12 Oct, 2016

SECOND EDITION

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

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Ashwin 27, 1423, Muharram 10, 1438

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 165

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www.dhakatribune.com

BCL leader runs torture cell at Victoria College n Our Correspondent, Comilla

A Chhatra League leader from Comilla Government Victoria College has allegedly set up an infamous torture cell in his room.

These accusations have been raised against the convenor of Kobi Kazi Nazrul Islam Hall unit Chhatra League, Bashir Ullah.

His torture is not limited to just students of the college but also journalist, Chhatra Dal and even BCL activists have all been allegedly tortured in his cell.

It has also been alleged that Bashir is staying in the dorm room illegally as he is no longer a student there.

His victims have corroborated this information.

His physical assault includes

Accused BCL leader Bashir Ullah caning his captives in his room and beating them with broken legs of chairs and benches.

On Sunday, the students finally

Victim Mahfuzul Islam Ziko complained to the principal about the matter.

Mahfuzul Islam Ziko, a fourthyear student from the Department

of Management, said: “On October 3, a student, named Saiful Islam, was forcefully picked and taken to Room No 260 over a trivial matter. When I asked them to release him, Bashir and his accomplices including BCL Joint Convenor Sabbir Ahmed Mojumder as well as activists Shahidul Islam Shahin, Beni Amin Suman, Towhid, Tanvir and Anwar beat me up mercilessly.”

A few days ago, Hiron, a thirdyear student of the same department was picked up by Bashir when he was eating and caned in the torture cell until he obliged to pay an extortion sum of Tk2,100 in exhange for his freedom.

Several sources confirmed that BCL Organising Secretary Jahirul Islam was tortured with broken  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

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32 pages |

Price: Tk10

‘What happened is done. I want to forget it and play cricket’ n Tribune Report The excitement continues after the heated conversation between England captain Jos Buttler and the Bangladeshi fielders following his dismissal in the second ODI. Tigers skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza informed that there is no reason to apologise to Buttler when queried by an English journalist whether he would say sorry to the wicketkeeper-batsman.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

HOLIDAY All offices of the Dhaka Tribune will remain closed for today on the occasion of Ashura. Therefore, there will be no issue tomorrow. However, our online www.dhakatribune.com will keep you updated.

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

Chinese president’s visit to take BD-China relation to new height n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman The official visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Bangladesh is going to take the relationship between the two countries to a new height, as issues such as infrastructure, productivity, anti-terrorism, energy and connectivity is going to be on the agenda, according to experts.

New areas of bilateral cooperation including field production capacity and maritime issues will also be explored during the Chinese president’s visit, sources said.

Xi Jinping is coming to Bangladesh from Cambodia on a two-day milestone visit on October 14.

A senior government official said as many as 25 documents are expected to be signed during the visit.

The Cabinet approved the productivity cooperation agreement between the countries on Monday, sources said.

Another official said Bangladesh and China will engage more in counterterrorism as a memorandum of understanding (MoU) is expected to be signed during the visit.

“Capacity building, intelligence sharing and training are three major components of the MoU,” he added.

Terrorism is a global problem and both countries want to work together to combat it, he further said.

Another official said the Economic Relations Division under the Ministry of Finance were negotiating for about 30 projects involving billions of dollars.

Several other projects are expected to be identified for future negotiation, he added.

During Xi’s visit, China will sign a number of cooperative deals with Bangladesh regarding the Belt and

Road Initiative, proposed by Xi in 2013, which focuses on improving infrastructure and boosting interconnection.

Former Bangladesh ambassador to China Munshi Faiz Ahmed said the initiative was still a concept and any country could join it for economic benefit.

China is a very big exporter and importer and it wants to have as many routes as possible to ensure supply to and from other countries, he added.

Former Bangladesh Ambassador to India Liaquat Ali CHowdhury said Bangladesh considers the Belt and Road Initiative from the economic point of view as it can boost its trade volume and earn revenue by using its location advantage if it can take the benefit of the initiative.

President Xi Jinping’s visit to Cambodia, Bangladesh and India will be “an important diplomatic activity” aimed at boosting ties with South Asia, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou said at a press briefing on Monday.

It will be the first state visit of a Chinese president to Bangladesh in 30 years. The last visit was in 1986 when then Chinese president Li Xiannian visited Dhaka.

This is also the second bilateral visit of Xi Jinping to Dhaka. He came to Dhaka in 2010 as Chinese vice-president and planted a tree at Savar Mausoleum.

