09 Oct, 2016

SECOND EDITION

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

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Ashwin 24, 1423, Muharram 7, 1437

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 162

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www.dhakatribune.com

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32 pages

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Price: Tk10

11 ‘terrorists’ killed, key financier dies Rahman Rabbi, Dhaka, n Arifur Raihanul Islam Akand, Gazipur, Mohammed Afzal Hossain, Tangail and Nadim Hossain, Savar Eleven suspected militants have been killed in gunfights with law enforcers in three separate raids in Gazipur and Tangail districts.

Police’s Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit conducted one of the raids and elite force Rapid Action Battalion the other two.

In another drive carried out in Ashulia area of Savar, RAB arrested Abdur Rahman, a key financier of the recent terrorist attacks, but he succumbed to his injuries after several hours at a hospital.

Patartek, Gazipur

Members of the CT unit surrounded a two-storey house in Patartek area in Gazipur around 3:30am yesterday.

Around 8:30am, police called for the residents to come out. They

WEAPONS SEIZED

1 AK22 rifle

7 Pistols Revolvers Bomb making materials

25 Sharp weapons

Bullets and a magazine were met with gunfire in response.

Following about two hours of gunfight, the militants threatened to explode a gas cylinder behind the door if police tried to come in.

Police ceased operation and asked the militants to surrender again. The militants fired more  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Two members of police’s Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit secure the roof of a militant den at Patartek in Gazipur after a raid yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

They also chose to die n Tribune Desk In the all three drives that killed 11 New JMB militants in Gazipur and Tangail yesterday, law enforcers first give them chances to surrender. But they chose to die attacking the police.

In Patartek area of Gazipur, a total of 100 police officials took part in the five-hour long drive on information that New JMB military wing Faridul Islam alias Akash alias Pravat and his associates were staying at the two-storey building owned

by Saudi expatriate Solaiman.

Although the law enforcers cordoned off the building around 3:30am, they made announcement through a loudspeaker around 10am asking the militants to surrender. But they did not respond.

The team had members of Gazipur district police, SWAT, RAB, Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit and Police Head-

quarters, said Harun-or-Rashid, superintendent of police of Gazipur district.

After around two hours, the militants started firing at the police around noon with small arms and

‘We first asked the militants to surrender, but they attacked on the RAB members forcing us to retaliate’ also exploded 13-14 grenades. They even set a gas cylinder in front of the main gate so that they could explode the cylinder if the police attempted to enter the house, the SP said.

Similar cylinders were seen kept at the entrances of the Holey Arti-

INSIDE Yet another woman hacked A group of miscreants has hacked Farhana Akhter, a Bachelor’s student under Bangladesh Open University in Lakshmipur, allegedly hired by her husband, in the second such incident in the country within a week.  PAGE 3

Trader jailed for storing adulterated powdered milk A mobile court in Chittagong sentenced a trader to three months’ jail and fined him Tk1.5 lakh on charge of storing adulterated powdered milk at Majhirghat area in the city yesterday.  PAGE 7

san Bakery where five terrorists of New JMB laid siege to the Spanish restaurant on July 1 evening. All the five were killed in a commando operation the next morning.

Seven militants rented the house three months ago from the caretaker, Osman Gani, as the owner stays in Saudi Arabia. Osman is a teacher of Kaliganj Jangalia Fazil Madrasa.

Like the Patartek raid, RAB members also asked through loudspeaker the militants hiding in a house in nearby Lebubagan area of Gazipur to surrender.

RAB’s Legal and Media Wing Director Mufti Mahmud Khan said that they first asked the militants to surrender and then started going forward in small steps.

“When we first entered the house breaking the main door of the building, the militants started firing at us.

Our members retaliated resulting in the death of two militants.”  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Who is the IS ameer in Bangladesh?

N E W S

ANALYSIS n Tasneem Khalil

NEWS

Dead people usually do not speak from their graves. When they do, we should try to listen very carefully. That is why we need to decipher the latest Bangla video and the article on Bangladesh published by the Islamic State. The video features the martyrdom statements of the five Gulshan attackers, while the article was ostensibly written

by Abu Dujanah al-Bengali (real name Tamim Ahmed Chowd-

ANALYSIS

hury) – infamous dead people speaking from their graves warning and threatening about the next major IS attack.

What the video (released on September 23, via Arabic Nashir) and the article (published on October 4, in Rumiyah magazine) have in common is the ominous promise of continual attacks against the “kuffar” (disbelievers), “murtadin” (apostates), “taghut” (proponents of the secular state) and “crusaders” (foreigners) in Bangladesh. According to an infographics, published earlier in Naba magazine and now republished in Rumiyah, ISIS itself estimates that 42% of the victims of its attacks in Bangladesh are Hindus and Buddhists; 27%

NEWS ANALYSIS NEWS ANALYSIS

NEWS DT Industrial, household

ANALYSIS

waste killing Halda River

Halda River, the only natural spawning ground for carp fish in the country, and one of the largest in the world, is being polluted by untreated waste from industries and households.  PAGE 32

NEWS ANAL NEWS

ANALYS

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

PM: No place for religious terror n BSS

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina vowed to clamp down on militancy and terrorism with an iron fist also in future, saying that her government won’t allow any terrorist acts

in the name of religion.

The premier said her government does not want conflicts, rather it wants peace, prosperity and development.

“We want development in such a way that all people irrespective of

caste, creed and religion will get the benefit,” she said.

Sheikh Hasina said: “Our government has always taken stern action against terrorism and militancy and would continue to curb the twin demons with an iron hand.”

The Prime Minister was addressing the Hindu devotees while visiting the Durga Puja Mandop at Dhakeswari National Temple in the city yesterday. Talking about the essence of all religions, she said that welfare of the human beings

is the main theme of all religions.

During the Liberation War, Sheikh Hasina said, people from all religions had made their supreme sacrifice.

Later, she visited Ramkrishna Mission Temple and Math at Ramkrishna Mission Road. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

11 ‘terrorists’ killed, key financier dies shots at the law enforcers. At 3pm, police carried out the final drive which went on for about 40 minutes.

At least 14 grenades thrown from the house exploded in this time.

At the end of the raid, seven militants were found dead on the first floor of the building.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and senior officials of the police visited the spot in the last moments of the drive.

Of the deceased, one is Faridul Islam alias Akash alias Pravat, the Dhaka division’s operational commander of New JMB. The identities of the other six have not been confirmed.

The minister later told reporters that Akash had been trying to mobilise the New JMB group since the death of Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury in Narayanganj raid in August.

Sources said the missing elder son of Tanvir Qadri, who committed suicide during the Azimpur raid, was among the seven militants killed in Patartek raid.

At the end of the operation, police recovered three small arms and locally-made sharp weapons.

ADC Sanowar Hossain of the CT bomb disposal unit said that they cordoned off the house on the basis of a tip-off that Akash and his cohorts were staying there.

The building is owned by Saudi Arabia expatriate Solaiman Miah and managed by his younger brother Osman Gani, a former teacher of Jangalia Senior Fazil Madrasa in Kaliganj.

A SWAT member was hit by a bullet in the operation but his injuries were minimal.

Lebubagan, Gazipur

Two suspected militants were killed during an operation by RAB at a den in Lebubagan area of Gazipur, about 500 metres from the Patartek den.

RAB Legal and Media Wing Director Mufti Mahmud Khan confirmed the deaths to the Dhaka Tribune. RAB 12 began the drive around 5am yesterday and it continued till midday.

The killed militants were primarily identified as Rashed Mia and Touhidul Islam, of Narsingdi, but RAB was checking whether these identities were real.

Mufti Mahmud said one AK22 rifle, bomb making materials, one laptop, a locally-made sharp weapon and some bullets were seized from the den.

House owner Ataur Rahman, who is staying in Dhaka, finished the construction of the house one and a half months ago, said RAB 1 Deputy Commander Kazi Shoiab Hossain.

Rashid Mia had told Ataur that he passed HSC and was preparing for university admissions. Touhidul had identified himself as a student of Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (Duet).

Kagmara, Tangail

In another raid carried out by RAB, two suspected militants were killed in a three-storey building in

Mirzamath area of Kagmara in Tangail town yesterday morning.

Commanding Officer RAB 12 Additional DIG Md Shahabuddin Khan said the raid took place from 10:30am to 3pm.

Commander of CPC 3 Md Mohiuddin Faruki told the Dhaka Tribune the dead militants had been identified as Atiqur Rahman and Sagar Hossain from Rajshahi Charghat.

Two RAB men were injured during the drive, he claimed.

RAB recovered one pistol, one revolver, 11 sharp weapons, 12 bullets, two laptops and Tk64,362 from the ground floor flat.

Additional DIG Shahabuddin said that the two men called landlord Azhar Ali Master on September 27 identifying themselves as students and moved in the next day.

Azhar Ali was detained for questioning, he added.

Azhar Ali told the Dhaka Tribune that he had asked the new tenants for their national IDs but they had asked for seven days’ time.

“After that I went away to Tabligh and returned today. Now I have lean rt that they are involved in terrorist activities,” he added.

In December, two JMB members were killed in a gunfight with RAB at an abandoned house in Vogra near Gazipur-Chittagong bypass road.

Later in July, RAB arrested four members of JMB including a regional chief during a raid in Gazipur’s Tongi area. A large cache of arms,

Who is the IS ameer in Bangladesh? are Christians; 19% are apostates and atheists; 12% are Shia Muslims.

There is also the hint that attacks will now be reoriented more against foreigners. As Tamim Chowdhury put it in his article in Rumiyah: “Let the Crusader nations know that as long as they fight the Islamic State, their citizens will not be able to enjoy any peace and safety in any part of Bengal.”

But now that Tamim aka Abu Dujanah (former head of military and covert operations of the soldiers of the Khilafah in Bengal, as mentioned in Rumiyah) is dead (killed by the security forces in Narayanganj on August 27), who is in charge of coordinating the next series of attacks?

This is where we once again turn to Abu Ibrahim al-Hanif (pseudonym), the elusive ameer of IS in Bangladesh. Abu Ibrahim is the

person who, in an interview published in the 14th issue of IS’ Dabiq magazine, gave an account of what ISIS aims to achieve in the “land of Bengal.” He is the person who is still in charge — the man behind the curtain, plotting the next act in the spectacle of brutality.

If the security czars in Bangladesh are serious about uprooting IS (Neo-JMB or New JMB, as identified by the police) and stopping the planned slaughter of religious minorities and foreigners, they must now focus on this man and try to reveal his real identity. The rumour that Tamim Chowdhury was Abu Ibrahim was started by a Bangladeshi journalist too close to the spooks, and later recycled without question by other journalists, researchers and officials.

This was despite the fact that Bangladeshi officials knew

Tamim’s actual kunya, (jihadi nom de guerre) that he was not Abu Ibrahim al-Hanif but Abu Dujanah al-Bengali. As Sanwar Hossain of DMP’s counter-terrorism unit recently told the New York Times: “We have known for a while that this is how Tamim was referred to.”

In his Rumiyah article, Tamim Chowdhury quite possibly gave a hint about the timing of the next major attack by quoting a verse from the Qur’an (9:5): “And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the mushrikin wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush.”

In 2016, Islamic sacred months will be over by the end of October. Is IS planning to strike again after that?

Abu Ibrahim al-Hanif could have given us a clear answer. And, that is why he needs to be identified, fast. l

Tk30 lakh, a pistol, jihadi books and other material recovered from the den of Abdur Rahman, a key New JMB financier DHAKA TRIBUNE ammunition and bomb-making materials were also recovered from the fifth floor of the six-storey building at Ouchpara in Tongi’s Mukhtarbari.

Ashulia, Savar

RAB members arrested alleged militant financier Abdur Rahman, 35, when he sustained injuries while fleeing his house during the raid yesterday afternoon.

Abdur Rahman cut the grill and jumped off the fourth floor of a five-storey building at Bashundhara Tek Moholla in Ashulia’s Baipail area when RAB started the drive at Hamir Mridha Shahin’s house around 3:30pm.

He was later admitted to the ICU of Enam Medical College Hospital at Savar where he died around 9pm, Savar MP and Director of Enam Medical College Hospital Dr Enamur Rahman told Dhaka Tribune.

RAB Director Mufti Mahmud claimed that Abdur Rahman was

the main financier behind all the recent subversive activities.

Abdur Rahman used to stay in the flat with his wife Shahnaz Akter Rumi and their children. The elite force also recovered Tk30 lakh, and a pistol, ammunition, five knives and a mobile jammer from the flat.

Mufti Mahmud said that Abdur Rahman had been under surveillance for two years, but he could not be arrested since he changed his den frequently.

CT unit’s ADC Sanowar told the press at the end of the Patartek raid that through this raid, the police had destroyed the arms and ammunition supply chain of the New JMB group.

“We have also successfully destroyed most of their ready force which was prepared to carry out attacks at any time,” he said. “At this point, we can say that in today’s operation we have destroyed about 99% of the New JMB’s strength.” l

They also chose to die The duo were identified as Rashed Mia and Touhidul Islam by the house owner. Mufti Mahmud said that the names could be fake. Their affiliation with militant groups was not clear.

The raid was conducted from 5am to 12 noon.

Khandakar Rezaul Hasan Reza, OC of Joydebpur police, said that they were preparing for filing two separate cases over the two raids for keeping arms illegally and attacking on the law enforcers.

Meanwhile, two other suspected militants were killed in a raid conducted by RAB in Mirzamath area of Kagmara in Tangail town from 10:30am to 3pm. The duo – Atiqur Rahman and Sagor Hossain – are from Charghat of Rajshahi.

RAB 12 Commanding Officer

Md Shahabuddin Khan, also an additional deputy inspector general, said that they first asked the militants to surrender, “but they attacked on the RAB members forcing us to retaliate.”

Locals said that they heard someone shouting “Allahu Akbar” when the RAB members had been trying to enter the house to arrest the militants, staying on the ground floor of the three-storey building.

Owner of the building Azhar Ali Master was detained for questioning.

In the fourth raid conducted in Ashulia area of Savar yesterday afternoon, Abdur Rahman – a key militant financier, was held after he jumped off the fourth floor of a building sensing the presence of RAB members. l

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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

Yet another woman hacked Khadiza improving Islam Swapan, n Saiful Lakshmipur

A group of miscreants, allegedly hired by her husband, has hacked a university student in Lakshmipur, in the second such incident in the country within a week.

Farhana Akhter, a degree student under Bangladesh Open University, was attacked around 9pm Friday in the Chhoto Pool area of Shakharipara in the Lakshmipur town by two or three unknown assailants.

She has been admitted to Lakhsmipur Sadar Hospital.

The woman told journalists at the hospital that she was a resident of Bhangura in Pabna district and was staying with one Sabita Rani, who works for Lakshmipur Family Planning, to appear for her degree exams at the Lakshmipur Government College centre.

On Friday, after her exams, she went to the town bus terminal to get on a bus for home. But she failed to get tickets and was heading back to Sabita’s place when she was attacked.

Lakshmipur Sadar Hospital’s

KHADIZA HACKING

Schoolboy arrested for threatening witness

Serajul Islam, n Mohammed Sylhet A number of Khadiza’s classmates and fellow examinees were threatened over the phone Kotoali Police have arrested a student of the 7th grade for threatening a girl who witnessed the vicious assault.

The juvenile delinquent is one Jasim or Pagoil village in Shiberbazar under Sylhet sadar upazila.

Police raided the village on Friday night and arrested Jasim.

Assistant Commissioner of Kotoali police Nurul Huda Ashrafi told the Dhaka Tribune that Sanjida Akhter Nahid received a number of threatening phone calls on Wednesday night.

Sanjida is a 2nd year student at Sylhet Government Women’s College Assistant Professor Zillur Rahman of the college said that Sanjida’s family came forward with her witness testimony and that this led to the threats.

Sanjida’s family had filed a GD with the police and she was accorded police protection when she sat for her exams on Thursday. l

Resident Medical Officer Dr. Anwar Hossain said Farhana had injuries in her stomach and chest caused by sharp weapons.

Farhana told reporters she was married to and estranged from Dr Ashfaqur Rahman, the president of the Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) Lakshmipur chapter.

She believed he was responsible for the attack.

Dr Ashfaq, who is a deputy director (acting) at the Lakshmipur Health and Family Planning office, denied the marriage.

“That woman is conspiring against

me to extort money. She was already married and had a child from that marriage,” he said.

Farhana works as a paramedic for the project ‘MaMoni’ under Save the Children at the Mother and Children Welfare Centre in Lakshmipur.

Farhana told journalists she and the doctor had gotten married last year while travelling in Sylhet.

“Then Mamun refused to accept me as his wife. He also asked me not to come to Lakshmipur. At point, he threatened to kill me. So, when I came to take the exam here, he sent hired goons to attack me,” she said.

Lakshmipur Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Khandakar Mohammad Shahnawaz and Sadar Station’s Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abdullah Al-Mamun Bhuiyan visited Farhana at the hospital and said they would carry out the necessary investigation and take measures.

Lakshmipur Deputy Commissioner Zillur Rahman Chowdhury also visited her and asked the hospital authorities to ensure her treatment. He also requested the police officials to ensure her safety. l

n Arifur Rahman Rabbi The condition of brutally hacked college girl from Sylhet Khadiza Akter Nargis is improving, say doctors of Dhaka's Square Hospital.

She could move her right hand and right leg and respond with the right eye slightly, said Dr AM Rezaul Sattar, associate consultant of the Neurology Department of the hospital.

“Khadija is still not out of danger. For now, all we can say is that her chances of survival have increased,” said Mirza Nazim Uddin, consultant of the hospital's Medicine and Critical Care Unit, at a press briefing on Saturday noon.

“She is expected to show more improvement after 96 hours of her surgery. However, we are yet not sure whether she will get her normal life back,” the doctor said, adding that it might take her two to three weeks or even months to recover.”

Khadiza, a second-year Bachelor’s student of Sylhet Govt Mohila College, was brutally stabbed by Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) unit BCL leader Badrul Alam on October 3. She was returning home from her college after appearing for an examination.

First she was rushed to Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital and then to Square Hospital in the capital early Tuesday, as her condition deteriorated. She is now on life support.

Students caught Badrul from the spot and handed him over to police after beating him up.

Khadiza’s uncle filed a case against him with Shah Paran police station on October 4.

Badrul gave confessional statements to police the next day.

