoke City.

“He has changed his club team and needs to find his bearing with his new team mates,” Deschamps told reporters in France.

“With Paul, we always expect more. When he does something neutral, often it is not enough. He is someone we expect to make assists in every game... there is an expectation that is too large. Paul is okay in his own head. He knows what he wants.” Pogba won four Serie A titles and two Italian Cups during his time at Juventus. l

n AFP, Berlin Injury-prone Ilkay Gundogan says he is ready to fill Bastian Schweinsteiger’s midfield role in world champion Germany’s upcoming 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

Germany host the Czech Republic in Hamburg on Saturday and Northern Ireland next Tuesday in Hanover having opened their qualifying campaign last month with a 3-0 win in Norway. Schweinsteiger made his 121st and final appearance for Germany in August before retiring and Gundogan is a candidate to slot into his vacated number six role.

But he will face a battle with Juventus’ Sami Khedira to partner Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos in the star-studded defensive midfield.

“I would have backed myself to take over the role sooner,” Gundogan told magazine Sport Bild.

“That has nothing to do with

Basti’s retirement, we should all just be grateful that we had such a great player playing for us.”

The 25-year-old missed both the 2014 World Cup triumph and Germany’s Euro 2016 campaign with injuries which have restricted him to just 16 international appearances.l

FIXTURES GROUP D Moldova v Serbia Ireland v Georgia Austria v Wales GROUP G Macedonia v Israel Italy v Spain Liechtenstein v Albania GROUP I Kosovo v Croatia Iceland v Finland Turkey v Ukraine

27

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Sport

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2016

Seven-star Sohrawardi wreck Sylhet n Tribune Report Left-arm spinner Sohrawardi Shuvo recorded impressive bowling figures of 7/45 to propel Rangpur to a 56-run win against Sylhet during the fourth and final day of the 18th National Cricket League’s second round yesterday.

In pursuit of a low target of 154 at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, the home side were skittled out for just 97 with Sohrawardi wrecking havoc.

Saddam Hossain also picked up two wickets as Rangpur rose to second position in the tier two points table, ahead of Chittagong and Sylhet. Rangpur managed 217 and 183 in their first and second innings respectively while Sylhet posted 247 in their first essay.

Elsewhere in Khulna, the tier one game between table-toppers Barisal and third-placed Dhaka Metropolis ended in a draw with the latter scoring 353/7 at stumps, following on after being dismissed for 245 in their first innings, in reply to the former’s tally of 419.

Earlier on Tuesday, Chittagong thrashed Rajshahi by an innings and 242 runs in tier two while the tier one tie between Khulna and Dhaka concluded in a tame draw with only a day’s play possible due to rain and wet outfield. l

Pakistan batsman Babar Azam plays a shot on his way to scoring his third consecutive century against the West Indies yesterday. Babar has become only the third Pakistani batsman to score hundreds in three successive ODI innings more and also the leading run-scorer in a threematch ODI series. With this feat, he has joined the elite club of Pakistani greats like Saeed Anwar and Zaheer Abbas AFP

MOST RUNS SCORED BY A BATSMAN IN A THREE-MATCH ODI SERIES No

Player

Opposition

Runs

Year

1.

Babar Azam (Pakistan)

West Indies

360

2016

2.

Quinton de Kock (South Africa)

India

342

2013

3.

Martin Guptill (New Zealand)

England

330

2013

4.

Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh)

Pakistan

312

2015

5.

Brendan Taylor (Zimbabwe)

6.

Graham Gooch (England)

7.

Shikhar Dhawan (India)

8.

Denesh Ramdin (West Indies)

9.

Viv Richards (West Indies)

10.