“Bangladesh is China’s important partner in the South Asian and the Indian Ocean region, and the visit will be a milestone for China-Bangladesh relationship,” he said.

Xi previously visited some South Asian countries, including India and Sri Lanka, in 2014 and Pakistan last year. l

'Women empowerment can lead to sustainable dev' n UNB Education is essential for empowering women to achieve gender equality, which is vital for sustainable development, says a new Gender Review by Unesco’s Global Education Monitoring Report.

The review was released on the occasion of International Day of the Girl Child, which was observed globally yesterday.

According to UN Women, there are currently 1.1 billion girls in the world, a powerful constituency for shaping a sustainable world that is better for everyone as they are

brimming with talent and creativity.

But their dreams and potential are often thwarted by discrimination, violence and lack of equal opportunities.

There are glaring gaps in data and knowledge about the specific needs and challenges that girls face.

The theme for this year’s International Day of the Girl Child, “Girls’ Progress = Goals’ Progress: A Global Girl Data Movement,” is a call for action for increased investment in collecting and analysing girl-focused, girl-relevant and sex-disaggregated data. l

Waste materials from illegal structures on the bank of the Karnaphuli river in Chittagong have contaminated water of the river.

The photo has recently been taken RABIN CHOWDHURY

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

BCL leader runs torture cell at Victoria College legs of a bench in the room on June 7. Some other students, named Arif, Sowrav, Jahid, were also physically assaulted in that room aswell.

On August 24, Bashir assaulted the President of the college’s Journalists’ Union Toibur Rahman Sohel in that room.

Bashir was a joint convenor of Chhatra Dal, a student body of BNP, but later joined the ruling party’s Awami League’s (AL) student wing.

Several BCL leaders opined that and he has become increasingly aggressive and brutal after joining the ruling party’s student body.

In in own defense, Bashir Ullah said: “The accusations against me are not true. I have punished Ziko for a misconduct which I have a right to do as a senior member of the organisation.”

Victoria Government College unit BCL President Kazi Sayem

said: “This is an insignificant matter. It is also an internal matter.

The hall committee has already been dissolved and Bashir has been kicked out.”

When contacted, the college’s Principal Md Abdur Rashid said: “We have received many complaints against Bashir by students and others in this regard. I have directed the hall super to investigate those complaints.” l

‘What happened is done. I want to forget it...’

Mashrafe said this during the prematch press conference at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday.

Mashrafe and batsman Sabbir Rahman have both been fined 20 percent of their match fee while Buttler has received an official reprimand for breaching Level 1 of the International Cricket Council’s Code of Conduct during the second ODI at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Sunday.

“Actually we didn’t do anything wrong so we shouldn’t do that.

Whatever we felt, we just celebrated, we don’t have to say sorry but whatever has happened, match referee was there. Still, I feel that the boys just celebrated,” Mashrafe told the media.

“Look, I guess the 20 percent fine that we got, that’s after getting that wicket. We just had a celebration and I think you can look at it as a normal thing.

“Every team does that if you get a wicket. You always celebrate but there is a law. The match referee

might have thought that it went beyond the Code of Conduct. Actually we didn’t mean it but whatever happened is done and we are trying to play a good match [today],” he said.

Mashrafe also stated that he doesn’t see fault of Tamim Iqbal or any of his team mates during the handshake formalities after the game.

“I saw the video and I didn’t find any fault of Tamim or my players.

I am not saying it’s anyone’s fault but at the same time, I didn’t find any fault in Tamim. We went normally to shake hands with the players. When we lost the first match, we were normal back then as well, and even after winning the second match we went to shake hands normally,” he said.

“I don’t want to blame anyone, but if you speak of Tamim’s fault then I will tell you that I have seen the video and I was there ahead of him (Tamim) at that point of time, I will tell you that there is no fault of him. I didn’t hear Tamim say anything or see him do anything.

“See, even if anyone has a fault here, I want to forget that and just play cricket. I don’t want to say England were at fault. We got fined, Sabbir and I, because of our excessive celebration which at this point of time is not allowed in the ICC’s Code of Conduct.

“See in such exciting moments, you have seen in the past as well, people celebrate this way. Take for instance, in the [2015] World Cup against England, when we had won we celebrated this way, but maybe at that point of time this law wasn’t there. So we have to be careful,” he added.

However, the 33-year old said he has no other option but to accept the ICC’s decision while he also added that there will be no such incidents in future.