Sylhet college students have been demanding exemplary punishment for Badrul. l

Demand for Badrul’s execution keeps raging Serajul Islam, n Mohammed Sylhet

Daily protests are now taking place in Sylhet demanding the hanging of SUST BCL leader Badrul for his attack on Khadiza Akhter Nargis, a student of SGWC. Sylhet public prosecutor assured the victim's family that the trial will be historically swift. He made the statement when he visited them on Saturday afternoon.

He said: “Even our Prime Minis-

ter is concerned about this matter.

We will resolve it swiftly.”

Masuk Mia, the Saudi-residing father of Khadiza told the Dhaka Tribune that he was grateful for the support of the media and the people of the country during this difficult time. He asked the people to support them until justice was carried out.

Sylhet Concerned Citizen's Forum organised a protest in Tukerbazar on Saturday. Masuk Mia spoke along with AL organisational

secretary Misbah Uddin Siraj and BNP general secretary Ali Ahmad representing the district parties.

They later formed a human chain demanding capital punishment for Badrul.

Another protest was held by the Sylhet chapter of the Sexual Harassment Elimination Network. Led by the District Advocate Committee's president, they condemned Badrul for his criminal actions and demanded his swift trial.

Shah Poran police OC Shahjalal

Munshi told the Dhaka Tribune that they filed the charge sheet in record time. He said a lot still depends on Khadiza's physical condition.

He added that he was closely following her medical status.

Khadiza was injured grievously by a vicious hacking last Monday

by Badrul, a leader of SUST Chhatra League. She is now being treated at Square Hospital in Dhaka. Badrul has confessed to his crimes and in police custody. l

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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

‘BNP counting on US polls results’ n Abu Hayat Mahmud Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday said that the Bangladesh Nationalists Party (BNP) is trying to come to power illegally and was keenly waiting for the American election results.

He made the comments at a ruling party Awami League (AL) meeting in Dhanmondi area, yesterday adding that the BNP had failed to get support from the countrymen and that of India.

The minister said: “The people of the country does not recognise BNP as a party as they have failed to be an opposition party in the Jatiyo Sangshad [National Parliament]. After they failed to gain public support the BNP always tries to come to power by depending on their foreign masters.”

Quader, also a member of the AL’s highest policy making forum

Siblings sent to prison for beating SUST student Hasan, SUST n Jahid correspondent

The sibling duo, who were caught red-handed while beating up a student of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) on Friday, have been sent to prison by a Sylhet court.

Sylhet Metropolitan Magistrate Court sent Kawsar Ahmed and his sister Fahmida Akhter to prison after police produced them before the court yesterday afternoon, Jalalabad police station OC Akhter Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune.

Kawsar is a former student of the history department at Chittagong University, and Fahmida is a third-year student at the Institute of Education and Research at the same university.

According to police and witnesses, Kawsar and Fahmida tried to force a fourth-year anthropology student at the SUST to get on a rickshaw with them on Friday afternoon. Failing to do that, the duo started beating her right on the SUST campus.

Prof Sajedul Karim, teacher at SUST mathematics department, was passing by the area at that time and intervened and detained the siblings with the help of other teachers.

Later, the duo were handed over to Jalalabad police.

The victim filed a case against Kawsar and Fahmida with Jalalabad police station on Friday night. l

the presidium, further said the unity of the ruling Awami League will be strengthened during the party’s 20th national council scheduled to be held from October 22-23.

“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has always depended on the people of the country, which is why she has been elected repeatedly,” he added.

The senior leader of the ruling party has urged members of his party to be watchful about hidden enemies of Awami League, because fundamentalists were trying to enter party.

The Awami League has constituted 11 sub-committees against the backdrop of its 20th triennial national council to be held in the capital this month.

President of the party Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will chair the council preparatory committee while general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam will be present as its member-secretary. l

Inu: General election not current agenda n BSS

Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu said the national agenda was not about election but to make the country permanently militancy-free.

“Those who were bringing forth the issue of national election are basically trying to divert attention from the fight against militancy,” he told journalist at Poradaha after inaugurating the development work of a road.

Inu further said “As killers were criminals, so were those who plan and patronise such activities.”

Describing Khaleda as a dangerous leader who supported militants, resorted to arson by fire, burned people and directly led militant strikes, the minister said “Therefore, as we battle the militants on the field, we’ve to politically boycott Khaleda, as well. l

Two held with six bombs in Kushtia n Tribune Report Police arrested two terrorists with six bombs from Takala Chowrasta area in Adabariya union under Daulatpur upazila in the district yesterday.

The arrested were identified as Bablu, 40, son of late Box Mandal, and Esaktullah, 38, son of late Foyaz Uddin Felu, residents of Gangni

upazila under Meherpur district.

Takala Camp police sources said a patrol team of the police conducted a raided in Takala Chowrasta and arrested two terrorists with a bag containing six bombs.

The sources said several cases are pending against them with different police stations in the region. l

Question paper leak gang held in Dhaka n Tribune Report The Detective Branch of police have arrested three members of a gang involved in leaking question papers of different public examinations, medical and recruitment tests in Dhaka.

A DB team arrested the three men: Ashraf Uddin Shaikat, 20, Omar Faruk, 19, Ifad Ahmed Oronno, 19, and Md Alam, 45, from in front of Public Library at Shahbagh on Friday night, said an official release of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

The arrestees have

long been involved in collecting money from people by promising to give them question papers of various public exams, public recruitment and admission tests of different educational institutions including medical colleges before the exam.

In carrying out these scams, they had been using social networking sites like Facebook with fake ID names such as SAM NILIM, Ochena Sahajjokari and ARONNOKHAN vai, the release said.

A case was lodged in this connection. l

Not used anymore, the post box in front of Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) at Dhaka University lies in neglect, collecting dirt and waste. as World Post Day is observed around the globe today, post boxes are now a mere symbol of the past when emails and instant messaging did not exist and letters were the only way of communication beside telephones MEHEDI HASAN

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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

Fresh mariners demand PM’s intervention to save industry Mizanur Rahaman, n FM Chittagong

Graduates of Bangladesh Marine Academy (BMA) have sought the prime minister’s intervention to stop alleged regularities and corruption in the marine sector and to create employment opportunity for the freshers.

The former cadets of the marine academy made the demands by forming a human chain in front of

have not completed their one-year long internship in sea as there was a huge supply of cadets in comparison with the demand in job markets,” alleged the protesters at the human chain.

The demonstration also alleged that the situation of the marine sector is worsening day by day as there are acute visa crises for the mariners, rampant corruption of the manning agencies, appointments through certificate forgery

the Chittagong Press Club around 10am yesterday holding placards and posters.

At the two-hour long programme, the ex-cadets alleged that many graduates were still unemployed and were reeling from frustration as there were limited job opportunities in the market.

Every year the number of unemployed cadets was going up, they said.

“Around 600 cadets of BMA

and falling number of local ships.

The organisers sought intervention of the prime minister to stop what they said were massive irregularities in the business.

BMA graduates have been demonstrating to press home their different demands including resolving visa crisis and creating new jobs for junior officers since 2014.

To realise their demands, they have also held a number of programmes in Dhaka and Chittagong. l

Road crashes kill 4,000 a year n UNB Former caretaker government adviser Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman on Saturday called upon all to work together to get rid of road accidents, subsequent loss of lives saying some 4,000 people die every year in Bangladesh due to road accidents.

He said Bangladesh also suffers an economic loss of nearly Tk 5 billion annually for road crashes.

The renowned economist was addressing a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club where a new platform, ‘Safe Roads and Transport Alliance (Srota)’, was launched to create awareness to help improve overall road management.

Brac’s senior director of strategy, communications and empowerment programme Asif Saleh, chairperson of Nirapod Sorok Chai Ilias Kanchan, prominent writer and researcher Syed Abul Maksud, organising secretary of Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation Mukhlesur Rahman, and civil society leaders were, among others, present, said a press release.

Nirapod Sorok Chai, Brac, Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), Bangladesh Bus-Truck Owners Association, Bangladesh Passenger Welfare Association and Bangladesh Society for Emergency Medicine are the six organizations working on behalf of the alliance.

Researcher and writer Syed AbulMaksud, organising secretary of Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation Mukhlesur Rahman, will work with the alliance. Brac will be handling all the official responsibilities for the alliance. l

AZIMPUR RAID

Three female militants back in DB custody n Tribune Desk The three female militant suspects, who were arrested during an anti-militant raid in Azimpur, Dhaka last month, have been taken to the Detective Branch (DB) of police.

A team of police’s Counterterrorism and Transnational Crimes (CTTC) unit, led by Assistant Commissioner Ahsanullah, took them to the DB office under tight security yesterday afternoon after they were released from Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

Jasmine Nahar, resident surgeon of DMCH Emergency Department, said the suspects had recovered from their injuries, so they had been released from the hospital.

All three were coaxed into joining militancy by their husbands

Speakers address a seminar held on the occasion of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day 2016 yesterday at Pan Pacific Sonargaon, Dhaka. The seminar was organised by Bangladesh Medical Association RAJIB DHAR

DNC to increase morphine supply for cancer patients n Kamrul Hasan

Bangladesh needs some 340kg of morphine to care for cancer patients per day but only 34kgs is available daily. Morphine is essential for cancer patients to help cope with their treatment.”

The DG said that he was unaware of the crucial role the DNC plays in palliative care until a BSMMU professor had reached out to him about the current situation.

The doctors informed the DNC that sellers of morphine sellers were charging higher prices from the patients as the demand is hight but the supply is substantially low.

Because there is a quota system in place for the availability of morphine, the market cannot cope with the demand that there is in the medical profession, he added.

“We will do our best to increase the availability of morphine for

Palliative care is for patients with incurable illness where they are made as comfortable as possible, by managing their pain and other distressing symptoms. It also involves psychological, social and spiritual support.

Chief of Department of Narcotic Control (DNC) yesterday said his department will increase the supply of morphine such patients by the end of the month.

DNC Director General (DG) Rakibur Rahman spoke as a special guest at an event observing World Hospice and Palliative Care Day. Dr Nezamuddin Ahmad, head of Centre for Palliative Care at the event highlighted the situation regarding the supply of morphine in the country by saying: “At present

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9

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Dhaka

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patients within October,” He said adding that a draft of an amendment was sent to the ministry.

Speakers at the program also urged local pharmaceuticals to produce morphine which would be a cost effective alternative to the imported one.

Health Minister Mohammad Nasim was invited as the chief guest along with State Minister to health Jahid Malik, Health Secretary Syed Monjurul Islam, the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) Abul kalam Azad could not attend the event.

An organising sources said Minister Nasim was at Sirajganj for an AL party program yesterday.

Bangladesh signed a landmark resolution on palliative care at the World Health Assembly in Geneva in 2014 but has yet to implement its regulations in the past two years. l Khulna

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Barisal

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:54AM

35.6ºC Jessore

24.5ºC Srimangal

Source: Accuweather/UNB

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PRAYER TIMES

The trio – Afrin alias Priyoti, 25, Adedatul Fatema alias Khadiza, 35, and Shaila Afrin, 23 – were injured when the CTTC raided a militant den in Azimpur on September 10.

They were sent to the DMCH for treatment after they were arrested.

Police said they, along with New JMB leader and Khadiza’s husband Tanvir Qadri, attacked the CTTC team when they were conducting the raid in search of militants.

Tanvir committed suicide when the CTTC team stormed the den, according to police.

Beside Khadiza, the other two are also wives of top militant leaders, said CTTC sources: Priyoti is wife of New JMB leader Nurul Islam Marjan, and Shaila is wife of Basharuzzaman.

All three were coaxed into joining militancy by their husbands, the sources said.

No official comment on this matter was available from the CTTC unit yesterday. However, some sources said the suspects might be interrogated about their militant links as well as the whereabouts of Jebunnahar, wife of New JMB military trainer Major (retd) Jahidul Islam, who escaped during the raid.

Jebunnahar, suspected to be a top leader as well, allegedly managed to get in touch with another militant and is currently lying low in another hideout, according to CTTC sources. l Sylhet

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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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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

Ferries on Paturia-Daulatdia route flooded with ads n Motiur Rahman, Manikganj Ferries on the Paturia-Daulatdia route have been flooded with advertisements of different private companies, violating the marine law.

Almost every ferry on the route except “Golam Mowla” were wrapped with advisements of several products such as Gazi Tire, Bkash, Rupchanda Soyabean oil, Omera Gas company and others, said sources.

Passengers alleged due to advertisements they could not identify the name of the ferries.

Suresh Saha, a resident of Manikganj Municipality area, said: “One of his relatives told him that he was crossing the Padma River with a ferry named Omera, but there is no ferry on the route with that name.

Actually the ferry name was Shah Mokdum.”

He also said: “Passengers could not identify the name of ferries due to advertisements.”

This correspondent has found during his visit to ferry terminal that Birshreshtho Hamidur Rahman and Amanat Shah ferry were

The ferry named Shah Mokdum on Paturia-Daulatdia route cannot be identified, as it is almost wrapped in commercial advertisements. The photo was taken yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE wrapped with Rupchanda Soybean oil and Gazi Tire’s advertisement respectively, where Keramot Ali, Enayetpuri and Barkat ferry were wrapped with the ads of Bkash.

When contacted, Sheikh Mohammad Nasim, deputy general

manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), said: “They have given order to wrap the ferries with different advertisements following an order of Ministry of Shipping.”

The DGM confessed that they

gave the order by violating marine laws.

Abdul Kuddus, Assistant general manager of Paturia ferry sector, said: “They have no information about the advertisements and BIWTC head office controlled the matter.” l

Woman killed by ex-husband Hossain, n Anwar Chapainawabganj A woman was hacked to death allegedly by her ex-husband at Choitanayapur village in Shibganj upazila of the district on Friday night.

The deceased was Farzana Akhter, daughter of Nur Islam of the village.

SI Kamruzzaman, of Shibganj police station also Investigating officer (IO) said Farzana was married to Sumon Ali of the same area on December 25, 2012 and got a child. But on De-

cember 15, 2015 Sumon divorced Farzana through a local arbitration board.

Sumon used to go to his former in-law’s house to see his son Siam, 2. For this reason the members of his in-law’s house became annoyed, he said.

Sumon again went to his former in-laws house at night around 10-30 pm. But Farzana’s mother Biluara Begum started shouting.

As a result, Summon stabbed farzana with sharp knife while Kamruzzaman came to rescue her, Sumon also stabbed them.

Farzana died on the spot.

Hearing the hue and cry, locals rushed to the spot and held Sumon.

Being informed police rushed to the spot and arrested Sumon, 25. Police also recovered Farzana’s body and sent it to Chapainawabganj Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy.

Critically injured Delwara was first taken to a local hospital and later shifted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital as her condition deteriorated.

A case was filed in this connection. l

Members of Rajshahi Traders Coordination Council and Rajshahi Citizen Coordination Committee organize a demonstration to withdraw excessive holding taxes, trade license fees and signboard fees. The photo was taken from Sahebbazar area in the city AZAHAR UDDIN

Short-measuring in subsidy rice sale n Matiur Rahman, Manikganj Allegations of deceiving ultra poor people while selling rice at Tk10 per kg have been raised against a dealer of Nali Union at Ghior upazila in Manikganj.

Poor people, who had come to buy 30 kg rice at Tk10 per kg under the government’s food-provision programme for them, gave fingerprints, a traditional substitute for signatures, in register against 30 kg rice at the shop of dealer Huzur Ali, also office secretary of local Awami League (AL), at Bathuimuri Bazar of the union.

But, instead, they were given 27 to maximum 29 kg rice at the price of 30 kg, found our correspondent while visiting the spot on Saturday afternoon.

Rekha Rajbangshi of Gangdubi village said: “We have come from a distance of three to four kilometres on foot to buy rice at fair price, but got one kg less despite paying the price of 30 kg. We could have our dinner with this one kg rice.”

Abdul Rahim Mia of the village said they were bound to accept the amount of rice given by the dealer. What else the poor people like them could do, opined Rahim.

‘We have come from a distance of three to four kilometres on foot to buy rice at fair price’ Chaina Rajbangshi of the area echoed the same, while Felani Rajbangshi, who also came to buy the rice along with Chaina said: “We cannot protest deceiving, we just can put our fingerprints.”

Huzur admitted that all of 207 people, who had got the fair price food ration cards, were given twothree kg rice less than the actual weight.

He told the Dhaka Tribune that he did so, as he also got three to four kg less rice in each sack. He also claimed that local chairman, members and AL leaders instructed him to give less amount of rice.

Admitting the fact of irregularities, Abdul Kader, chairman of the union, denied such claim made by Huzur.

Asad, general secretary to local AL, said after being informed of the matter, Huzur was instructed to sell the just amount of rice.

On the other hand, the shop of other dealer Rabiul Islam Lavlu in Kalta Bazar of the union was found closed.

Local businessmen said he went to celebrate Maharram.

They did not know when Lavlu would come back. l

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Durga Puja celebration gains momentum Hedait Hossain Molla, n Md Khulna

Durga Puja, the largest religious festival of the Bangla-speaking Hindus, is being celebrated amid great enthusiasm in ten districts of Khulna division.

The festival is being marked by puja, arati, recitation from scriptures, distribution of proshad, offering of devotional songs and bhajans.

At least 5,000 puja mandops have been set up in ten districts of the division, said Shamaol Halder, former vice president of Bangladesh Puja Udjapon Parishad Central Committee, now in-charge of Khulna city Puja Udjapon Parishad.

Of them, 489 mandops have been set up in Khulna city, 563 in Satkhira, 560 in Bagerhat, 628 in Jessore, 444 in Jhenidah, 604 in Magura, 593 in Narail, 217 in Kushtia, 102 in Chuadanga and 35 in Meherpur districts.

A huge number of devotees are visiting different puja mandaps to have a look at goddess Durga with great excitement.

Besides, huge crowds were seen at every puja mandaps throughout the day especially in the afternoon.

Khulna district administration and Puja Udjapon Parishad Committee (PUPC) sources said 489 Puja mandaps were set up this year in the city while 804 in the district.

District administration has distributed a total of 459 metric tons of rice to celebrate Durga Puja this year. The celebration will end through the immersion of idols of

Durga Puja, the largest religious festival of the Hindus, begins at different temples amid religious festivity in Khulna. The picture was taken yesterday from Keshobpur temple DHAKA TRIBUNE goddess Durga on Bijoy Dashami on Tuesday.