Khurram Khan (UAE)

New Zealand

310

2011

Australia

289

1985

Sri Lanka

283

2014

Bangladesh

277

2014

England

276

1984

Afghanistan

270

2014

DAY’S WATCH FOOTBALL SONY SIX

FIFA World Cup Qualifiers 12:30AM Italy v Spain 6:40AM Brazil v Bolivia

SONY ESPN FIFA World Cup Qualifiers 12:30AM Austria v Wales 3:00AM

Ecuador v Chile 7:30AM Peru v Argentina

STAR SPORTS 1

7:30PM Indian Super League Chennai v Delhi

TENNIS SONY SIX 8:00AM ATP World Tour 500 Rakuten Japan Open Day 5

18TH NCL, RD 2, DAY 4 TIER ONE BARISAL 419 v DHAKA METROPOLIS F/O 245 & 353/7 (Shadman 88, Marshall 77, Asif 60). Match drawn

TIER TWO KHULNA 172/1 v DHAKA Match drawn RANGPUR 217 & 183 beat SYLHET 247 & 97 (Imtiaz 26, Sohrawardi 7/45, Saddam 2/2) by 56 runs

POINTS TABLE TIER ONE Teams

M

W

L

D

Pts

Barisal

2

0

0

2

18

Khulna

2

0

0

2

14

Dhaka Metro

2

0

0

2

9

Dhaka

2

0

0

2

6

Teams

M

W

L

D

Pts

Rajshahi

2

1

0

1

25

Rangpur

2

1

0

1

22

Chittagong

2

0

1

1

11

Sylhet

2

0

1

1

10

TIER TWO

Loew rules out league return n Reuters, Berlin

Germany’s World Cup-winning coach Joachim Loew has ruled out a return to the Bundesliga after he leaves his position with the national team and said treatment of coaches was sometimes unfair.

Loew, who led Germany to their fourth World Cup title in 2014 in Brazil, has been in charge since 2006 and his current deal runs to 2018.

“That is correct,” the 56-yearold told the Funke media group in an interview when asked whether he had ruled out a Bundesliga return after that.

“What I fundamentally do not like is the way in which coach changes are being done at the moment,” he said.

Hamburg SV’s Bruno Labbadia was the most recent departure when he was fired late last month after five games following weeks of speculation and a lack of public backing from the boardroom.

“I can understand that sometimes from the club’s perspective a change in coach is appropriate. But what is decisive is that this happens in a fair and correct way.”

“I have the feeling this is not always the case.” l

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Sport

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2016

Correa keen for Argentine starting role in Messi absence n Reuters, Lima Argentine forward Angel Correa says he is ready to fill the void left by talismanic striker Lionel Messi for their World Cup qualifier away at Peru today.

Five-times World Player of the Year Messi will miss the fixture with a thigh problem, giving the 21-year-old Atletico Madrid forward Correa a chance to add to his five caps.

“There is only one Messi,” Correa told reporters after training on Tuesday. “I am happy to be here and if I am to replace him then I will try to do it in the best way possible and help the team.”

Argentina are third in the South American qualifying group for the 2018 World Cup, a point adrift of leaders Uruguay approaching the halfway stage.

Peru sit ninth in the 10-team standings which will provide up to five qualifiers for the tournament in Russia.l

FIXTURES Ecuador Uruguay Paraguay Brazil Peru

v v v v v

Chile Venezuela Colombia Bolivia Argentina

P

W

D

L

8

5

1

2

GD Pts 11

16

Brazil

8

4

3

1

7

15

Argentina

8

4

3

1

3

15

Colombia

8

4

1

3

2

13

Ecuador

8

4

1

3

1

13

Paraguay

8

3

3

2

-2

12

Chile

8

3

2

3

-1

11

Bolivia

8

2

1

5

-4

7

Peru

8

2

1

5

-7

7

Venezuela

8

0

2

6

-12

2

REUTERS

Chile face Ecuador test in qualifiers n AFP, Montevideo

POINTS TABLE Uruguay

Argentina’s (L-R) Matias Kranevitter, Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala take part in a training session on Tuesday ahead of their match against Peru in Lima

Chile face a daunting trip to Ecuador today as they attempt to get their faltering 2018 World Cup qualification campaign back on track at a venue where they have never won.

After eight rounds of South America’s marathon qualifying campaign, two-time Copa America champions Chile are languishing in seventh place, two points adrift of Ecuador in fifth.

The failure of Chile’s star-studded squad to impose themselves on their rivals has been one of the biggest surprises of the qualifiers to date. With back-to-back Copa America victories in 2015 and 2016, the Chileans have been the dom-

inant force in competitive South American football in the past year.

However despite being able to call upon the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Arturo Vidal and Claudio Bravo, Chile have stumbled from one setback to the next so far.