Parliament members Begum Monnuzan Sufian, Talukder Abdul Khaleque, Mizanur Rahman Mizan, S M Mostofa Rashidi Suja, Panchanon Biswas along with other Awami League leaders, Acting Mayor of Khulna City Corporation Anisur

Bodies of missing students found in Shangkha River Mizanur Rahman, n FM Chittagong The bodies of two female students, who remained missing after a boat capsized in the Shangkha river two days ago, have been found in its estuary.

The discovery was made in the Raisota ghat area under Banshkhali upazila of Chittagong Saturday morning.

The victims were identified as Jannatul Mawa, daughter of Sirajul Islam, and Hanifa Akhter, daughter of Mostak Ahmed, residents of Juidandi area of Anwara upazila.

Jannatul was a class VI student while Hanifa of class VII at Nurain Senior Fajil Madrasa in Banshkhali.

“Locals spotted the bodies float-

ing near the spot of the capsizal in the morning and informed police.

We have already handed over the bodies to the family members,” said Anwara police station OC Dulal Mahmud.

On Thursday, the boat with about 19 passengers, capsized in the Shangkha River at the ghat owing to overloading. However, 17 students managed to swim ashore, while the two remained missing.

Divers from Bangladesh Coast Guard (East Zone) and Fire Service started a rescue operation but their efforts ended in vain.

Police detained the boatman named Parvej in this connection.

OC Dulal told the Dhaka Tribune; “The boatman has been produced before the court. No case was filed yet.” l

Rahman Biswas, Khulna divisional commissioner Md. Abdus Samad, Khulna Police Commissioner Nibash Chandra Majhi, DIG of Khulna Range Police S M Moniruzzaman, Khulna deputy commissioner Nazmul Ahsan and leaders of different socio-cultural organisations visited a number of Puja Mandaps at different places in

the city and district last night.

The authorities concerned have given assurances of smooth supply of electricity to all puja mandaps at night to enable the Hindu devotees offering their prayers, puja, archanas, kirtons and other religious rituals smoothly.

Meanwhile, foolproof security

measures were taken in the city and its adjacent areas to avert any untoward incident during the big religious festival of the Hindu.

Khulna Metropolitan Police (KMP) Commissioner Nibash Chandra Majhi said three-tier security measures have been adopted in the Puja Mandaps areas. l

Trader jailed for storing adulterated powdered milk Mizanur Rahaman, n FM Chittagong A mobile court in Chittagong sentenced a trader to three months’ jail and fined him Tk1.5 lakh on charge of storing adulterated powdered milk at Majhirghat area in the city yesterday.

The convict was Najim Uddin, the director of Nur Dairy Food in the city.

Paritosh Gosh, deputy commissioner of Detective Branch (North and South) of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP), said: “Acting in secret information, a team of DB conducted a raid at a warehouse of Nur Dairy Food at Majhirghat area around 3pm and seized a huge amount of adulterated powdered milk.

“Later, the team informed district administration for a mobile court,” the DC said.

Being informed, a mobile court led by Forkan Elahi Anupam, ex-

ecutive magistrate of district administration, reached the area and sentenced Najim Uddin to three months’ jail and fined him Tk1.5 lakh on charge of storing the item violating the rules and regulations.

During the drive, the DB team seized 5,000 bags of milk containing 25 kilograms each from the warehouse.

“We destroyed the adulterate items”, Forkan Elahi. l

Members of Detective Branch of police in a drive seize a huge amount of adulterated powered milk from Majhirghat area in the port city. The photo was taken from Majhirghat area yesterday RABIN CHOWDHURY

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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

SOUTH ASIA

US formally announces lifting sanctions on Myanmar President Barack Obama formally announced the lifting of US sanctions on Myanmar on Friday by terminating an emergency order that deemed the policies of the former military government a threat to US national security. The move followed a meeting between Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Obama in Washington last month. REUTERS

INDIA

Boy killing sparks fresh clashes, curfew in Kashmir Indian-administered Kashmir’s main city came under curfew again after thousands clashed with government forces during the funeral of boy killed in protests. Police and paramilitary troops fired tear gas, pellets and live rounds into the air to disperse the funeral procession of the 12-year-old as his body was carried to Srinagar’s Martyr’s Graveyard. AFP

CHINA

China eyes on free trade talks with Colombia China wants to start talks on a feasibility study for a free trade agreement with Colombia as soon as possible, China’s foreign minister said during a visit to the South American country. China is not a big diplomatic player in the region despite being a major commodities buyer there, but already has free trade pacts with Peru, Chile and Costa Rica. REUTERS

ASIA PACIFIC

Philippines’ Duterte dares CIA to oust him Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday dared the US’ CIA spy agency to try and oust him, as he branded Western critics of his deadly crime war animals and vowed many more killings. In two fiery speeches to mark his 100 days in office, Duterte repeatedly raised the prospect of local or foreign opponents seeking to remove him from power in an effort to stop the violence. AFP

Hurricane Matthew toll rises to 900 in Haiti, cuts power in Florida n Reuters, Haiti Hurricane Matthew’s winds diminished on Saturday as it headed towards the Carolinas after killing almost 900 people in Haiti and causing major flooding and widespread power outages in the southeastern United States.

As winds dropped to less than 135kph, making it a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale of 1 to 5, the storm was about 35 km south-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, according to the US National Hurricane Centre. It was moving northeast at 19 kph.

The number of deaths in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, jumped to at least 877 on Friday as information trickled in from remote areas previously cut off by the storm, according to a Reuters tally of tolls from officials.

Matthew rampaged through Haiti’s western peninsula on Tuesday with 233kph winds and torrential rain. Some 61,500 people were in shelters, officials said, after the storm hurled the sea into fragile coastal villages, some of which were only now being contacted.

At least three towns in the hills and coast of Haiti’s fertile western tip reported dozens of people killed, including the farming village of Chantal whose mayor said 86 people died, mostly when trees crushed houses. He said 20 others were missing.

“A tree fell on the house and flattened it. The entire house fell on us. I couldn’t get out,” said 27-year-old driver Jean-Pierre Jean-Donald.

“People came to lift the rubble, and then we saw my wife who had died in the same spot,” said Jean-Donald, who had been married for only a year. His young daughter stood by his side, crying “Mommy.”

With cellphone networks down and roads flooded, aid has been slow to reach hard-hit areas. Food was scarce and at least seven people died of cholera, likely because of flood water mixing with sewage.

The Mesa Verde, a US Navy amphibious transport dock ship, was en route to Haiti to support relief efforts. The ship has heavy-lift helicopters, bulldozers, fresh-water delivery vehicles and two surgical operating rooms.

HURRICANE-HIT HAITI Toll as of October 8

USA

Hundreds killed More than 60,000 displaced

Wind speed zones 90 kph

120 kph

Forecast track

Some 750,000 in need of assistance

HAITI

60 kph Population (000) < 50 50-100 100-250 250-500 500-1,000

CUBA Track of Hurricane Matthew

HAITI

Population: 10.9 million

MIDDLE EAST

Top general in Yemen’s Saudi-backed army killed A top general in forces loyal to Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government has been killed in fighting with Iran-aligned Houthi troops east of the capital Sanaa. Major-General Abdel-Rab al-Shadadi was the most senior member of the pro-Hadi forces to be killed in nearly 19 months of civil war in Yemen. REUTERS

Grand’ Anse

30km

PORT-AU-PRINCE Les Anglais

Sud Some 30,000 homes destroyed Hurricane Matthew made landfall on October 4

Source : UN OCHA/Reliefweb/Weather Channel/ICRC

DOMINICAN REP.

Storm surge and rain water from Hurricane Matthew flood the southern-most tip of the city of Charleston, South Carolina on October 8 REUTERS

Cuts power to almost 800,000 Florida homes, businesses

Electricity companies in Florida said Hurricane Matthew knocked out power to almost 800,000 homes and businesses on Friday as the storm blasted the state’s east coast.

Though still early, the number of power outages did not seem as high as previously projected.

On Thursday, NextEra Energy Inc’s FPL power company, the biggest in Florida, forecast Matthew could leave as many as 2.5m homes and businesses without service, some for extended periods of time.

Matthew, the first major hurricane threatening a direct hit on the United States in more than 10 years, lashed Florida with heavy rain and wind, after killing more than 800 people in Haiti as it marched north through the Caribbean.

It was packing winds of 120 miles per hour, making it a powerful Category 3 hurricane as it heads north toward the Georgia and South Carolina coasts by early Saturday, the hurricane centre said.

The NHC forecast Matthew would weaken into a tropical storm in about two days as it turns south on a track that would take it back over the Bahamas and Florida again by the middle of next week.

With so many power outages, the state’s utilities do not have to import as much natural gas as usual to generate electricity.

The amount of gas flowing into the state on the Florida Gas pipeline from Texas and Louisiana was expected to fall by about 800 million cubic feet per day on Friday from an average of 2.7bn cubic feet per day over the past 30 days, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Economic impact, business closures

Hurricane Matthew is threatening the Atlantic coast from Florida to South Carolina and could deliver tens of billions of dollars in damage, according to experts, after the storm killed 900 people and left thousands homeless in Haiti.

Fitch Ratings estimates that if

Matthew results in insured losses in excess of $10bn, a greater proportion of losses will be borne by re-insurers as opposed to primary companies.

CoreLogic, a California-based real estate data firm, estimated the storm could cause up to $189bn in storm surge damage to residential property in Florida alone.

In comparison, recovery costs from Superstorm Sandy totalled $71.3bn in New York and New Jersey in 2012, according to estimates from their governors.

Here is a summary of closures and disruptions due to the hurricane.

Transportation

South Florida airports closed.

Flights at Miami International Airport were resuming on Friday.

CSX Corp Florida line from Auburndale to Jacksonville halted; Norfolk Southern Corp traffic en route to affected regions being held.

Ryder System Miami headquarters closed; FedEx contingency plans in place, potential service disruptions; UPS contingency plans in place.

Talmadge Memorial Bridge (CQ) in Savannah, Georgia, to close. All traffic ordered to stay off roads in coastal island community in Tybee Island in the state.

Retailers

Nordstrom 15 Florida stores closed; Neiman Marcus 5 stores closed; Lumber Liquidators 15 stores closed.

Dollar General, Office Depot closures followed evacuation orders.

Costco closed unspecified number of Florida stores, reported higher sales of emergency items in the region.

Tourism

Walt Disney World, Universal Studios Florida, and SeaWorld closed.

Norwegian Cruise Line cruise ship diverted from Bahamas; Carnival Cruise Line, a unit of Carnival Corp route adjustments as needed. l

9

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

Q&A

USA

Trump, Clinton gear up for second Presidential debate n Tribune International Desk The second presidential debate, coming up on Sunday night, will be town-hall style and that could be kryptonite for both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

What Trumps supporters often say they love about him is his brash, often politically incorrect, and even boastful speaking style that resonates. A lot of Clinton’s truest supporters say they love the way she speaks with the authority and self-assured tone of a long-serving and knowledgeable politician.

TRUMP V CLINTON: THE SECOND TV DEBATE Sunday Oct 9, 9pm

Presidential candidates to take questions from the US public

"I have no reason to believe that he's ever going to release his tax returns, because there's something he's hiding"

local time (0100 GMT)

Washington University St Louis (Missouri)

USA

90 minutes no ad breaks Questions from the floor

"Typical politician.

All talk, no action.

Sounds good, doesn't work.

Never going to happen."

Questions posed on social media

Age: 68

Donald Trump Live broadcast

The 1st Clinton v Trump debate (Sept 26, 2016) 62% Who won the debate?

27%

Hillary Clinton Yes 32%

No

84 million

Third debate

Sept 26 2016

66.4 1960 Kennedy v Nixon

43% 55%

Record

Viewers

Donald Trump

Would the candidate be able to handle the job of president?

67%

Major TV networks YouTube Twitter Facebook Live

Photo AFP/Thimoty A. Clary - Jim Watson

and the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

What is the format of the debate?

Unlike the first presidential debate, the second one is in a town hall style format. Half of the questions will be asked by audience members at the debate and the other half will be asked by Raddatz and Cooper. Clinton and Trump will both have two minutes to respond to the questions and then there will be another minute for the moderators to ask follow-up questions and advance the discussion.

The town hall participants in

67.2 2012 Obama v Romney

80.6 1980 Carter v Reagan

Oct 19 Las Vegas

Sources: Commission on Presidential Debates, CNN/ORC poll

the audience are uncommitted voters and were picked by the Gallup polling organisation.

What’s at stake for Hillary Clinton?

Clinton wants to rekindle her success from the first presidential debate and wipe away any memory of the vice presidential debate between her running mate, Senator Tim Kaine, and Indiana Governor Mike Pence. That debate was billed as leaning toward Pence winning, and the Trump campaign is hoping Sunday’s performance will put an end to a rough stretch.

What’s at stake for Donald Trump?

The town hall-style format presents a new challenge for Trump.

It’s a difficult debate arena for candidates who haven’t done it before, especially in terms of managing body language. The priority for Trump though is to not repeat his first debate performance where, after the first 30 minutes, he wandered off message while sparring with Clinton. Trump will need to come off as more disciplined and focused, regardless of the topic. l

Sources: POLITICO, VOA, CNBC

UN to vote on Aleppo truce resolution, faces Russian veto n Reuters, United Nations The United Nations Security Council will vote today on a draft resolution that demands an immediate end to air strikes and military flights over Syria’s Aleppo city, but the measure appears doomed to be vetoed by Russia.

The 15-member council has been negotiating for a week on the text drafted by France and Spain.

The vote was called after French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault visited Moscow on Thursday and Washington on Friday to discuss the resolution.

“This is not a draft which is right for adoption, I have this suspicion that the real motive is to cause a Russian veto,” said Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin on Friday. “I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass.”

A resolution needs nine votes in favour and no vetoes to be adopted.

Ayrault said that he planned to go to New York for the vote and told reporters in Washington: “I still have hope that the resolution will pass and that it can be implemented.”

The draft, seen by Reuters, urges an immediate cessation of hostilities and safe and unhindered humanitarian aid access in Syria.

It “demands that all parties immediately end all aerial bombardments of and military flights over Aleppo city.”

It also asks UN chief Ban Kimoon to propose options for a UN-supervised monitoring of a truce and threatens to “take further measures” in the event of non-compliance by “any party to the Syrian domestic conflict.”

UN mediator for Syria Staffan de Mistura, right, UN Special Advisor Jan Egeland, left REUTERS Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, backed by Russian war planes and Iranian support, have been battling to capture eastern Aleppo, the rebel-held half of Syria’s largest city, where more than 250,000 civilians are trapped.

“It is unprecedented for the members of the council to ask a permanent member to limit its

Donald Trump, facing the deepest crisis of his presidential campaign, apologised early Saturday for crude and aggressively sexual remarks about women that he made in 2005. The Republican nominee, in a shocking video released by The Washington Post Friday, was caught using vulgar language about groping and kissing women with impunity. AFP

Venezuela creates Hugo Chavez peace prize, awards to Putin

Anderson Cooper CNN

Hillary Clinton

Trump apologises for lewd talk about women

THE AMERICAS

Age: 70

Moderators Martha Raddatz ABC

Who will moderate the debate?

The moderators for the debate will be Martha Raddatz, chief global affairs correspondent for ABC’s “This Week,” and CNN anchor Anderson Cooper. In 2012, Raddatz moderated the vice presidential debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan. Before her current role, Raddatz served as a White House correspondent during the second term of George W Bush’s administration. Raddatz came to ABC News at the beginning of 1999 and initially served as a State Department correspondent. She also served as a national security correspondent for the network.

Raddatz received awards for her coverage of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, the White House

DT

World

own activities,” Churkin said.

“I’m supposed to vote for a demand that then our military will have to comply with. It doesn’t mean that certain things cannot happen but they can’t happen through a certain process, which is definitely not putting a resolution with this kind of text on the table,” he said.

Russia and China have previously protected the Syrian government from council action by blocking several resolutions, including a bid to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court.

The draft resolution expresses “outrage at the alarming number of civilian casualties caused by the escalating level of violence and intensified campaigns, in recent days, of indiscriminate aerial bombings in Aleppo.” l

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Friday announced the creation of peace prize in honour of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, and said he was awarding it to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The announcement comes on the same day that the Nobel Committee awarded its annual Peace Prize to Colombia’s Juan Manuel Santos. REUTERS

UK

Britain to allow EU citizens to stay after Brexit All EU citizens currently living in Britain will be able to stay after Brexit, a newspaper reported Saturday citing unnamed cabinet ministers, despite the government’s refusal to publicly guarantee their status. Official research suggests that more than 80% of the 3.6 million EU citizens living in Britain would be eligible for residency by the time Britain is expected to leave the EU in 2019. AFP

EUROPE

Russia deploys missiles on Nato doorstep Russia is again deploying nuclear-capable Iskander missiles into its Kaliningrad outpost that borders two Nato members, Lithuania said Saturday. Russia’s defence ministry dismissed Western concerns over the hardware, saying that contingents of missile troops have been moved many times and will continue to be moved to Kaliningrad region as part of a Russian armed forces training plan. REUTERS

AFRICA

Nigerian state bans proIran Shia group A Nigerian state where clashes between the military and Shia Muslims led to over 300 deaths last year has banned the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), saying it was a security threat. The Kaduna state government on Friday said anyone convicted of being a member of the sect could be imprisoned for seven years, fined or both. The size of the fine was not specified. AFP

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World

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

INSIGHT

Sunni force pleads for Iraqi government help as Mosul fight looms tions that the government is only supporting Shia’s, and not Sunnis.

He said of 110,000 men in the Popular Mobilisation force, 25,000 to 30,000 are Sunnis.

Personal stake

Fighters from predominantly Sunni Arab forces take part in a training session before the upcoming battle to recapture Mosul in Bashiqa on October 6 REUTERS

n Reuters, Bashiqa, Iraq Abu Mahmoud, part of a 2,500-man predominantly Sunni Arab force pulled together to launch an offensive against Islamic State in the Iraqi city of Mosul, has heard from relatives the group has been threatening to behead anyone who speaks of “liberation”.

That threat has not discouraged him but he is worried about a lack of support from the Shi’ite-led central government.

“The most important thing we need is weapons and government support,” said Abu Mahmoud, 42, who like others interviewed at a training camp in Bashiqa in northern Iraq, declined to give his full name for fear of reprisals.

Abu Mahmoud, who covers his face so that Islamic State militants don’t target his family, hopes he and other men in the National Mobilisation force will capture Mosul and rescue its residents in an operation expected to start within weeks.

The Iraqi army, along with Kurdish peshmerga fighters, will take the lead in one of Iraq’s most important offensives in years, with the aim of clearing Islamic State from its last major stronghold and promoting long-term stability.

But complaints from fighters and commanders in the National Mobilisation force about lack of weapons from the Baghdad government highlights sectarian faultlines that could undermine the offensive and chances for sectarian and ethnic harmony.

Iraq has descended into civil war, mainly between Shia’s and

Sunnis, since a US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The force, that trains about five hours a day at the camp, was patched together by former Mosul governor and Sunni politician Atheel al-Nujaifi in 2014, not long after Islamic State swept through northern Iraq, virtually unopposed by an army riddled with corruption.

Nujaifi purchased used weapons for the fighters in markets, according to his commanders.

After the camp came under heavy Islamic State rocket fire, Turkish trainers positioned six tanks along the edge of the compound in May 2015.

While the men have benefited from the training, Shi’ite Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warned Turkey’s military presence in Iraq could spark a regional war.

Last week, Turkey’s parliament voted to extend its military presence in Iraq for a further year to take on what it called “terrorist organisations”.

Primed for battle

At first glance, the fighters seemed disciplined in their crisp military uniforms and flak vests.

Many of the commanders are former army officers who served under Saddam Hussein.

Others abandoned their posts during Islamic State’s lightning sweep through Mosul and the rest of Nineveh Governorate that at one point seemed to even threaten Baghdad.

“There are two rocket types,” said instructor Mishaan al-Jibouri, as a group of men sat and listened.

“This is what you do if it jams.”

The occasional boom of training mortars could be heard echoing off nearby mountains, in a pastoral setting where teenage shepherds on donkeys guided their flock.

The Turks provide basic training but the focus is on urban warfare.

The United States also provided training earlier this year and took part in a few joint raids on Islamic State targets, said the Iraqi commanders.

The leader of the camp, General Mohamed Yehya, said there are 2,500 men primed for battle, and with proper support he could muster twice as many fighters.

“Baghdad gives support only for Shias, not Sunnis. We believe we are one. Iraq is our country,” said Yehya, sitting in a small command centre which included a colourful mockup of the battlefield.

Yehya, 59, is still bitter about the disbanding of the Iraqi army in 2003 by the United States. He believes that was the first step to weaken Sunnis, who dominated positions of authority under Saddam.

“The government doesn’t give direct support to the National Mobilisation (force) because it is not part of the Popular Mobilisation and there is no coordination between the two,” said a government spokesman in Baghdad.

The mostly Iran-backed, Shialed Popular Mobilisation force falls theoretically under the command of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

“While Shia’s make up a majority in the Popular Mobilisation, it also has in its ranks Sunnis,” the spokesman added, denying allega-

The Sunni force has already put itself at risk, setting up the camp 13km from the frontline with Islamic State.

Several shrapnel holes in the walls of the command room at the camp had been plugged with plaster, a reminder of a flurry of Islamic State rocket attacks earlier this year.

Back on the training ground, an officer was holding up an AK-47 assault rifle as fighters sat on the ground and looked on.

The camp trains mostly Sunni Arabs but there are also some Kurds, Shias and Yazidis, whose community was singled out by Islamic State for particularly harsh

persecution.

Hundreds were executed and many Yazidi women were captured and raped or used as sex slaves.

Abu Mourad, a Yazidi sniper, describes himself as a hunter of Islamic State. The group beheaded one of his cousins and threw another off a building in Mosul, he said.

Many fighters believe they have the highest stake in the battle because they are from Mosul and have friends and relatives who were killed by the group.

Ali Ahmed argues that this personal stake in the fight means the force should lead the offensive and take firm control of Mosul, uncompromising talk that underlines the potential for sectarian strife.

“We want to stay in the province no matter what and not give it up until death,” he said. “We are going to settle scores. We won’t let them live. We want to butcher them.” l

PREPARATIONS INTENSIFY FOR MOSUL OFFENSIVE The US is stepping up its military campaign against the so-called Islamic State by sending 600 extra troops to assist Iraqi forces in the impending push on Mosul, the militants’ de facto capital in Iraq

Sources: US Department of Defence, Wire agencies

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Fighting in Afghan Kunduz forces people to flee n Reuters, Kabul Parmi fled the fighting in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz with 13 members of her family this week, in shock at how quickly the city’s defences had collapsed to the Taliban.

Now in Kabul, she speaks bitterly of the failure of the government to protect the city, a year on from the last time it was overrun by the Islamist militants.

“There is blood and dead bodies everywhere in Kunduz. Our young people are dying and the government hasn’t done anything for us,” she said, in the hotel she has been staying since Thursday with scores of other refugees from Kunduz.

Her comments, and similar accounts from others, who speak of a blacked-out city running out of

food, water and medicine, underline the despair of Kunduz residents and the anger building up against the government of President Ashraf Ghani.

Parmi, 42, who like many Afghans goes by only one name, managed to escape with her family, putting a chain on the door of their house and leaving with only the clothes they were wearing after artillery and mortar fire hit their neighbourhood.

“We had to crawl out of the area; there were bullets everywhere. We left home empty-handed, now my clothes are dirty and I have nothing to wear,” she said but added that she and her family were relatively lucky.

“Anyone who doesn’t have money is left there under threat of mortars and gunfire,” she said.

Special forces units, backed by

American advisers and air strikes, have been battling to drive Taliban fighters from the city which the insurgents entered unexpectedly at the start of the week, and fighting continues in many areas.

Following widespread reports of security forces abandoning their positions, poor coordination and rivalries among commanders, there has been heavy criticism that the government failed to learn from last year, when the Taliban seized and held the city for two weeks before pulling out.

“Even as the security situation got bad, we didn’t believe Kunduz would collapse,” said Shogofa Bahar, a medical assistant who fled the city for Kabul this week. “But the situation got worse and worse.”

Pressure on prices

The United Nations said on Thurs-

day that as many as 10,000 refugees had arrived in Kabul and northern towns including Taloqan and Mazar-i-Sharif.

But Kunduz is only one of the many hotspots that have flared in the past few weeks, with heavy fighting seen in Lashkar Gah, capital of the southern province of Helmand, Farah in the west, Baghlan in the north and Nangarhar in the east.

Afghanistan already has more than 1.2m internal refugees, with some 260,000 forced to flee their homes across the country this year as the fighting has continued.

In Takhar, the neighbouring province to Kunduz, Sunatullah Timor, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said 5,000 families had been registered with authorities but their arrival was putting pressure on local food prices.

Hundreds of families have also arrived in Baghlan but many had moved on to safer areas because of the fighting.

Aid agencies and government authorities have been providing assistance to the latest arrivals from Kunduz but there has also been help from other sources, including private citizens.

Hikmatullah Shadman, a businessman from the southern city of Kandahar, has paid for food and shelter for Parmi and the other families staying in her hotel and is ready to provide more, according to Hassib Naser, an aide.

“He wants to show to Afghans and the world that we Afghans are the same,” Naser said.

However, with winter approaching, most of the Kunduz refugees are keen to return home as soon as possible. l

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TOP STORIES

G20: Populist politicians threaten global economy The G20 warned Friday that populist politicians playing up anti-globalization and anti-free trade sentiments were putting the global economy at risk. PAGE 13

Bangladesh, China to sign MoU on investment Bangladesh and China will sign a memorandum of understanding on “strengthening investment and production capacity cooperation” during the upcoming visit of the Chinese President to Bangladesh. PAGE 13

Walton replacement guaranty extended Walton, a local manufacturer of electronics and home appliance products, has extended the tenure of replacement guaranty to one year from existing six months. PAGE 14

EU sets import duties on cheap Chinese steel The European Union has set provisional import duties on two types of steel coming into the bloc from China to counter what it says are unfairly low prices, in a move likely to anger Beijing. PAGE 15

Capital market snapshot: Past Week DSE Broad Index

4,723.7

0.6% ▲

Index

1,131.4

0.5% ▲

30 Index

1,784.6

0.3% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk

27,062.5 -19.5% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

895.4 -18.9% ▼

CSE All Share Index 14,513.6

0.6% ▲

30 Index

13,107.5

0.1% ▲

Selected Index

8,835.1

0.6% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk

1,650.6 -25.3% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

58.1 -28.9% ▼

Export earnings post over 4% growth in Q1 n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi Bangladesh’s export earnings rose to US$8.08 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal, a 4.12% rise, compared to the same period of last year.

However, Bangladesh export earnings have seen a 5.63% fall to $2.24% billion in September of the current fiscal year due to holidays on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha. In September last year, Bangladesh had fetched $2.37 billion as export earnings.

According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, Bangladesh earned $8.08 billion in September and in July-September of the current fiscal, which was 4.12% higher compared to $7.75 billion a year ago.

As per the EPB data, RMG sector, the life line of Bangladesh, export earnings has earned $6.66

Q1 EXPORT EARNINGS TREND Year

Q1 Export Earnings in $mn

2010-11

5,029

2011-12

6,164

2012-13

6,291

2013-14

7,628

2014-15

7,695

2015-16

7758

2016-17

8079

billion posting a 3.52% rise compared to $6.43 billion in the same period a year ago.

The knitwear posted a 4.64% growth to $3.40 billion but the woven garments witnessed slow growth than the knitwear products. Export earnings from the woven products stood at $3.26 billion, a 2.38% up compared to $3.19 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

“In the first quarter, export earnings showed an over 4% growth, though it is less than the target,” EPB Vice Chairman Mafruha Sultana told the Dhaka Tribune.

The growth is less than target because of holidays on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha, said Mafruha.

The growth will get its momentum in the coming months as there is calm situation in the country, she added.

“Negative growth than the target is not expected. However, slow demands in the US and European markets may be a reason behind the lower growth than the target,” Khondaker Golam Moazzem, additional research director of Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) told the Dhaka Tribune.

Since about 82% export earnings came from the clothing industry, a 3.5% growth the sec-

tor is not enough and also not a good sign for Bangladesh, said Moazzem.

Bangladesh should concentrate on non-tradition market as there is slow demands in the traditional markets, while the other has standard growth, he said.

In achieving US$50 billion export target from the RMG sector by 2021, the apparel industry needs an average 13% growth.

“A 3.5% growth is not so bad as there were two major vacation on the occasion of two holy Eid,” Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Vice President Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu told the Dhaka Tribune.

The export earnings will see better growth as the sector has plenty of work orders for during July-December of the current fiscal, hoped Babu. l

Standard Chartered: Heist of millions won’t create image crisis for Bangladesh n Jebun Nesa Alo The brazen heist of reserves from Bangladesh Bank will not create an image crisis for Bangladesh in the global market as cyber security is now a global issue, said Andy Halford, chief financial officer of Standard Chartered Group.

He made the remark at a media interview session recently during his two-day visit to Bangladesh on October 5-6.

After he joined with Standard Chartered as a group chief financial officer and group executive director in July 2014, Andy made his first visit to Bangladesh.

“Cyber crime is high on agenda for all banks in Bangladesh and most banks are working huge to minimise the cyber risk,” he said.

Cyber attack occurred in February that took away $81 million from Bangladesh’s reserve account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Cyber security is now a global concern. It is not Bangladesh’s problem alone, many developed countries are also falling victim to it, said the official.

Appreciating Bangladesh’s measures to resist cyber attack, he said many still think banks will have to adopt measures to protect

their business from cyber crime.

Andy shared his long-term working experience in telecom sector with the media, saying he was briefly engaged with money transfer system through cellphone that was introduced in Kenya for the first time.

He said cellphone-based money transaction has made significant contribution to Kenyan economy.

In Bangladesh perspective he said both banking and telecom sectors have realised that world is moving ahead with digitised system.

Banks need big branch network to reach retail customers to expand their business, but they have limited branches, particularly more in cities and urban areas, viewed the Standard Chartered official.

On the other side mobile operators need banking products to set up network with customers, he said, adding that there is a common interest for both the banks and the mobile phone companies to connect with their customers.

The seasoned financial officer suggested that both the sectors should work together in a very symbiotic way.

Andy joined Standard Chartered from Vodafone Group in which he spent last 15 years, of which the last nine years as chief

financial officer.

About Brexit effect on Bangladesh he said the United Kingdom is looking to new trade agreements with the countries around the world. Now the UK decided to focus on import by negotiating with respective countries which will be the opportunity for the exporter countries.

Andy expects that Bangladesh will get benefit by having a strong trade relationship with the UK. Fall in foreign exchange rate is likely for a period of time because it is exactly not clear what outcome Brexit will fetch.

In response to a question of cost cutting move of some foreign banks, he said Standard Chartered has no plan to cut cost, rather it is

expanding its business.

The performance of Standard Chartered in Bangladesh is very good as the country is very business-oriented.

Sanjeev Agrawal, chief financial officer for Singapore, Asian and South Asia region, also took part in the conversation.

He praised the existing investment climate in Bangladesh, saying that foreign investors are highly interested to invest in this region.

According to Sanjeev, investors look for a good business policy, political stability and high returns, all of which exist in Bangladesh.

As a result foreign direct investment in Bangladesh is on the rise and he hoped that the investment inflow would continue in future. l

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Bangladesh, China to sign Stock rally for 4th straight week MoU on investment n n Asif Showkat Kallol

Bangladesh and China will sign a memorandum of understanding on “strengthening investment and production capacity cooperation” during the upcoming visit of the Chinese President to Bangladesh.

President Xi Jinping is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on October 14 on a two-day visit. Dhaka is expected to seek financial assistance for more than 22 of its large projects.

Bangladesh officials said the duration of the proposed deal will be two years and is aimed at promoting investment.

Any of the countries can withdraw itself from the deal after informing the authorities concerned

six months prior to such withdrawal, officials said.

Bangladesh’s foreign ministry sought opinion from commerce ministry on the issue and already received comments in favour of the deal.

Under the proposed MoU, China will invest in the sectors like infrastructure, energy, power, transports and economic zones.

The Chinese delegation team will talk to the Bangladesh authorities about the investment of 22 China-funded projects including Bangladesh Garment Industrial Park, Padma Bridge Rail Link project, construction of the Multi-Lane Road and Highway Project, Payra seaport, 660 megawatt coal-fired thermal

Blue Ocean Strategy Summit on Dec 3 n Tribune Business Desk Blue Ocean Strategy Summit 2016, aimed at building “powerful brand,” will be held on December 3, 2016 at Westin Hotel in Dhaka.

This is first ever in Bangladesh that such event is being organised.

Artistry Marketing and Communications and NetValue are organising the summit jointly, said officials at a press conference yesterday.

The first session will be on the basic concepts of Blue Ocean strategy and how to use it to create powerful brand.

The keynote speaker of the session will be Prof Dr Joerg Niessing of Insead, Fontainebleau, the top business school of France from where the book “Blue Ocean Strategy” was authored.

The second session will be on how to build a Blue Ocean brand through various options of Integrated marketing communications, according to a press release.

The keynote speaker of this session will be Prahlad Kakar who is known as one of the top strategists in the arena of the marketing communication world of India.

The second session co-speakers Pratish R Nair who is the co-founder of The Prahlad Kakar School of Branding and Entrepreneurship.

He is also the CEO of Century Group of Companies, which is involved with shipping, exports and Malayalam film production.

Nair is also a prominent corporate trainer for leadership, team building and motivation. He had been in the corporate training industry as a trainer for a decade and has trained over 90,000 people

power plant and establishment of five TV stations in Bangladesh.

The Chinese authorities will discuss about the concessional funds for Bangladesh under the MoU. If the question arises, both parties will friendly negotiate the matters through diplomatic channels, according to the proposals.

On August 21, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader in Chittagong said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Chinese President Xi Jinping would jointly inaugurate the work on the tunnel beneath the Karnaphuli river on a day between October 10 and 13.

At the end of Dhaka visit, the Chinese President will leave for India to attend the BRICS Summit. l

Tribune Business Desk

Stock markets continued to rally for the fourth week in a row amid persistent volatility.

During the week that ended Thursday, the benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange DSEX rose 28 points or 0.7% to end the week at 4,723. The blue-chip index, DS30 Index, gained about 6 points or 0.4% to 1,784. The DSE Shariah Index rose 5 points or 0.5% to 1,131.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX moved up about 49 points or 0.6% to 8,835.

However, limited participation in trading was seen during the week as the week’s daily average turnover stood at Tk512 crore, slightly

G20: Populist politicians threaten global economy

from the IT, ITES, pharma, insurance, banking, FMCG, manufacturing, real estate and hospitality industries.

Panel discussion session speakers are: Gitanka Debdip Datta, vice president of Mastercard, Aftab Mahmud Khurshid, Group CMO of SSG, Zafor Sobhan, Editor of Dhaka Tribune, Amitabh Reza Chowdhury, film director, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, film director, and Masud A Khan, chairman of Better Bangladesh Foundation.

Free style networking sessions

during the Blue Ocean Strategy Summit, participants can use the “free style” networking sessions to meet 250 like-minded people who share similar interests and grow a network of invaluable professional connections for partnering and growing projects.

Focused networking sessions

participanst can also have the benefits of the “focused” networking sessions and use the breaks for meetups with their peers in order to find out their opinion on specific topics.

Participants Gain

Participants will learn the intricacies of creating a novelty value and offering it at an affordable price.

They will also have a clear understanding of building a novelty value by having a remarkable story through various IMC options.

Awards that include Brand Managers Award 2016 and Brand Award 2016 will given at the summit. A jury panel will be decided best brand and brand managers award-based on market research of RMI. l

down about over 3% to the previous week’s total turnover value.

During the week, trading was concentrated mainly on engineering, fuel and power, textile and pharmaceuticals sectors, together accounting for around 45% of the total trade.

All the large cap sectors moved up modestly except non-banking financial institutions, which lost over 1% during the week.

Among positive performers, banks gained almost 1%, food & allied 1.4%, power 1%, engineering 0.97%, telecommunications 0.8% and pharmaceuticals 0.4%.