Last month they were beaten 2-1

by Paraguay in Asuncion and were then held to a 0-0 draw by minnows Bolivia at home in Santiago.

While there is still plenty of time for Chile to turn their campaign around, they can ill afford to lose further ground in what is expected to be a tight battle for places.

Ecuador, meanwhile, head into the game looking to rediscover their winning habit. After starting qualifiers with four straight wins, Ecuador have taken only one point

from their last four games.

In other matches today, Uruguay will be confident of holding onto their position at the top of the standings when they face Venezuela in Montevideo, with star strikers Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez both expected to play.

Venezuela are bottom of the 10-nation standings with no wins from eight games, although they gave Argentina a mighty scare in their last outing on September 6, taking a 2-0 lead before eventually being held for a 2-2 draw.

A resurgent Brazil meanwhile will attempt to extend the feelgood factor created by back-to-back wins over Ecuador and Colombia last month when they take on eighth-placed Bolivia in Natal.

Argentina, who are level with Brazil on 15 points but trail their rivals on goal difference, face an awkward trip to Lima to face Peru, with coach Edgardo Bauza mulling how best to plug the gap created by injury to captain Lionel Messi.

Messi returned from a shortlived retirement from international football last month to inspire a crucial 1-0 win over Uruguay, but is out of today’s game after suffering a groin injury while on Barcelona duty last month.

Bauza has indicated either Juventus’s Paulo Dybala or Atletico Madrid’s Angel Correa could start in Messi’s place. “Either of them could do a job. I will see how they train this week and decide,” Bauza said in Lima on Monday. l

Memphis demands playing time n Reuters

Manchester United forward Memphis Depay is unhappy at being relegated to a bit-part role under new manager Jose Mourinho and has demanded more playing time after failing to start a Premier League game this season.

The 22-year-old has dropped down the pecking order behind Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard at Old Trafford, making just three appearances from the bench in the cur-

rent league campaign.

The Dutch international, who joined from PSV Eindhoven in June last year, also endured a difficult debut season under former boss Louis van Gaal, scoring twice in 29 league appearances, 13 of which came as a substitute.

“I am the same person and I know what I want. A supporting role is not for me,” Memphis, who scored 22 league goals to fire PSV to the Dutch championship in the 2014-15 season, told Dutch newspaper Metro Nieuws.

“I’m not a player who is happy with the fact that he is under contract with Manchester United. This is my dream club, but I want to play.”

Memphis said United had made progress following Mourinho’s arrival in May, adding that the former Chelsea boss has expressed his faith in his abilities.

“The training sessions are going well, I’m sharp and fit, but that applies to everyone. The level has become higher. Jose Mourinho is a top coach,” he added.l

Brazil’s Neymar takes part in a training session at the Arena Dunas stadium in Natal, Brazil on Tuesday ahead of their qualifier against Bolivia AFP

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Atlas item (3) 3 Coastal vessel (4) 6 Jump rope (4) 7 Dry, of champagne (3) 9 Circle of light (4) 10 Sheltered side (3) 11 Single entity (4) 13 Swift (5) 16 Fierce animal (5) 18 Fashion (4) 19 Make a mistake (3) 20 Gloomily sullen (4) 21 Play rough jokes on (3) 23 Labyrinth (4) 24 Exultation (4) 25 No score (3)

DOWN 1 Niggard (5) 2 Monkey (3) 4 Garment (4) 5 Court (3) 6 Artillery salute (5) 8 Love god (5) 9 Conceal (4) 12 African river (5) 14 Minute particle (4) 15 Multitude (5) 17 Kingly (5) 18 Silent (4) 20 Joke (3) 22 Friend (Fr) (3)

29

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Downtime

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2016

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 19 represents C so fill C every time the figure 19 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

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30

Showtime

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2016

Two Bangladeshi film projects selected for India’s Film Bazar

n Showtime Desk The National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), announced their official selection of film projects for the upcoming Film Bazar 2016. This year, 18 film projects have been selected.

And two of them are from Bangladesh.