Lanka Bangla Securities said DSEX broke the resistance around 4,700 and headed upwards to set up new heights. l

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim sits on a panel at the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group in Washington REUTERS

n AFP, Washington The G20 warned Friday that populist politicians playing up anti-globalization and anti-free trade sentiments were putting the global economy at risk.

The grouping of 20 economic powers suggested that the forces that have put Republican Donald Trump within reach of the US presidency and led to Britain’s vote to leave the European Union could stall already frail global growth.

While not mentioning Trump or other politicians by name, China’s Finance Minister Lou Jiwei, speaking on behalf of the G20, identified such voter-luring populism as one of the largest threats to the economy.

“This trend of deep anti-globalization populism has driven politicians to come up with their campaign slogans and try to win the

votes and support. That has brought us uncertainty,” Lou said after a G20 finance ministers meeting.

“We need to recognize some political risks such as the presidential election in some countries and in major economies,” he added during the IMF-World Bank annual meetings in Washington.

Trump, Brexit in focus

Lou’s comments came as the US presidential race entered its final weeks with upstart Trump wielding potent anti-immigration, anti-free trade rhetoric in his battle with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

But also in the background are the populist currents in Europe behind the Brexit vote and those affecting the coming French and German elections.

In both regions, politicians have made gains touting their opposition to the ambitious transatlantic and

transpacific free trade deals, known respectively as TTIP and TPP, potent vote-getters among people worried the deals will cost jobs.

The trend has worried the leaders of the world’s largest development institutions, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim. Lagarde said that with the world economy growing at a “sub-par” 3.1% this year, now is not the time to be erecting trade barriers.

“Trade has become a political football,” she said Friday.

Kim urged world governments to banish “the storm clouds of isolationism and protectionism,” saying that open borders had lifted a billion people out of poverty in over a quarter century.

Few of the powerful economic decision makers in Washington would speak openly about Trump, though he was clearly a key worry.

Pierre Moscovici, the EU economic affairs commissioner, took the issue head on, saying that, in the US election, Trump “is not the most reassuring choice from an economic point of view.”

And speaking at a conference on the fringes of the IMF-World Bank meetings, the head of the Institute of International Finance global banking association said the populist rhetoric was impacting markets.

“Policy-makers may be tempted by the siren songs of protectionism and nativism, but a retreat inward would be a break with the principles that have delivered unprecedented progress to literally billions of people throughout the world,” said Tim Adams. l

Business

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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

Walton replacement guaranty extended n Tribune Business Desk Walton, a local manufacturer of electronics and home appliance products, has extended the tenure of replacement guaranty to one year from existing six months.

The new replacement guaranty will be applicable for fridges from October 1, 2016, said a press release yesterday.

The announcement was made at a function which was attended, among others, by Executive Directors of Walton Group Eva Rezwana, Amdadul Haque Sarker marketing head of Walton, SM Zahid Hasan head of Policy, HRM and Admin, Md. Humayun Kabir, head of media relation and Neamul Haque head of Walton Service Management System.

Currently, consumers enjoy a six-month replacement on fridges across the country.

Now, the period of this benefit

has been extended by six more months as the assurance of the highest standard of its produced refrigerators and freezers, it added.

“Assurance of the highest standard of our produced appliances is a prerequisite for making strong foot on the national and international markets,’’ said Executive Directors of Walton Group Eva Rezwana.

He said: “Our policy of zero tolerance on quality issue is resulted in making self-confident among ourselves to announce one year replacement guaranty facility for fridges’ customers.”

“We extended the replacement guaranty on our produced fridges up to one year as we have full confidence that our produced fridges are up to the mark of international standard,” said SM Zahid Hasan, head of administration of Walton said. l

Germany lifts growth forecast amid pressure to spend n AFP, Frankfurt The German economy will grow faster than expected this year before slowing in 2017 and 2018, Berlin said on Friday, as pressure mounts for Europe’s top economy to invest more.

Germany’s gross domestic product (GDP) will increase by 1.8% in 2016 before slowing to

1.4% growth in 2017 and 1.6% in 2018, Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said.

The confirmation of Germany’s economic strength will likely add weight to calls from EU neighbours and global finance chiefs for Berlin to boost growth in the languishing eurozone by expanding spending and investment. l

CORPORATE NEWS

National Finance Ltd has recently signed a financial agreement of Tk 200m with Padakhep Manabik Unnayan Kendra, said a press release.

MD of National Finance Ltd, Saifuddin M Naser and president of Padakhep Manabik Unnayan Kendra, ABM Siddique and its executive director, Iqbal Ahmed have signed the agreement

Dhaka Mercantile Co-operative Bank Limited has recently held its annual general meeting for financial year 2015-16 and a conference for its managers, said a press release. The firm’s chairperson, Gp Capt (retired) Abu Zafar Chowdhury presided over the meeting

LankaBangla Finance Limited has recently opened its 18th branch at Morshed Alam Complex, Karimpur Road, Chowmuhani, Begumganj in Noakhali, said a press release. The company’s deputy managing director, Khwaja Shahriar inaugurated the branch

EU sets import duties on cheap Chinese steel n Reuters The European Union has set provisional import duties on two types of steel coming into the bloc from China to counter what it says are unfairly low prices, in a move likely to

anger Beijing.

The duties are the latest in a line of trade defences set up against Chinese steel imports over the past two years to counter what EU steel producers say is a flood of steel sold at a loss due to Chinese overcapacity. l

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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

Career

5 ways to T maximise your

n Sabrina Fatma Ahmad

weekends

Make the most of your downtime

It’s tempting and all too easy to take the time to just veg out and recharge your batteries

he traffic situation is probably the single biggest time consumer in the life of the everyday Dhaka resident. It doesn’t matter if you’re working 9-5 or have “creative” hours; the commute will eat up a chunk of your workday, especially if you have other errands, bank work et al to deal with. By the time the weekend (or your designated off day) rolls up, you start feeling like a postcard out of an Elliot poem.

It’s tempting and all too easy to take the time to just veg out and recharge your batteries, but too much of a good thing can land you in a rut and leave you feeling even more burnt out over a period of time. This is where one can take inspiration from the lives of successful people and try to maximise on your downtime.

Wake up early

Yup, you heard that right.

Although this shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. We’ve all been through that cycle of promising ourselves to catch up on sleep, only to end up staying up till the

Photo: Bigstock

crack of dawn on a Netflix binge or Facebook stalkathon, and spending the rest of the day in a zombie state, peppered with self-loathing. Break the cycle by sticking to your early morning routine. Not only will this not shock your circadian rhythm, but you’ll get a lot more done on your day off.

Get fit

If your regular workday doesn’t leave much room for workouts, set aside some time in for one during the weekend. Aside from the obvious health benefits of exercise, it’s a good way to refresh your mind and get those creative juices flowing.

Plan

One way to manage the chaos that is life in the city is to at least have a game plan for the week.

The weekend is the best time to sit and make that plan. Creating a rough time line for the week, pencilling in time for that dentist trip you’ve been meaning to take, or those chores that have been piling up. Once you’ve made a schedule for it, you’re much likelier to get it done.

Connect

Stuck in the maelstrom of work, it’s very easy to let your personal relationships slide, until one day you wake up and wonder where your friends have gone.

Even if you can’t do it every weekend, do save time at least a couple of times a month where you get some face time with friends and family. Not only will this feel good, it will renew your confidence and give you a support network you can fall back on.

Play

You know, all work and all that jazz. What sets you apart from the thousands of people in your chosen field, who have had access to the same kind of education as you, have had the same kind of work experience as you, may just be in your unique combination of interests. Take some time to find out what it is (other than work) that really inspires you, be it music, or your comic book collection, and nurture those interests. Not only will it keep you sane, it might actually come in handy careerwise someday. l

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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

Horrible internships Ways to make the most out of a disappointing internship

n Baizid Haque Joarder First up, don’t feel too bad. We’ve all faced similar situations where you realise that your “dream” internship is not all rainbows and sunshine but one where the clock doesn’t tick as fast as you would want it to. It feels even worse especially if you have started the journey with high hopes about the experiences to come. But you have to try and find the silver lining no matter what. Tell yourself, “I will make the most out of this internship” and make sure you do!

Keep in mind that you have already proved your merit by passing the meticulous recruitment process where you probably have left behind tonnes of other applicants. You don’t want to throw that away even though you believe that the

There is nothing to be scared about. The internship you are currently dreading about is only a temporary deal

pointless they may seem. There is no small task, only small people.

Do this and your supervisor might reconsider your role in the team.

Friendship goals

It is only understandable if you feel like sliding into your own reclusive zone as soon as you start to develop the idea that this internship isn’t for you. Do not give in to the temptation. Try to become friends with the other interns with whom you can relate to. Be nice to them, share your experiences, listen to theirs and you can probably make a friend for a lifetime if you are lucky enough.

Network-werk-werk-werkwerk No matter how boring your

Want to send in internship articles? Email us at featuresdt@ gmail.com

“responsibilities” handed over to you doesn’t even begin to poke at your true potential. So suck it up, and read on to find out how you can make the most out of this misfired opportunity.

Stay positive

The first step to make the internship gig worth your while is to remain positive and staying away from negative energy. So what if you made a mistake? Isn’t this the age to do so and learn how to pick yourself up? Put in your hundred percent and carry out the tasks at hand, no matter how

internship is, use this chance to add more to your arsenal of contacts which will surely come in handy at some point in your career. Invest in those relationships. Be it a colleague, or someone you met over the period of your internship, be sure to leave a lasting impression on them. You knows, maybe one of them might be able to put in a good word for you somewhere else in the future.

Nothing lasts forever

Look, there is nothing to be scared about. The internship you are

currently dreading about is only a temporary deal. Had this been a permanent job, you would have been in some serious trouble.

Compared to that, your twelveweek-long-hell will soon start to freeze. Take notes from the mistakes you have committed

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Internship

and make sure you don’t make them again during your next internship stint. Enjoy every bit of the experience, since no matter how bad an internship it was for you, by the time you finish it, you will have one more experience to include in your resume. l

Photo: Bigstock

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Career

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

Socian is unique from other competitors as they are the only Analytics company that works with Bengali data

Socian- one incredible AI based social media platform n Nahid Farzana With the startup trend going on in Bangladesh, the youngsters of Bangladesh are stepping up with amazing ideas. One such amazing startup, Socian was formed by a group of friends from Ahsanullah University of Science & Technology. Socian is an Artificial Intelligence oriented Social Media Platform. It helps businesses understand and analyse user posts given on Social Media in a cost effective way. At the same time, companies can compare with competitors to find where they are standing by using Socian’s service.

To boost up the startup ecosystem in Bangladesh, so many large corporations have come forward to encourage people to come up with startup ideas.

The Grameenphone Accelerator, powered by SD Asia, is one such great initiative to help local tech startups with the resources they need to build and grow their businesses. The top five teams from the program are provided with seed funding, workspace in GP House, expert mentors, excellent curricula and GP’s inhouse development resources. The aim of this accelerator program is to help local entrepreneurs succeed and scale up their ambitions. Although it’s a new step for Grameenphone, they have successfully launched their first batch and now working on the 2nd batch of the accelerator program.

GP Accelerator has already selected the top 5 teams for the 2nd batch. The 5 teams are now getting a 4 months session at GP House and being guided by expert mentors. Socian being one of the top 5 teams are also taking part in the session. The Socian team has 5 members with 3 data scientists and 2 business specialists. Before forming Socian, they also built up another startup named Technolive. As a result, the team already has expertise in the field. Socian is already serving 5 business clients and making BDT 32,000 per month.

Socian is unique from other competitors as they are the only Analytics company that works with Bengali data. They are aiming to take the Bengali language to the next step in the global context.

Socian’s platform supports 81 languages, whereas most companies offer analysis in English language only. At the same time, Socian doesn’t only work with Page based analysis, but also Post based analysis. This means, even without any tag or hashtags, the AI will find the information only with word match. Besides, Socian has a very secure and powerful Dashboard which provides all the information to people in a wellorganized way.

Along with the seed funding, workspace and mentorship from the Accelerator Program, Socian is looking forward to making a connection through this

accelerator program. Besides, they also believe the program will help them to improve their knowledge on business which will assist in expanding the company.

We talked to Tanvir Hassan, Cofounder and CEO of Socian to find out more about their journey at GP Accelerator.

“We like the whole process of the GP Accelerator program. The mentors, tagged mentors, GPA team and GP team are wonderful.

The curriculum the program follows is very helpful and will certainly help a startup to grow.”

Tanvir also talked about his experience in the GP Accelerator so far. The team has got Misha Ali from Bikroy as their tagged mentor and learning a lot from him every week. Besides, the weekly sessions from other dedicated mentors have enhanced their knowledge on diverse sectors.

Tareq, co-founder and CTO of Socian said- “Our main focus is to apply Machine Learning to do Natural Language Processing for Bangla and other Indian subcontinental languages. But existing tools are suitable only for research, not production grade. So we had to work from scratch to develop a system that scales. And we are continuously working to improve our system. The Accelerator program and mentors are very helpful and cooperative. We have learned lots from the sessions and making many improvements in our system and overall startup.”

The team is looking forward to easier access to GP people in order to meet them. Sometimes, they find it difficult to meet everyone from GP at a time since those people are also busy with their individual official tasks. But eventually, they believe they can utilise the time and space at GP house to collaborate with the GP team and also work with them in future.

When asked about their plan, Tanvir said, “By the end of the Accelerator, our target is to have 100 business clients. After graduating,

our target in the first 6 months is to acquire 250 clients. And by June 2017, we have our goals to have 400 B2B clients. Once we have a good customer base in Bangladesh, we have plans to expand Socian outside the country.”l

Article reprinted under special arrangement with SDAsia.com

| milestone |

WowBox reaches 5 million users

WowBox, Bangladesh’s premier lifestyle mobile application, has recently reached a milestone.

The app has taken its place as the goliath of the digital arena by amassing 5 million downloads on the Google Playstore.

WowBox is a zero-rated lifestyle app which provides its users with contextual content in order to enrich their day-to-day life.

These contents range from daily trending news, sport updates, built-in games, free music, lifestyle and entertainment articles, to internal product

offers, numerous “deals” and a whole lot more! These contents are both originally produced by the in-house app team and collected from established partners like Dhaka Tribune, SD Asia, The Daily Ittefaq and Shajgoj.

The best thing about the contents, and perhaps the reason WowBox has reached this milestone, is that they are aimed at the local market and are custom-built for the people of Bangladesh. The aim of WowBox has been to fill an existing gap of fulfilling the entertainment and lifestyle needs of the masses, and the numbers show the huge success of the app since its launch. The platform has 1.5 Million+ weekly countrywide active users who have contributed towards the massive milestone of 5 million downloads.

The app also works as a distribution channel both for Grameenphone and local partners. It is safe to say that, by

reaching the 5 million milestone, WowBox has secured itself as the flagship project for Telenor and Grameenphone’s vision of being the customers most favored digital companion while also helping to initiate communication beyond social media and attaining new users, thus expanding the digital sphere of the country significantly.

WowBox has an abundance of interesting things in store for its users—there are articles on beauty, health tips, news, sports, job offers and many others that not only entertain users, but seek to provide and increase utility in their lives on a daily basis.

Whatever lifestyle need you have, WowBox has it all! If you haven’t downloaded the app yet, get with the trend and download the app today from the Google Play Store: http://bit.ly/2c53Lni ; you can also stay updated regarding WowBox through its official facebook page: http://bit. ly/2dCUnXX l

| achievement |

Aarong wins Asia Marketing Excellence Award 2016

The Asian Marketing Federation (AMF) has awarded Aarong with

the “Marketing 3.0” award on September 23 after it competed against companies from 19 member countries. The award was received by Md Abdur Rouf, chief operating officer, Aarong, during AMF’s annual award ceremony in Seoul, South Korea.

Marketing 3.0 is a new approach promoted by internationally renowned marketer Philip Kotler of

connecting with consumers through “mind share, spirit share, and heart share.” Aarong has demonstrated the values based approach to marketing by socially and economically empowering artisans of Bangladesh and designing innovative products for its global consumer base.

Aarong is the country’s largest lifestyle retailer and a social enterprise of BRAC. l

19

DT

Biz Info

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

| empowerment |

PRODIGY: Empowering the Youth to Transform Society PRODIGY (Promoting Democratic Inclusion and Governance through Youth) was a 21-month long project of the British Council that started in September 2014 with an aim to increase peaceful civic participation in local governance in Bangladesh by empowering the youth.

The project has developed the knowledge and skills of 540 young Bangladeshis in 15 Union Parishads (UP’s) of three divisions through trainings, volunteer activities including youth club activities, theatre performances, internships with local government, and public dialogues, creating platforms and channels to ensure that the wider community has access to government information.

During the course of the project, the 540 young participants have been given the necessary skills to assess whether local government bodies are fulfilling their commitments and responding to citizens’ needs.

Their capacities were developed in the areas of leadership; accountability, transparency, good governance and inclusivity; and grant management.

Once trained, these community leaders designed and initiated 75 Social Action Projects (SAPs) to provide information and raise awareness among their communities with particular focus on women, the poor, and marginalised groups about their civic rights.

These included knowing how their needs, demands, and vulnerabilities are assessed by the government, how government priorities are set, and how specific interventions or development activities are designed, budgeted, and implemented by the local government. Through these innovative SAPs, the young community leaders continue to empower their communities by enabling them to demand greater transparency and accountability from the local governments.

PRODIGY had three strands to achieve its objectives. The first was knowledge development of young people through identification and training of 540 youths across three divisions, building them into agents for positive social change.

The second was community engagement. Experts from partner organisations assisted the 540 young leaders to

design and plan their social actions projects, advising on outreach to local communities, and engagement of local government authorities.

The third and final strand was recognition and demonstration of positive youth engagement.

PRODIGY participants celebrated International Youth day all 15 locations of the project involving more than 2500 young people along with representatives from local government, Department of Youth Development (DYD), civil society, electronic and print media personnel. PRODIGY National Youth Summit took place in Dhaka to recognise and showcase the work that PRODIGY youth leaders are doing through their SAP’s in all PRODIGY locations.

50% of the PRODIGY participants were female, while 10% belonged to the marginalised section of the community, which included people with disability, ethnic or religious minority, and people living in extreme poverty.

A total of 15 participants, which comprises of 8 female and 7 male participants, were provided internship opportunities at local government offices.

Analysis of the 21-month long project, whose curtains fell on June, 2016, yielded inspiring results. More than 90% of the young people trained through PRODIGY have developed better understanding on transparency, accountability, inclusivity, basic citizen rights, leadership, grants management, project design, and community needs assessment. In addition, more than 80% of the youth trained have continued to act as agents of social change within their communities. Also these trained young people have initiated 75 social action projects to create awareness among the community people about different services which are supposed to be provided by the local government. These young people also motivated the community people to engage more with the local government body through various channels/ activities through these 75 social action projects. The result has shown that the effort of these young people have contributed to increase peaceful civic participation in local governance in the work areas of PRODIGY. l

DT

20 Editorial

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

TODAY

Why Libya is such a mess The way Libya has turned out is certainly not good. And Britain and France can be fairly criticised for losing interest in Libya after the initial intervention PAGE 21

Trump, America, and the Muslim World Even within the Muslim world, countries have become steadily more powerful through integration with the US-patronised global economic system PAGE 22

A democratic right In a democracy, there can be very few issues as significant as political rights 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

Towards a more sustainable agriculture

A

move towards more local varieties of Aush is the way forward for more sustainable rice production in Bangladesh.

Right now, more Boro is being produced per hectare than Aush, but the science is solid that says we should be prioritising on Aush production.

Experts agree that Aush is the more sustainable alternative. Unlike Boro, which is reliant on irrigation, Aush may work as a natural remedy to check groundwater depletion in drought-prone areas.

Furthermore, local varieties of Aush can better cope with changing climatic patterns.

In the light of recent groundwater data, these findings cannot be ignored. It is alarming that the underground water level, which was at a level of 64 feet, has dropped to 97 feet in the span of five years according to official data. The estimation made by local farmers shows an even more drastic reduction in groundwater.

If groundwater continues to deplete at this rate, we will be in serious trouble very soon.

Recently, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made the pledge to end hunger by making rice available at a very low price to poor people. We must take seriously the agricultural science behind rice cultivation, and go for the most efficient, sustainable variety.

Bangladesh is a nation heavily reliant on its agricultural sector, and rice is the staple in every household. We must seriously think about production capacity in the long run, so that future generations do not inherit from us a serious water crisis and a potential food shortage.

Let’s be sensible in our agriculture -- Aush is the best bet in ensuring a secure future for the county’s rice production.

Aush is the best bet in ensuring a secure future for the county’s rice production

DT

21

Opinion

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

Why Libya is such a mess Is David Cameron to blame?

A nation in ruins

n Azeem Ibrahim

L

ibya is still a mess. Not on the level of Syria or Iraq, but a mess nonetheless.

With a slow-burning civil war going on between the western and eastern halves of the country, each backed either by the West or

by Russia.

And in between the two, there is still an IS outpost trying to stake a claim -- although luckily, so far without much success.

We do not hear much about what happens in Libya, except in so far as it relates to the Mediterranean migrant crisis. But that does not mean things are quiet.

They are only quiet relative to Syria, and that continues to attract most of the media coverage in the West. Yet should we ever see significant progress in Syria, and Afghanistan, the next story will no doubt be Libya.

And there is a case for seeing Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya together as part of the same phenomenon: Failed states smoldering in the wake of Western interventions.

This is certainly a powerful narrative in our political discourse, most prominent amongst leftleaning progressives and anti-war campaigners. Indeed, the parallels between these cases are hard to avoid.

What is somewhat more surprising is that the UK’s House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee should also be taking a

REUTERS

similarly hostile view of Western intervention, particularly in the case of David Cameron’s efforts in Libya.

Many of the anti-war progressive crowd will no doubt feel greatly vindicated by these developments. But unfortunately, this stance has some rather perverse implications -- especially from the point of view of a humanitarian-minded progressive.

First of all, let us all agree that Libya is not in a good place right now. And also, that it is in a worse place than it was in 2010. That is not what is disputed here. We are not comparing how things are now with how they were before the 2011 Civil War. What we must be comparing is how Libya is today, given that the UK did intervene, as compared to how it would have been today had the UK not intervened in 2011.

And the fact of the matter is that we do not know.

It is possible that Qaddafi may have emerged victorious from the uprising, with a swift and brutal response which would have nonetheless established order and security in the country and minimised long-term casualties.

But it is just as likely, if not more so, that, as the West stood by, the tribal divisions of Libya would have played out into the orgy of violence we see in Syria and north-west Iraq.

Or, in the extreme case, tribal and ethnic strife could have burst over into ethnic cleansing

The way Libya has turned out is certainly not good. And Britain and France can be fairly criticised for losing interest in Libya after the initial intervention and allowing the country to unravel into its current de facto civil war and genocide on the scale of the Balkans or Rwanda.

Timely intervention?

What we do know, in spite of the Foreign Affairs Committee’s report based, as it was, or rather questionable sources, is that when the West decided to intervene in Libya in 2011, Qaddafi’s forces were marching on Benghazi, intent on massacre.

Is the humanitarian progressive thing to do in such circumstances to stand aside as pro-democracy movements are brutally crushed by tinpot dictators? Should we have stood by and watched as we did in Syria when Assad started using chemical weapons against his own people?

President Obama criticised David Cameron for allowing Libya to become such a mess. And that may be valid criticism.

But by the same measure, the Obama administration can be accused of letting Syria become what it is, for the way they have refused to intervene decisively early in the conflict -- and certainly after the chemical weapons “red

line” was crossed.

The way Libya has turned out is certainly not good. And Britain and France can be fairly criticised for losing interest in Libya after the initial intervention and allowing the country to unravel into its current de facto civil war.

But that is not to say that we should not have intervened to stop a massacre. It is to say that once you have intervened in a country, you must assume responsibility for how that country develops from there.

And that is where Western foreign policy has been falling short in the last two decades: We are happy to intervene in other countries -- but our political culture does not tolerate the long term commitments that such intervention requires morally. l Azeem Ibrahim is Senior Fellow at the Centre for Global Policy, Fellow at Mansfield College, University of Oxford and Research Professor at the Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College.

He tweets @AzeemIbrahim. This article was previously published in Al Arabiya News.

DT

22

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

Long-Form

Trump, America, and the Muslim World Does allying with the US spell doom for any country? This is the second part of a three-part long-form far more formidable strategic threats like China and Russia go on strutting around the globe.

Except delusional Caliphatists, no one can argue even in flights of fancy that the Muslim world can come together as a unified power in the coming decades to pose a balancing challenge to America or other future superpowers.

Far more convincing arguments say that the US acts particularly imperialistic in the Middle East for several geo-strategic reasons, chief among them being controlling the world’s largest petroleum reserve and safe-guarding Israel.

Like all large-scale events in human history, the unique zone of dysfunction now stretching from Nigeria to Pakistan is due to a multiplicity of causes. In studying such trends, it is very hard to say that which is the primary cause and which is secondary, or what is the magnitude of contribution of one cause. There are bound to be vigorous and unending debates about the causes of such complex matters.

The way that the overwhelming majority of intelligentsia and general people in the Muslim world resist critical self-

Even within the Muslim world, countries have become steadily more powerful through integration with the US-patronised global economic system What went wrong for Pakistan?

n Shafiqur Rahman

T

here is a line that is quite popular in the opinionanalysis circles of the Muslim world: A country that is a friend of America needs no enemies.

The meaning is straight and clear -- friendship with the US is toxic. However, we have seen that Germany and Japan, two mortal enemies of America in WWII, became friends and clients of the US after the war and have remained so ever since within the American military, maintaining economic alliance.

They haven’t seemed to have done badly for themselves. South Korea was as poor as Pakistan or India in 1950. Korea has been within the American military and economic orbit since and has done very well. So has Taiwan, and many other US allies in the west and the east.

Meanwhile, countries like the Philippines and Thailand had mixed records of political development being US allies. In Latin America, Chile developed quite well with US friendship, while El Salvador and Honduras went to the dogs. It could be that friendship with the US is not the main reason behind political dysfunction and unsatisfactory development. The main cause is internal.

It could also be that US friendship is especially toxic only for Muslim countries -- the world’s

REUTERS

largest Muslim country Indonesia, for example. As part of the alliance against communism, Indonesia had good relations with America during the long reign of Suharto.

During the 1990s, there were some ups and downs because of the independence struggle of East Timor.

During the 2000s, Indonesia became a frontline for al-Qaedainspired terrorism and Indonesian governments were quite close to the US. Relations have been particularly good during the last president Yudhoyono and current president Joko Widodo. Indonesia is also currently receiving praise around the world for getting a good handle on terrorism, economy, foreign policy, among other things.

How about in the Middle East? Tunisia has had very good relations with the US since the 1960s, and although Tunisia was effectively a repressive autocracy under leaders like Bouguiba, Ben Ali, it was also, socially, the most developed country in the Middle East.

Tunisia initiated the famous Arab Spring and now, after some turmoil, it is perhaps the first and only Arab democracy. Relations with the US is better than ever, with the US declaring Tunisia a major non-Nato ally in 2015.

It could be that I am being selective, so let’s pick Pakistan, the poster boy of US friendship gone wrong. US-Pakistan special relations began during the 1950s,

with SEATO and other strategic, economic alliances.

In the 50s and 60s, Pakistan was one of the fastest developing countries in the post-colonial world, far outpacing India in social and economic development. We know what happened in 1971, and also Zia-ul-Haq, with his Islamisation at the end of 1970s.

It should be noted that Zia-ulHaq began his Islamisation in 1977, two years before the first Russian tanks entered Afghanistan, and very few people knew what words like Mujahideen, Jihad, Taliban, or even ISI meant. We can also look at long-standing US allies like Turkey and Jordan in the middle of the Mid-East chaos. It will be a hard case to make that those countries are especially suffering from US friendship or they could have done better by not being an ally.

My point in this litany of countries and their histories is to drive home a point that it is hard to demonstrate comparatively that relations with the US has been instrumental in a country’s dysfunction, most probably some of the causes lay within.

Undoubtedly, US policy has been detrimental, and sometimes devastating, for the general wellbeing of some countries. In spite of that, I find it is hard to argue that the US is engaged in either a civilisational war, a la Huntington or a realpolitik hot and cold war, with the Muslim world.

It is hard to answer why would the US do that, while

Historically, the geographically vital Middle East has always been an area of contention between great empires.

With the end of the Ottoman Empire and retreat of Britain and France after WWII, America became the pre-eminent power in the region. Empires are maintained through both coercive power and persuasive influence.

As mentioned before, the way the US maintained its informal empire over the Middle East can most charitably be termed “amoral,” and more realistically termed as “immoral.” Although a good case can be made that the US behaved no worse than any other country in the world would have done if it were in command of such power and influence.

What is important is that, within the sphere of influence, many countries have become developed socially and economically, gained real power in world affairs, and became capable of resisting both American coercive power and persuasive influence. The American hegemonic power is exceptional in history in the way it has allowed and facilitated nations within its orbit of influence to gain economic power, which is the ultimate bedrock of military power.

Even within the Muslim world, countries have become steadily more powerful through integration with the US-patronised global economic system and have become more adept at resisting US influence.

examination and ascribe the US-led West as the locus of all their troubles, is really disturbing.

In psychology there is a term, “locus of control,” to describe differences in the ways human beings infer about cause of events happening all around them and in their own lives. People whose locus of control is internally oriented think that outcomes and results of events happen largely due to own actions of individuals and groups. People with external locus of control think that event outcomes happen largely due to outside forces beyond internal control. Outside forces can be God, nature, other people, or even sheer chance.

Psychologists say that an individual’s locus of control mostly develops from social upbringing, and there is remarkable cross-cultural variation. Some cultures are highly internally-oriented while other cultures have pronounced external locus of control. Not surprisingly, more religious cultures have more external locus of control.

In the last part, I will discuss how the Muslim world goes to ridiculous lengths to conform with their external locus of control, and what frank self-examination may reveal about causes of their current dysfunction. l The concluding part of this longform will be published tomorrow.

Shafiqur Rahman is a political scientist.

DT

23

Opinion

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

A democratic right The right to peaceful assembly is written into the constitution

n Nur E Emroz Alam Tonoy

W

hat would it take for the Awami League to regain the trust of the secularist corner of the country?

That was the talking point of a weekend social gathering of our regular friendly circle, coincidentally, all of whom happen to be former BCL members turned accomplished academics and career professionals.

It is no secret that the secularist front of the country has always been considered as the core defender of the AL since its formation. Thus, from a longterm perspective, the success and existence of Mujib ideals hugely rely on the success and confidence of secularism.

This, in a nutshell, is a debate of fundamental principles that the AL power centre is failing to identify, or is too arrogant to admit, but is being wrestled with by academics, party sympathisers, and members of the civil rights groups who have rallied behind the party in tough times.

Is this the party that once presented a classic left-wing political purity? Or in the era of Seikh Hasina, whose increasingly tightening iron fist over the party and the government is a tell-tale sign of a bitter reality, is the AL just interested in hanging onto power or still stands by its commitment towards secular democratic principles?

If you want to get a sense of what’s wrong with fundamental democratic rights in Bangladesh, look no further than Friday, September 30.

This was the date when the capital’s transport network almost entirely collapsed due to an AL showdown that apparently had no political agenda, but narcissistic populism.

Meanwhile, in the morning, a small group of socialist political activists assembled peacefully in the DU campus for an environmentally friendly bicycle rally organised in opposition of the Rampal Power Plant project.

The rally was impeded by the BCL members and the police.

The organisers and several media outlets accused the police of using excessive force and causing grievous physical damage.

Considering the enormous economic importance, it has already been agreed by many experts that, despite environmental concerns, projects like Rampal and environmental

The government has no business breaking up peaceful protests

RAJIB DHAR

In a democracy, there can be very few issues as significant as political rights. Ethically, it is worth realising that preventing citizens from peaceful protest can only happen in a state that does not respect the rights of the citizens

conservation can go hand in hand -- if managed carefully through effective protection mechanism.

However, neither economic development nor environmental conservation are focuses of this particular article.

The focus of this article is a fundamental political right which is considered given and constitutionally guaranteed in a secular democratic system, namely the freedom of peaceful assembly.

Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the article 21 of the International Convenant on Civil and Political Rights ICCPR (1966),

of which Bangladesh is a signatory, recognised citizens’ rights to demonstrate, protest, and take part in politics through peaceful assembly.

Section 37 of the Constitution of Bangladesh was created in line with this universally accepted democratic virtue which proclaims: “Every citizen shall have the right to assemble and to participate in public meetings and processions peacefully and without arms, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interests of public order health.”

Many might argue that the constitution was being violated on

September 30.

In principle, yes of course, but technically the aggressive presence of BCL members grants the police a legitimate intervention ground, but how legitimate was it from a democratic perspective?

In Disk/Kesk vs Turkey, the European Court of Human Rights pointed out that states must not only safeguard the right to peaceful assembly, but that it also must refrain from applying unreasonable indirect restrictions upon this right.

In a democracy, there can be very few issues as significant as political rights -- and the current AL government is under an

obligatory duty to safeguard this.

Ethically, it is worth realising that preventing citizens from peaceful protest can only happen in a state that does not respect the rights of the citizens.

Not only does the AL have to refrain from this awful tactic of throwing in BCL men to create a ground for police intervention, but BCL members must also have to ask themselves, is it appropriate for BCL to deprive others from the same rights that were achieved through the sacrifices of the BCL members by the hundred?

We all have different views on how to run the country, but there are few fundamental ideals we all have agreed upon, including freedom of assembly, on the very day when democracy has become our chosen path.

Apparently, the government is falling short of expectations, and it must immediately re-examine its position on the fundamental aspects of the democratic politics, where it is losing the argument. l Nur E Emroz Alam Tonoy is a blogger and an online activist.

DT

24 Sport

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

BANGLADESH V ENGLAND 2ND ODI, HEAD-TO-HEAD

TOP STORIES

BANGLADESH 17 3 14 17.64 Kayes (363) Tamim (125) Shakib (13) Rubel (4/53)

Bangladesh thrash England 52-18

SHAKIB AL HASAN: The home side will once again rely on the world’s number one ODI all-rounder Shakib al Hasan after their heartbreaking defeat against England in the first game. The champion cricketer was instrumental both with bat and ball and almost took Bangladesh to the winning line before the late batting collapse denied the Tigers from a memorable win.

He picked up two wickets and scored a quick-fire 79 off just 55 balls and will once again eye a productive performance if the Tigers are to level the series.

Careful Kohli steers India to 267-3 The normally free-scoring Virat Kohli showed the other side of his batsmanship to score the first century of the series against New Zealand and steer India to 267 for three on the opening day of the third Test yesterday. PAGE 26

Bangladesh’s Mosharraf Hossain drops one of his two catches during the first ODI against England at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Friday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Rafael Nadal of Spain crashed out of the China Open quarter finals to 20th-ranked Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov on Friday as Great Britain’s Andy Murray swept into his 11th semi of the season after beating Kyle Edmund. PAGE 27

Ruthless Ronaldo hits four Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in the opening four minutes on the way to a four-goal haul as European champions Portugal smashed Andorra 6-0 in World Cup qualifying on Friday, while France recovered from a goal down to thrash Bulgaria. PAGE 28

ENGLAND 17 14 3 82.35 Strauss (610) Strauss (154) Flintoff (12) Collingwood (6/31)

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Bangladesh started their 2016 Kabaddi World Cup campaign with a thumping with over first-timers England. With combined efforts coming from the raiders and defenders, Bangladesh ended with a 52-18 scoreline. PAGE 25

Nadal crashes against Dimitrov

Matches Wins Losses Win % Most runs Highest score Most wickets Best bowling

JOS BUTTLER: Buttler, who was given the role of the captain for the very first time, played a vital role to help his side win the first ODI against Bangladesh. He came in to bat at No 6 as his side required some fire power at the end and the right-hander duly delivered. The wicketkeeper-batsman struck a blistering 38-ball 63, featuring four sixes and three fours, and enabled his side to score 89 runs in their last 10 overs which eventually made the difference in the game.

Buttler will once again shuffle his batting-order according to the demand of the game but one thing is for sure – his side would look to him for inspiration.