The first one, Apodartho (A Foolish Man) is Abu Shahed Emon’s second feature film. His first was Jalal’s Story, which was nominated as Bangladesh’s entry for the Best Foreign-Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards. On the other hand, Mostafa Sarwar Farooki served

as the producer for the film. This is the first time he has taken credits as a producer for another director’s film. Given the names involved in the project, it is expected to do well among critics and the general audiences alike.

The other Bangladeshi entry among the 18 selected projects, is Nonajoler Kabbo (The Salt in Our Waters). It is directed by Rezwan Shahriar Sumit and produced by Gigi Dement. Previously, Sumit’s docudrama City Life was selected to showcase at Berlinale Talents 2008.

Most of the projects are from India. The others are from Bangladesh, Nepal, Canada,

China and the Netherlands.

Film Bazar started off with a humble beginning and has quickly turned into South Asia’s largest film market. It was created and organised by NFDC back in 2007. This seems to be good news for local film-makers, as it will help their film to reach a wider audience.

This year’s Co-Production Market, to be held from November 20 to 24, will kick off with an “Open Pitch,” during which selected film-makers will pitch ideas for their projects to a curated audience of national and international producers, financiers and sales agents.l

Ben Stiller’s comeback n Showtime Desk Hollywood’s funny man Ben Stiller, was diagnosed with prostate cancer back in 2014.

The tumour was surgically removed in September of that year. According to the actor, he has been cancer free ever since.

This week, Stiller opened up about his condition with

the controversial radio host, Howard Stern. He also posted an essay titled, The Prostate Cancer Test That Saved My Life.

Being the comic actor he is, his penmanship had a similar tone to his acting chops.

He did not take himself too seriously. Rather, his essay was hilariously confessional. It was not downright depressing, which is usually the case for most cancer patients.

The actor’s medical condition explains his absence from the silver screen, during the last calender year but he is making a comeback. So far this year, he starred in Zoolander 2 and Don’t Think Twice.l

Diana: grateful for her modelling career n Showtime Desk Bollywood actress Diana Penty began her modelling career back in 2005. She soon established a successful career as a model after walking the ramp for many of India’s heavyweight designers following which, she led to her acting debut in Homi Adajania’s 2012 directorial Cocktail. Diana has recently attributed her entry into B-town to her modelling career.

Asked if she credits her modelling career for getting into Bollywood, Diana told to a magazine, “Yes, Of course! That’s

why I am here in the first place.

So, I am grateful for it.”

The Hindi film industry has seen many models turned actors who had a major contribution to Bollywood including the likes of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, John Abraham, Deepika Padukone, Arjun Rampal, Priyanka Chopra, Sushmita Sen and Sonu Sood.

Diana, recently seen in Happy Bhag Jayegi said that modelling can be used as a platform to get into acting. The 30-year-old actress also said, “a lot of people start modelling if they want to get into films later.”l

Peya’s Durga Puja

“PPAP,” or “Pen Pineapple Apple Pen” has become the latest internet sensation. The viral video shows nothing more than a man dancing in a crazy outfit while singing nonsensical lyrics, but is still taking the world by storm.

Japanese comedian Piko Taro and DJ Kosaka have earned 15 million views on YouTube in less than a week.

The lyrics revolve around putting a pen in an apple and a pineapple. The singer then scrambles the words “apple, pineapple and pen” with a wacky yet, catchy tune.

Meanwhile, fans are expressing their thoughts about the video on social media. A Twitter user claimed that the song is like Donald Trump. “They are both something that people hate but

n Showtime Desk The preparations for the celebration of Durga Puja is at full swing. And to add another dimension to it’s celebration, popular singer Nancy has come up with a new song titled, “Pujo Elo” for the biggest religious festival in a Bengali Hindu’s calendar. What makes it even better is that, gorgeous modelactor Jannatul Ferdous Peya will also be featured in the music alongside actor Shipon.

Snehashish Ghosh wrote the lyrics while Rezwan Sheikh and MMP Roni composed the music

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2016

Pen Pineapple apple pen n Showtime Desk

for the song. Directed by Saikat Reza, the filming of the music video wrapped up recently.

While talking about the music video, Peya said, “The song’s lyrics are extraordinary. I believe that one’s religion should be personal and when it comes to celebrating festivals, everyone should participate.”