–MAZHAR UDDIN

Five things Bangladesh must improve against England in second ODI n Mazhar Uddin Middle-order needs to fire

It has been the major concern for the Bangladesh team ever since they played their first ODI after a break of 10 months during the Afghanistan series. Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim are the two most senior batsmen of the side and they will have to take the responsibility and make sure that at least one of them plays a big knock. However, both Mahmudullah and Mushfiq got starts in the first game on Friday but were unable to convert those into a big one.

Last 10 overs must be utilised

Bangladesh batsmen lacked the fire-power in the latter stages of their innings in recent times.

During the Afghanistan series, Bangladesh added 69, 54 and 64 runs in their last 10 overs in the

three ODIs. It was a rather sorry batting display from the Tigers in the first ODI against England where the home side required 54 runs in their last 10 overs with six wickets in hand. Sadly, they were bundled out with 13 balls to spare.

On the other hand, England added 89 runs in their last 10 overs of their innings. The home side must utilise their last 10 overs with the willow that will in turn create the difference in the game.

Fielding, catching needs to improve

Bangladesh’s fielding has been below-standard in the first ODI where they dropped three easy chances and it proved to be costly. Mosharraf Hossain and Mahmudullah dropped rather straightforward chances as Ben Stokes was dropped twice on 69 and 71. He ended up scoring his maiden ODI ton and

guided his side to a big total of 309/8 in 50 overs. Debutant Ben Duckett, who registered a half-century, was also dropped while the ground fielding also needs to improve as according to the players fielding is the one particular department which can improve.

repeated the same mistakes in the first ODI against England where at one point, it looked like the home side would easily chase down the target, requiring 45 runs from 55 balls. Eventually they lost by 21 runs.

Never press the panic button

Bangladesh are definitely missing their fast bowling sensation Mustafizur Rahman who is missing due to injury. However, Taskin Ahmed, Shafiul Islam, Al Amin Hossain and skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza have already proved what they are capable of and it’s high time the fast bowlers prove their worth in Fizz’s absence. Taskin is yet to get his full rhythm back ever since he return from suspension for illegal bowling action while Al Amin will look to cement his place after being left out in the Afghanistan series. l

One of the biggest problems for the Bangladesh team is that they press the panic button even when the situation is in their favour. All of a sudden, the players start to think differently and at times, experience the feeling of winning even before the game is finished. One of the biggest examples would be the 2016 World T20 match against India where Mushfiq celebrated before hitting the winning runs. As a result, Bangladesh lost the game even when they required only two runs from three balls. The Tigers

Fast bowlers need to deliver

25

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Sport

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

KABADDI WORLD CUP

Bangladesh thrash England 52-18 n Tribune Report Bangladesh started their 2016 Kabaddi World Cup campaign with a thumping with over first-timers England. With combined efforts coming from the raiders and defenders, Bangladesh ended with a 52-18 scoreline.

For Bangladesh, captain Aruduzzaman Munshi and Mohammad Sabuj Mia scored eight match points each, while Tuhin Tarafder scored six points.

Meanwhile, for England, Tope Adewalure was the top-scorer with eight match-points. Seven of his points came from successful raids.

Captain Someshwar Kalia was given the first yellow card of the tournament, after he slapped a Bangladesh raider.

ENGLAND

18-52 BANGLADESH

13

Raid Points

34

5

Tackle Points

9

0

All out Points

6

0

Extra Points

3

Bangladesh next play two-time winners India on Tuesday at 9pm.

Bangladesh have seven new faces in the squad and prepared for the tournament for the best part of the last two months. They did not play any practice matches during this time. Bangladesh Edible Oil Limited is sponsoring the side.

Prior to their departure, Bangladesh skipper Arduzzaman said they are targeting a silver medal in the World Cup where they have finished third in both the previous editions.

The World Cup is being held after a nine-year hiatus.

“We desire to retain the bronze medal but our target is to claim the silver. India are hot favourites in our pool so our main opposition are South Korea. If we can defeat them, we can rightfully expect a silver,” said Arduzzaman.

Earlier in the tournament opener, hosts and favourites India suffered a shocking 34-32 defeat at the hands of powerhouse South Korea.

Besides Bangladesh, England and hosts India, Group A also comprises South Korea, Australia and Argentina while Group B contains two-time runners-up Iran, Thailand, Japan, USA, Kenya and Poland.l

Action from the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup game between Bangladesh and England.

The men in red and green thrashed their opposition 52-18 COURTESY

Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan visits veteran sports journalist Asif Iqbal at National Heart Foundation Hospital in Mirpur yesterday. Asif recently suffered a heart attack on assignment COURTESY

Nazmul, Mahmud hopeful of Tigers comeback n Ali Shahriyar Bappa Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan is hopeful that the Tigers will bounce back in the next match against England. The BCB chief also urged the players to play positive and fearless cricket.

Nazmul also informed that faith should be kept with the selection process as the inclusions of Mosaddek Hossain and Mosharraf Hossain and the omission of Nasir Hossain raised quite a few questions.

“We want to ensure that a player will get proper chances before his exclusion. If we want to exclude Mosaddek or Mosharraf considering only one match then it is a bit unfair. In that case, the newcomers of the team will face immense pressure in future,” said Nazmul.

“We have to ensure that new players will concentrate on their game and not feel concerned about getting dropped from the team after just one or two matches.

“England are one of the best ODI

sides now. A reason behind their success is that they are playing positive cricket. They don’t fear getting dropped from the squad after playing attacking shots. That’s why they often try to hit sixes from the very fast ball, even after the fall of regular wickets.

“We have the ability and also want to play such kind of positive cricket. I believe if our players can play according to their capability then we can win the next match and even the series,” he added.

Bangladesh team manager Khaled Mahmud also echoed the same sentiment to that of the BCB boss.

“We still believe we can win the series. We will learn from our mistakes and try to win the next one.

England are better than us in the rankings. But we played really good cricket in the last two years. So I am positive about winning the series.

We have that ability,” he said.

“I think playing fearless cricket is our main motto now. Whoever

plays, or whatever conditions we may face, if we play our best cricket then we can win.

“I think batsmen should take the responsibility when chasing against a big team. We can’t always rely on our tail-enders. The first seven batsmen of the batting order should take the responsibility to win the game. Our batsmen batted well but the finishing was not up to the mark.

“If the Shakib [al Hasan]-Imrul [Kayes] partnership was not broken, we could have won the match.

Shakib played aggressively but his attacking play brought us back into the game and the asking rate came down to five from six,” he added.

Mahmud is hopeful first ODI centurion Imrul will be fit for the second and penultimate game of the three-match series.

“We hope he will be fit, and in time. Imrul batted for a long time.

He also practised hard in the hot weather. Maybe that’s why he got muscle cramps,” he said.l

DT

26

Sport

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

Kapali blasts unbeaten ton in NCL n Tribune Report

India’s Virat Kohli plays a shot during the first day of their third Test against New Zealand in Indore yesterday REUTERS

Careful Kohli steers India to 267-3 3RD TEST, DAY 1 INDIA 1ST INNINGS M. Vijay c Latham b Patel G. Gambhir lbw b Boult C. Pujara b Santner V. Kohli not out A. Rahane not out Extras (b 1, lb 2, nb 2)

R 10 29 41 103 79 5

Total (3 wickets; 90 overs)

267

B 18 53 108 191 172

Fall of wickets 1-26 (Vijay), 2-60 (Gambhir), 3-100 (Pujara) Bowling Boult 16-2-54-1, Henry 20-3-65-0, Patel 24-3-65-1, Santner 19-3-53-1, Neesham 11-1-27-0 (2 nb)

4th IHF Trophy starts today n Tribune Report The fourth edition of the International Handball Federation Trophy begins today in Dhaka’s Shaheed Mansur Ali Handball Stadium.

In the men’s category, Pakistan will take on Maldives in the tournament opener while in the women’s section, Nepal will face Maldives to get things underway.

The hosts will lock horns with India in their opening match at 11:30am while in the women’s category, the home side will be up against Sri Lanka in their first game.

Afghanistan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and hosts Bangladesh will take part in the tournament in both the men’s and women’s categories.

In both the sections, seven teams have been divided into two groups with the top two teams from each pool making it through to the semi-finals.

Besides the Shaheed Mansur Ali Handball Stadium, matches will also be held at Bangabandhu National Stadium and Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Indoor Stadium.l

n Reuters, Ndore The normally free-scoring Virat Kohli showed the other side of his batsmanship to score the first century of the series against New Zealand and steer India to 267 for three on the opening day of the third and final Test yesterday.

Kohli’s 103 not out was not the most flamboyant of his 13 Test centuries but the 167 runs he added with Ajinkya Rahane for the fourth wicket laid the foundation for a big first-innings total for the hosts who hold an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

Kohli hit 10 fours in his 191-ball knock while Rahane’s patient 79 not out contained nine fours and the six he hit off Jeetan Patel to bring up his 10th Test fifty.

Earlier, Kohli maintained his perfect toss record in the series and had little hesitation in batting first at Indore’s Holkar Stadium which is hosting its first Test.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, back in the side after missing the second Test through illness, introduced spin as early as the fifth over and the decision paid off immediately.

Patel struck with his fifth

delivery when Murali Vijay (10) stepped out to flick the off-spinner and Tom Latham took a sharp catch at short leg.

It took injuries to openers Lokesh Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan to facilitate Gautam Gambhir’s (29) return to Test cricket after a two-year gap and the left-hander nonchalantly pulled Matt Henry for back-to-back sixes before Trent Boult trapped him lbw.

Cheteshwar Pujara (41) played with characteristic composure but Mitchell Santner denied him his fourth fifty of the series with a superb delivery. l

Squads named for England warm-ups n Tribune Report Bangladesh Cricket Board yesterday announced the squad for the two two-day practice matches against the touring England side.

The first match will start this Friday at MA Aziz Stadium, Chittagong while the second game will begin next Sunday at the same venue.

The first Test between Bangladesh and England will get underway on October 18 at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong.

Squad for first practice match:

Soumya Sarkar, Shahriar Nafees, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Sabbir Rahman (C), Mosaddek Hossain, Shuvagata Hom, Nurul Hasan, Rubel Hossain, Kamrul Islam Rab-

bi, Abu Jahed Rahi, Ebadat Hossain and Shadman Islam

Squad for second practice match:

Soumya Sarkar (C), Abdul Majid, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Tanbir Haydar Khan, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Nurul Hasan, Al Amin Hossain, Abu Haider Rony, Shubashish Roy, Ebadat Hossain and Shadman Islam l

Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 franchise Rajshahi Kings, led by Tigers batsman Sabbir Rahman, unveiled their logo and jersey in a ceremony on Thursday COURTESY

The third round of the 18th National Cricket League got underway across different venues yesterday.

In the tier one game between Dhaka and Barisal, the former posted 283/5 at stumps on day one with Abdul Mazid top-scoring with 96 and Rony Talukdar chipping in with 84.

In the other tier one tie, Khulna registered 156/5 against Dhaka Metropolis.

Meanwhile in tier two, Rangpur were in a bit of trouble as they ended the day on 172/6 against Rajshahi while Sylhet scored 281/5 against Chittagong with veteran cricketer Alok Kapali blasting an unbeaten century. l

18TH NCL, RD 3, DAY 1 TIER 1 DHAKA 283/5 in 79 overs (Mazid 96, Rony 84, Monir 4/80) v BARISAL KHULNA 156/5 in 64 overs (Nurul 54*, Shahidul 2/23, Saykat 2/25) v DHAKA METROPOLIS TIER 2 RANGPUR 172/6 in 54.2 overs (Tanveer 53, Sohrawardi 46, Farhad 3/45) v RAJSHAHI SYLHET 281/5 in 90 overs (Kapali 105*, Rajin 51, Sajjad 2/78) v CHITTAGONG

Ameli confident of win in Bhutan n Tribune Report Veteran Bangladesh striker Jahid Hasan Ameli yesterday expressed confidence with their prospects ahead of their Asian Cup Qualifiers Play-off second leg against Bhutan, scheduled to be held tomorrow in Thimphu.

Ameli said, “We have practised well in the last couple of days. We are trying to adjust with the cold weather. All of us will try our best to win the match. The game in very important for Bangladesh football.

We are very serious.”

On the eve of the Bhutan clash, goalkeeper Ashraful Islam Rana also echoed the same sentiment.

Bangladesh earlier reached Bhutan on Friday before travelling to their team hotel at Olakha, Thimphu. Besides the opposition, Bangladesh also have to contend with the weather as temperatures at this time of the year usually hover around 16-18 degrees.

All the Bangladesh players are fit and well and there are no injury concerns. They practised at Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu yesterday at 7pm. l

27

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Sport

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

Dutch call up cover for Sneijder

n Reuters, Amsterdam Tonny Vilhena has been called into the Netherlands squad for the key World Cup qualifier against France tomorrow as cover for captain Wesley Sneijder who looks likely to miss the match in Amsterdam.

Sneijder, 32, hobbled off at halftime in the 4-1 win over Belarus in Rotterdam on Friday with a hamstring injury.

Sneijder, however, said he was still hopeful of recovering in time.l

Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria plays a backhand against Rafael Nadal of Spain during their China Open men’s singles quarterfinal in Beijing, China on Friday

DAY’S WATCH

REUTERS

CRICKET GAZI TV, BTV, STAR SPORTS 4 2:30PM England Tour of Bangladesh 2nd ODI

STAR SPORTS 1 9:20AM New Zealand Tour of India 2016 3rd Test, Day 2

TEN 3

2:00PM Australia Tour of South Africa 4th ODI

TEN 1 12:00PM A-League 2016/17 Newcastle Jets v Adelaide United 5:15PM Sky Bet EFL 2016/17 Oxford United v AFC Wimbledon

SONY SIX FIFA World Cup Qualifiers 2018 9:30PM Wales v Georgia 12:30AM Albania v Spain

SONY ESPN FIFA World Cup Qualifiers 2018 9:30PM Finland v Croatia 12:30AM FYR Macedonia v Italy

STAR SPORTS 1 7:30PM Indian Super League Kochi v Delhi

KABADDI STAR SPORTS 2 Kabaddi World Cup 2016 6:20PM South Korea v Argentina 8:30PM USA v Japan 9:40PM Thailand v Iran

FORMULA 1 STAR SPORTS 2 11:05AM Japan Grand Prix Main Race

TENNIS

SONY ESPN

5:00PM China Open Final

Dimitrov KO Nadal, Murray wins in Beijing quarters n AFP, Beijing Rafael Nadal crashed out of the China Open quarter finals to 20thranked Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov on Friday as Andy Murray swept into his 11th semi of the season.

Despite two breaks in the first set, the fourteen-time Grand Slam champion was unable to keep his serve and Dimitrov kept the pressure on for a 6-2, 6-4 victory - his first over the Spaniard.

Nadal, 30, is approaching the end of his second consecutive season without a Slam title since he won his first aged 19 at Roland Garros in 2005.

The loss in the Chinese capital also puts his qualification for an 11th consecutive ATP Final - which brings together the season’s top eight players - in doubt.

Murray, meanwhile, beat Davis Cup teammate Kyle Edmund to keep his hopes of dethroning Novak Djokovic for year-end number one alive.

The Scot - who is coming to the end of a career best season - was forced into a tense 20-point tie break in the first set by his 21-year-old compatriot. Fellow Briton Johanna Konta was also smashing dreams Friday, as she crushed home favourite Zhang Shuai in two sets.

Buoyed by the home crowd, Zhang broke the Briton twice to take the opening four games of the match.

But at 0-4 down, Konta abruptly

turned the tide in her favour winning 12 consecutive games to book her semi-final place with a 6-4, 6-0 victory. Konta next faces American Madison Keys, who ended Petra Kvitova’s eight-match winning streak in an epic two-tiebreak victory, 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (7/5).

Keys put in an Olympic effort to exact revenge over Kvitova in what was their first meeting since the Czech denied the American a bronze medal in Rio. A double fault by Kvitova turned the first set in Keys’ favour but it was the Czech’s 32 unforced errors to Keys’ 25 that ultimately decided the semi-final place.

Kvitova - a two-time Wimbledon champion - has had a year of

ups and downs since she split with her coach of seven years David Kotyza after the Australian Open and has failed to get past the round of 16 at any of the Grand Slams.

On the men’s side, Ferrer dispatched German youngster Alexander Zverev while Wimbledon runner up Milos Raonic saw off Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 6-4, 6-4. Zverev, 19, was looking to cap a breakout season with a strong Beijing run, but was unable to capitalise on his first set lead as he was overpowered by Ferrer 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 7-5.

In Beijing he beat 10th-ranked Austrian Dominic Thiem in the first round, making him the first teenager to defeat three top 10 players in a row since Boris Becker in 1986.l

Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska plays against Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova during their China Open women’s singles quarterfinal in Beijing REUTERS

USA beat Cuba in historic friendly in Havana n AFP, Havana The United States warmed up for their looming World Cup qualifying clash with Mexico with a 2-0 friendly victory over Cuba on Friday, only the third time in history the two nations have met on Cuban soil.

Chris Wondolowski in the 62nd minute and Julian Green in the 71st scored for the United States.

The match at the Estadio Pedro Marrero was the latest byproduct of the thaw in relations between the United States and Cuba, after more than half a century of bitter Cold War enmity.

It is the first time the United States have played in Cuba since their World Cup qualifying clash in Havana in 2008, when the Americans won 1-0 courtesy of a Clint Dempsey goal.

Aside from that, the only other meeting between the teams in Cuba came in 1947, when the hosts won 5-2.

“Today we made history,” said forward Jozy Altidore. “Thanks to Cuba for the hospitality and here’s to continuing to improve our relations in the future.”