Apart from the National Film Award winner as the lead vocal in the song, Milon and Shafayet also lent their voice for the chorus. The song is coming out under the banner of Drubho Music Station. l

31

DT

Showtime just cannot seem to avoid,” his tweet read.

Another user mentioned how it might be the next “Gangnam Style.” On the other hand, some netizens posted pictures describing their reactions and also tried to merge the fruits and a pen

“favourite video” on the internet.

Fans continue to show their enthusiasm for the song on various social media platforms.

Source: Hindustani times l

together. Pop singer Justin Beiber even tweeted that PPAP is now his

Sushant praised by Rishi Kapoor

WHAT TO WATCH Shaolin Soccer HBO 12:56PM Sing is a Shaolin monk who is a master of martial arts. But there being no need for his skills in modern times, Sing along with other monks, earns his living by doing menial jobs.

A soccer coach comes up with a new idea – to train Sing to play soccer. The coach believes that it would be too easy and successful as Sing is already trained in martial arts. Will it work?

Cast: Stephen Chow Ocean’s Eleven WB 04:46PM Daniel Ocean gets released from prison in New Jersey.

His next big heist is already all mapped out along with his buddy Rusty Ryan. Ocean’s

n Showtime Desk targets are three casinos at Las Vegas. The Bellagio, The Mirage and The MGM Grand.

All of them belong to one man, Terry Benedict. By the way, the ruthless casino owner also is very much interested in Ocean’s ex-wife, Tess. Watch the film to see how Ocean and his eleven recruits including Ryan and others manage to get away with a cool $150 million.

Cast: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts

All the hard work on and off the field has paid off for Sushant Singh Rajput who saw his film, M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story opening to smash records during the first week. Evidently thrilled at the response to his film, the actor says, “It’s all because of Dhoni’s amazing reach and popularity. I’ve never seen this kind of response for any of my other films.”

He is also being praised by Bollywood celebrities after watching the movie. Rishi Kapoor is one of them.

Rishi Kapoor has praised the

biopic and said the film’s lead actor Sushant Singh Rajput has done a great job. M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story is a story about India’s most popular cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Sushant plays the title role in the film directed by Neeraj Pandey.

“Saw film Dhoni. Sushant was totally Dhoni! All characters did well. And the two new girls are sure stars in the making. Director… splendid job,” Rishi tweeted on Sunday morning. Produced by Fox Star Studios and Arun Pandey of Inspired Entertainment, the film also features Kiara Advani, Disha Patani and Anupam Kher in pivotal

roles.

Earlier, Suriya also appreciated Sushant’s performance.

Meanwhile, the movie has been declared tax-free in Uttar Pradesh.

The biopic was also made tax free in Dhoni’s home state, Jharkhand.

“We are extremely thrilled and thankful to the government of Uttar Pradesh and the Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for giving the film tax-free status. It is an overwhelming feeling to be seeing this biopic of Mahi’s life getting such recognition,” Arun Pandey, the producer of the movie said in a statement.l

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2016

GOVERNMENT URGED TO DEFUSE ENERGY CRISIS FOR RMG SECTOR PAGE 12

SPORTING WICKET ON THE AGENDA AGAINST ENGLAND

Glass ceiling couldn't keep her down

An interior view of Baitur Rouf mosque shows the ambiance inside created by the natural sunlight falling on the floor from the ceiling through delicate architectural patterns.

Marina Tabassum (top) has won the prestigious Aga Khan Award for the design of the mosque AKTC / SANDRO DI CARLO DARSA

n Tribune Desk Marina Tabassum has won prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture, breaking through the glass ceiling designing a mosque named Baitur Rouf in Dhaka, which is also known as the “City of Mosques.”

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture is handed out every three years and rewards excellence in architecture serving Muslim communities. This year the $1 million prize is being shared among six projects around the world.

Being a citizen of a deeply conservative country where women rarely or sometimes not at all allowed into mosques, Tabassum visited over 100 of those before setting pen to paper for the Baitur Rouf Mosque.

And finally she managed to design such a spectacular and natural air conditioned mosque which has neither the traditional minaret

nor any dome, rather suffused with light and remains cool even in the scorching summer months. Tabassum was commissioned to design the building in 2005 after her grandmother donated a piece of land.

“We may not have a tradition of women going into mosques to pray in the Indian subcontinent, but I have experienced some really beautiful spiritual spaces. That has always been a great inspiration to me,” Tabassum said in a recent interview with AFP. “The whole idea of spirituality as an element in design has always been something very intriguing and I like working with spiritual spaces,” she added.

"I think of myself as a professional. This whole notion of me being a woman really does not exist in my mind. It just does not exist," she went on.

Tabassum said she tried to fuse those "glorious lost traditions" of

mosque designs with contemporary architectural practices.

Since it was completed in 2012, the Baitur Rouf Mosque has attracted visitors from around the country, to the obvious delight of the imam, Deen Islam.

"Unlike other mosques in the country, it does not have a minaret, or a dome, or a platform to deliver Friday prayers. Yet to these visitors it is one of the most beautiful mosques of the country," the 38-year-old imam told AFP on a recent visit.

"The mild light that enters the mosque is very soothing. Even during a hot summer day, the temperature inside remains mild. You feel like you're in natural air conditioning."

Dozens of tiny windows in the roof and walls create a soft light that changes through the day as the sun passes over the building, while the traditional terracotta bricks keep the interior cool.

Tabassum also teaches architec-

ture and says she is highly selective about the projects she takes on, and every one must have some social value.

"We are a very young nation and an architect's responsibility goes beyond just designing beautiful buildings," she said.

"We can design buildings like the ones designed by Frank Gehry.

But I would question whether that would be the right thing to do in a country like Bangladesh, whose economy is still not developed.

"In the Bangladesh context, that would be an ugly thing to do."

Officially secular but mainly Muslim Bangladesh has a rich history of mosque building, dating back to the Turkish invasion of the 13th century. The earliest ones combined their own designs with elements found in local traditions, such as the use of brick and small domes that span the roof, creating a unique style. l

PAGE 24

Bangladesh gets dot bangla domain n Ishtiaq Husain Bangladesh has been finally allotted the dot bangla (.bangla) internet domain to express its own identity internationally.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) sent a letter to the government clearing the much-awaited Internationalised Domain Name (IDN) yesterday.

State Minister for Posts and Telecommunications Tarana Halim also confirmed it on her Facebook status soon after the allocation.

“Sierra Leone was also our competitor to get the dot bangla domain but we presented the sacrifices we made to get Bangla language as mother tongue. Based on the sacrifice of February 21 in 1952, the day was recognised as World Mother Language Day in 1999.

Therefore, considering that sacrifice, Bangladesh has right on that domain,” Tarana Halim said on her Facebook status.

Since the year 2000, February 21 is being observed as International Mother Language Day to promote peace and multilingualism. It should be also noted that in 2002, Sierra Leone government announced Bangla as an honorary official language of the country.

ICANN is a non-profit organisation that is responsible for coordinating the maintenance and procedures of several databases related to the namespaces of the Internetthereby ensuring the network’s stable and secure operation.

In 2012, the ICANN had issued the dot bd (.bd) to Bangladesh, which is still active, but the country failed to make it effective though three years have passed since obtaining the permission. l

Smallest machines fetch 2016 Nobel in chemistry n Tribune Desk

The Nobel Prize in chemistry 2016 has been awarded to Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L Feringa for their design and production of molecular machines.

Winners Jean-Pierre Sauvage is from University of Strasbourg, France; Sir J Fraser Stoddart from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; and Bernard L Feringa is from University of Groningen,

Jean-Pierre Sauvage

Sir J Fraser Stoddart

Bernard L Feringa

the Netherlands.

They have developed molecules with controllable movements, which can perform a task when energy is added, said a press release of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

The development of computing demonstrates how the miniaturisation of technology can lead to a revolution. The 2016 Nobel laureates in chemistry have miniaturised machines and taken chemistry to a new dimension.

This year's Nobel laureates in chemistry have taken molecular systems out of equilibrium’s stalemate and into energy-filled states in which their movements can be controlled. In terms of development, the molecular motor is at the same stage as the electric motor was in the 1830s, when scientists displayed various spinning cranks and wheels, unaware that they would lead to electric trains, washing machines, fans and food processors. l

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