Yet while Friday’s game came loaded with political symbolism, for USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann the match was key preparation for World Cup qualifiers. After an hour of frustration, San Jose Earthquakes striker Wondolowski, broke the scoreless deadlock, slamming in a rebound from a Green attempt saved by Cuban goalkeeper Sandy Sanchez.l

DT

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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

RESULTS GROUP A

0-1

Luxembourg

Sweden Lustig 58

4-1

Netherlands

Belarus

Promes 15, 31, Klaassen 55, Janssen 64

Rios 47

4-1

France Gameiro 23, 59, Payet 26, Griezmann 38

Bulgaria Aleksandrov 6-P

GROUP B

6-0

Portugal

Andorra

Ronaldo 2, 4, 47, 68, Cancelo 44, Silva 86

0-2

Latvia

Faroe Islands Nattestad 19, Edmundsson 70

2-3

Hungary Szalai 53, 71

GROUP H Greece

Switzerland Seferovic 51, Rodriguez 67, Stocker 89

2-0

Cyprus

4-0

Bosnia

4-0

Gibraltar

Mitroglou 12, Mantalos 42

Belgium Spahic 26-og, Hazard 28, Alderweireld 60, Lukaku 79

Estonia

Kait 47, 70, Vassiljev 52, Mosnikov 88

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo heads to score his second goal against Andorra during their World Cup 2018 qualifier at Aveiro stadium, Portugal on Friday

REUTERS

Ruthless Ronaldo hits four, France and Dutch run riot n AFP, Paris Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in the opening four minutes on the way to a four-goal haul as European champions Portugal smashed Andorra 6-0 in World Cup qualifying on Friday, while France recov-

ered from a goal down to thrash Bulgaria.

The Real Madrid superstar was making his first appearance for Portugal since he was stretchered off injured and in tears from the final of Euro 2016 and he wasted no time in making up for his three-month

absence from international football.

The 31-year-old took just 73 seconds to make his mark. He was wrestled to the floor at a corner but then jumped up to volley in left footed from around the penalty spot after the Andorra goalkeeper could only parry a Portugal header.

Ronaldo, who has struggled to get back to his brilliant best for Real since returning from his knee trouble, was at it again two minutes later when he was left totally unmarked on the six-yard box to rise and head in.

It was only a matter of how

POINTS TABLE P W D L GD Pts

GROUP A Netherlands

2

1

1

0

3

4

France

2

1

1

0

3

4

Sweden

2

1

1

0

1

4

Bulgaria

2

1 0

1

-2

3

Belarus

2

0 1

1

-3

1

Luxembourg

2

0 0 2

-2

0

3

6

GROUP B Switzerland

2

2 0 0

Faroe Islands

2

1

1

0

2

4

Portugal

2

1 0

1

4

3

Latvia

2

1 0

1

-1

3

Hungary

2

0 1

1

-1

1

Andorra

2

0 0 2

-7

0

6

GROUP H Belgium

France’s Kevin Gameiro in action with Bulgaria’s Aleksandar Aleksandrov during their 2018 World Cup qualifying European Zone Group A match at Stade de France, Saint-Denis near Paris on Friday REUTERS

2

2 0 0

7

Greece

2

2 0 0

5

6

Bosnia

2

1 0

1

1

3

Estonia

2

1 0

1

-1

3

Cyprus

2

0 0 2

-5

0

Gibraltar

2

0 0 2

-7

0

many for the home side after that, as Portugal belatedly got three points on the board in Group B, after losing in Switzerland in the opening group matches.

Ronaldo made it the perfect hat-trick just 90 seconds after the break, grabbing his third Portugal’s fourth - with a sweet right-footed volley.

France, agonisingly beaten by Portugal in Paris in the Euro final in July, returned to the scene of that heartbreak and got off to the worst possible start when they conceded after just six minutes at the Stade de France.

Mihail Aleksandrov stroked home from the penalty spot to give the Bulgarians a shock lead in a very competitive-looking Group A. But the French stormed back with two goals from Kevin Gameiro - making his first international start in almost five years - in a convincing 4-1 win.

The Netherlands, who failed to make it to the Euros, top the group after they defeated Belarus 4-1 in Rotterdam. Quincy Promes grabbed a first-half brace for the Dutch.

France travel to Amsterdam tomorrow for a mouthwatering clash with the Netherlands.

Under-achieving Belgium also enjoyed a fine home win, Eden Hazard scoring a beauty in the first period as they defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 4-0 to go top of Group H. l

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Scottish musician (5) 4 Make fast a vessel (4) 7 Lyric poem (3) 8 Pale (3) 9 Brings up (5) 12 Harvest (4) 13 Natural gifts (7) 15 Filled pastry (3) 16 Secret agent (3) 18 Tree (3) 19 Kitchen utensil (3) 21 Mocked (7) 24 Not working (4) 26 Gap (5) 27 Corn spike (3) 28 Loud noise (3) 29 Prophet (4) 30 Superficial lustre (5)

DOWN 1 Harbour town (4) 2 Standards of perfection (6) 3 Chime (4) 4 Planet (4) 5 United (3) 6 Answer (5) 10 Corded fabric (3) 11 Bird (5) 14 Rends (5) 17 Abstract (6) 18 Zodiac sign (5) 20 Pinch (3) 21 Expensive (4) 22 Skirting board (4) 23 Lairs (4) 25 Sheltered side (3)

29

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Downtime

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 6 represents R so fill R every time the figure 6 appears.

You have two letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.

Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.

As you get the letters, fill in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check off the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SUDOKU How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

PEANUTS

SATURDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

DT

30

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

Showtime

Tagore’s comedy staged at Shilpakala manner.

Interestingly, Monoroma, a major character in terms of the events that shape up the story and set its course, never appears on the stage. Her presence is established through numerous references made by the onstage characters.

The drama sticks closely to the original story of Rabindranath Tagore, keeping the dialogues as they are in the text.

Jahidur Rahman Piplu, who plays the titular character of Boikuntha and the one who designed the set said, “It’s always a challenge to work on a Tagore piece because they are very nuanced and developed in multiple layers. We tried to present the story as simply as we could, so that the audience could

n Nadira Sultana Ava Noted theatre troupe, Loko Natyadal (Banani), staged its acclaimed production Boikunther Khata at The National Theatre Hall of Bangladesh of Shilpakala Academy on October 6.

The drama was staged as a part of the ongoing National Theatre Festival 2016, which began on September, 24.

Boikunther Khata, based on a play of the same title

by Rabindranath Tagore, was directed by Kamrun Nur Chowdhury, who also played a role in the production.

Being a comedy, it was necessarily developed through a

mix of comic events, and puns, but the playwright took time to address social anomalies and human flaws.

The story follows an elderly person, Boikuntho, living with his widowed daughter, unmarried younger brother and servants.

Boikuntho has a childish passion for the history of music and is writing a piece on that. He is indulged by his family, although they are not very appreciative of his writing.

The story enters its main plot with the arrival of Kedar, a conman who appears to appreciate the easily impressionable Boikuntho’s literary talent to manipulate him

relate to it.”

Boikunther Khata is Loko Natyadal’s 25th production. The ministry of culture, Government of Bangladesh funded Loko Natyadal to stage Boikunther Khata on the occasion of the birth centenary of Rabindranath Tagore.

Among others, Tanjima Rahman, Abdullah Al Harun, Anwar Kaiser, Basudev Halder, Sudhangsu Nath, Zahid Chowdhury and Nadit Nur Chowdhury Zadu performed in the drama.

The 18-day National Theatre Festival 2016, organised jointly by Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy and Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation, will feature a total of 58 productions by troupes from across the country.l

to marry off his sister-in-law to Boikuntho’s brother. Abinash eventually falls in love with Monoroma, Kedar’s sister-in-law and marries her. However, Kedar’s plan to take over Boikuntha’s household fails as Abinash and others come to realise his plots.

“Even though it’s a story of two families, a host of social unorthodoxy and practices were addressed through them. In a way, these characters represent a certain section of society,” said Kamrun Nur Chowdhury.

Avarice, flattery, craftiness, falsehood –vices that exist in any normal human being and their effects were portrayed in the story in a very convincing, if humorous

WHAT TO WATCH

Spider-Man Sony PIX, 8:23 PM Peter Parker is in high school.

He was orphaned as a kid and lives with his uncle and aunt.

Peter is a nerd who is bullied by many and has a crush on his neighbour Mary Jane that he is unable to talk about. His life changes drastically during a school trip to a laboratory.

A genetically modified spider bites Peter. The next day, he finds that he has become muscular, his vision is very

clear and he can cling to any kind of surface while crawl over walls.

And that’s how Spiderman is born.

Now he has to take on the evil Green Goblin who has sworn to destroy Spiderman.

Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Rosemary Harris, J. K. Simmons The Martian Star Movies, 9:00 PM When astronauts blast off from the planet Mars, they leave behind Mark Watney, presumed dead after a fierce storm. With only a meagre amount of supplies, the stranded visitor must utilize his wits and spirit to find a way to survive on the hostile planet. Meanwhile, back on Earth, members of NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring him home, while his crew mates

hatch their own plan for a daring rescue mission.

Cast: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Pena Ip Man 2 Zee Studio, 6:50 PM

Ip Man 2 is a 2010 Hong Kong biographical martial arts film loosely based on the life of Ip Man, a grandmaster of the martial art

Wing Chun. A sequel to the 2008 film Ip Man, the film was directed

by Wilson Yip, and stars Donnie Yen, who reprises the leading role.

Continuing after the events of the earlier film, the sequel centers on Ip’s movements in Hong Kong, which is under British colonial rule. He attempts to propagate his discipline of Wing Chun, but faces rivalry from other practitioners, including the local master of Hung Ga martial arts Cast: Donnie Yen, Lynn Hung, Simon Yam, Sammo Hung KamBo, Xiaoming Huang Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me WB, 5:06 PM Austin Powers is a British spy who’s on his honeymoon when he finds out that his wife is actually a fembot who’s controlled by Dr

Evil. Dr Evil is back from space and has used a time machine to go to the late 60s to steal Austin’s libido. Austin finds himself impotent. Now he has the task of going back in time and getting his libido back and also to foil Dr Evil’s latest plan of shattering the earth with a laser gun placed on the moon.

Cast: Mike Myers, Heather Graham, Michael York, Robert Wagner, Rob Lowe. l

31

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Showtime

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

Brosnan’s endorsement of Pan Bahar:

social media erupts The name is Bond *spits pan*, James Bond

n Showtime Desk Yes you read it right. Pierce Brosnan, one of the best actors to have played the iconic MI5 agent James Bond has endorsed one of India’s leading pan masala brands, Pan Bahar. It took some time for everyone to come to terms with the full page ad on the first page of The Times of India, followed by a hilarious bond themed ad where the Irish actor, with his thick accent says, “Pan Bahar, class never goes out of style.”

It took little time to take social media by storm as netizens started posting hilarious memes and tweets as soon as the ads were made public.

Industry sources say that the

company might have shelled out a million dollars for a day’s work. “Considering that the agreement is based on per day usage, the deal would be in range Rs 5.5 crore to Rs 7 crore for a shoot,” said Indranil Das Blah, chief operating officer at Kwan Entertainment. “For the company, it is a celebratory deal as a product which is otherwise considered down-market, gets a classy and global feel. Brosnan, on other hand, gets more visibility in India — apart from good money.”

But the organisation refused to give out the financial details of the project.

Twitterati cannot seem to stop obsessing over the ads. A tweet read, “When the brand

ambassador is also a satisfied consumer of the product, he puts down his signature. You mean Pierce Brosnan chews Pan Masala.” Others went along the lines of, “After that Pan Bahar ad by Pierce Brosnan we need a sequel to his bond movie which should be titled “The world has had enough” and “We have Pierce Brosnan endorsing Paan Bahar.

Soon we’ll have Emma Watson endorsing Lijjat Papad and I can die in peace.”

This is Brosnan’s second stint in terms of endorsing an Indian product. He was previously seen in the ads of Reid & Taylor. l Sources: Hindustan Times

Tom Hanks and Lady Gaga on SNL n Showtime Desk Two time Oscar winning actor, Tom Hanks will be hosting Saturday Night Live (SNL) for the ninth time in his career. On the other hand, Mother Monster Lady Gaga will be the musical guest and this has generated a lot of hype among fans across the world.

Tom Hanks is one of those exceptional actors who achieved fame for his talent. He is not your average hero, with a hunky body.

Rather, he is known to play the average Joe, which makes his performances relatable to viewers which made quite a few of his films to feature among the biggest box office draws of all time.

So far, all of Hank’s appearances on SNL have been well received by fans, critics and colleagues alike.

It has always been interesting to see him doing comedy skits, because he is not a comedian, neither does he have a funny facial feature.

But Hanks has the heavy acting chops which arguable the sharpest, as a matter of fact.

Apart from of the host, the musical guest is expected to be a treat to watch

as well. After all, it’s Lady Gaga.

Whether you like her or not, you can’t deny that she is interesting to watch. Her songs usually have heavy imagery. She also has the knack for eccentric dresses and jewellery.

Inspired by the musical theatrics of David Bowie and Freddie Mercury, she has trademarked her own style.

The report of Tom Hanks and Lady Gaga, appearing in the same show together, is perhaps the most hyped up appearances for SNL in a very long time. The episode is scheduled to air on October 22. l

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Industrial, household waste killing Halda River n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong.

Halda River, the only natural spawning ground for carp fish in the country, and one of the largest in the world, is being polluted by untreated waste from industries and households.

The dismal scenario was revealed through a recent investigation report prepared by the Department of Environment, Chittagong.

The investigators discovered that the water from the ETP installed in Asian Paper Mill was spilling over into adjoining croplands and eventually finding its way into the canal.

The solid waste they produced was scattered around the area. The paper mill was also asked to adopt a solid waste management plan.

Industries such as Madina Tannery, Rawshan Tannery and Riff Leather, Hathazari Peaking Power Plant, KDS Dyeing and TK Dyeing, Ibrahim Cotton Mill and Asian Paper Mill have been allegedly polluting Halda River through negligence.

The waste mixes with the river water through different feeder canals like Katakhali, Krishnakhali, Khandakia, Madari, Kuaish which are linked to the Halda.

The investigators also noticed that Hathazari Power Plant had not set up an ETP. The investigators found the water near the plant to be murky.

Earlier, the DoEM asked Madina Tannery to stop processing leather until they installed ETP. The in-

Factories dump their untreated chemical waste in this canal in Hathazari upazila, Chittagong which then carries the waste to the Halda River, polluting its water. The photo was taken recently RABIN CHOWDHURY vestigation exposed liquid tannery waste in their drain.

The investigation also revealed that the household waste from Bayezid-Oxygen areas of the city was flowing into the river directly.

Md Bodrul Huda, assistant director, DoE, Chittagong Region told the Dhaka Tribune that a three-member investigation team was formed on July 18 of this year to assess the extent of pollution on the Halda and suggest possible solutions.

The investigation team members were Md Bodrul Huda, assistant director, DoE, Chittagong Region, Md Kamrul Hassan, senior chemist, DoE, Chittagong (Laboratory) and Sangjucta Das Gupta, assistant director (Technical), DoE, Chittagong Metro.

“We visited different industries, feeder canals and merging points of the feeder canals and the Halda. Before preparing the report, we also talked to the local people,

boatmen, local public representatives, employees and officials of different industries,” said the DoE official, adding that they collected water samples from different feeder canals during the inspection.

The investigation team also placed twelve recommendations to save the river from pollution.

They include not allowing any tanneries or dyeing factories to be set up along the banks of feeder canals, forming a vigilance team to

Shocked Bangladesh look to level series

n Mazhar Uddin Bangladesh will look to recover their mental strength just 24 hours after their heartbreaking 21-run defeat against England when the two sides take on each other in the second and penultimate ODI in Mirpur today.

There was disbelief in the Tigers dressing room following the loss on

Friday but the cricketers have only themselves to blame as they had all the opportunities to win the game until England snatched it away from their grasp in the last hour.

Mushfiqur Rahim will have to make an impact with the bat as the wicketkeeper-batsman has been going through a rough patch lately.

And it has to be mentioned that the right-hander needs to execute the slog-sweep with perfection after he was dismissed playing the shot more than three times recently.

What's more, the diminutive batsman is 12 runs shy from joining the 4000-club in ODIs. Tamim Iqbal, who had a disappointing outing in the first game where he struggled right from the start before being dismissed for 17, also has something to look forward

to as the left hander is 52 runs away from becoming the first Bangladesh batsman to score 5000 runs in ODIs. First ODI centurion Imrul Kayes will eye a continuation of his recent form and the home side would want him to deliver once again.

Meanwhile, there will be a few changes in the Tigers line-up as it was learned that Al Amin Hossain is likely to make a comeback in the side, replacing left-arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain, who was bite-less with the ball. Mosharraf also dropped two simple catches in the field which eventually proved to be costly.

There is also a possibility of Nasir Hossain finally getting an opportunity to play after he spent most of the recent past in the dugout. In that case, youngster Mosaddek Hossain will make way.

On the other hand, visiting England have some injury concerns as Jason Roy suffered a shoulder injury while trying to save a boundary on Friday. Jonny Bairstow has a hip flexor strain.

Jake Ball, who had a dream debut picking up a five-for, will yet again look to create the difference with the leather while the two Bens - Stokes and Duckett - will be vital for their side with the willow.

Jos Buttler was impressive in his debut match as captain as he was quite effective with the bat. He was also able to marshal his troop brilliantly. The pitch at the home of cricket is expected to remain the same, offering runs as well as assistance to the spinners. However, weather forecasts suggest the game might be hampered by rain today. l

monitor the ETP compliance of the industries, replacing the makeshift latrines with sanitary ones with the help of Local government Engineering Department (LGED).

It recommended earmarking areas where dredging increased the turbidily level which disturbs the fish brood.

Furthermore, plying of mechanised boat should be banned in the river during the spawning and migration period of the fish.

Md Manzoorul Kibria, president of Halda River Protection Committee told the Dhaka Tribune: “The river is threatened by the straightening of its bends, dredging, tobacco cultivation on its banks, establishment of rubber dams and sluice gates upstream, excessive insecticide in cultivation, and catching brood fish. The river generates over Tk800 crore a year from the fish alone.”

“The river supplies water to around 65 lakh people everyday. It is the living gene bank of pure Indian major carp,” added Kibria who is also an associate professor of zoology at Chittagong University.

“Pollution is evident with the drastic fall in fish spawning in the river. A huge number of people including fry collectors and hatchers who live on the spawns produced in the river will lose their livelihood if we cannot stop the rampant pollution,” said Kibria who has been researching for over a decade on the Halda. l

Two Nigerian among five of ‘fraud gang’ held in Dhaka n Tribune Desk Detectives have arrested five alleged members of a fraud gang, including two Nigerian, from New Market area in the capital on Friday night, reports UNB. Identities of the arrestees could not be known immediately.

Deputy Commissioner (media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Masudur Rahman said acting on a tip-off, a team of the Detective Branch (DB) conducted the drive in the area and arrested the five people at night.

Details about the drive will be revealed later, he added. l

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