“Look, we have come to play, we will obviously want to win. Now if you want to do something outside and then win the game, then that will create unnecessary pressure on themselves. We are just thinking of playing our game normally and nothing else,” he concluded. l

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Durga Puja held amid communal harmony n Tribune Desk For years, Bangladeshi people from different religions have been attending the festivities of Durga Puja, the biggest festival of Hindus, with their families and this year was no different.

It was Bijoya Dashami yesterday, the 10th and the final day of Durga Puja festivities, which was celebrated amid colourful jubilations in different parts of Dhaka.

The day marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura, after fighting with the evil for ten days and nine nights.

In this aura of joy amid the Hindu community, Dhaka Tribune correspondents took the opportunity to visit several puja mandaps across the capital and found a harmonious presence of different faiths and respect among people.

Though not a scenario that can be imagined by all, the correspondents found many Muslims working with the puja organising communities at the mandaps to make the occasion a success.

In Old Dhaka’s Shakhari Bazar, huge gatherings were seen in front of each puja mandap; a total of nine were set up with a gap of not more than 15 feet from one another.

And in one of them, Fazlul Haque, a residence of Lakshmibazar, was found taking part in the festivities.

When asked, Fazlul, who had two daughters and wife with him, said: “We went inside each of the mandap and saw the Durga idols.

We also had sweets there.

“It is a holiday and a festive time,” he said adding that he and two of his Hindu friends enjoy each others religious festivals equally.

Moving around, one of our correspondents came across a group of youths, all students of Jagannath University and mixed religions.

The group of 11 youths was dancing on the street and roaming around from one mandap to another.

One of them, Md Abdul Aziz said: “In the old town, this is a tradition and a common culture.

Hindu, Muslim, Christian – it really doesn’t matter.”

Celebrations at Dhakeswari and Jagannath Hall mandaps were no different.

When the procession with the idols was on its way to the Buriganga for immersion, a good number of people from different faiths were found riding with the motorcade.

People were seen on the footpath watching the motorcade pass and they were taking pictures and videos on their phones.

Many students of Dhaka University were also seen to join the procession when the motorcade passed Jagannath Hall.

According to leaders of Bangla-

After four days of celebrating the mighty Goddess Durga, Hindu devotees bid goodbye to the goddess by immersing her idol in the Buriganga River in Dhaka yesterday with due rituals MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

desh Puja Udjapan Parishad, the Puja was celebrated at 29,395 permanent and temporary mandaps across the country this year, including 229 in Dhaka.

Asked about how he sees the communal harmony that prevailed during the festival, Shaymal Pal, president of Banglabazar Durga Puja celebration committee, said: “We are celebrating Puja for the last 83 years and it is a festivity that goes beyond the Hindu community.

“We have never faced any kind of problem. We respect all religions and to show respect we ask the organising members at mandaps to turn off music during the time of Azan. Our festivities even continue until late night.”

Centring the Puja festivities, a

colourful fair is traditionally organised just beside Victoria Park in Old Dhaka where many temporary shops are set up on both sides of the road.

Talking to one of the correspondents, Sunil Chowdhury, a salesman at a sweetmeat shop there, said most of his customers during the five-day Puja festivities were not Hindus.

Saiful Islam, an attendant of Lakshmibazar mosque, said: “Why would I not show them respect? It is their right to perform their religious activities. I may not directly visit the mandaps but I join in some of the festivities like attending the fair.”

Old Dhaka’s Ekrampur Puja Committee has been celebrating Durga Puja for the last 44 years

and out of their 21 members, 10 are Muslims.

Hedayet Hossain, a member of the committee, said that it was a celebration beyond religion. “So why would we not join it? I feel honoured to be a member of the Puja organising committee,” he said.

Shakharibazar’s Notun Kuri Puja Udjapon Committee President Sampad Pandit however said that they were a bit worried but all had ended well.

“We were in doubt that whether the recent militant issues would harm our festivity. But we got support from law enforcers and the general people,” he said.

Mridul Moharaj, assistant secretary of Ramkrishna Mission, Dhaka, said: “This year Durga Puja has

been celebrated across the country with delightful participation from all castes and religions similar to previous years. It is our thousandyear-old tradition in which Bangali people love to take part in the celebrations regardless of their religions.”

Sociologist Professor Monirul Islam Khan said that in the concept of Bangali spirit, Durga Puja was a universal festival for the country.

He said the Puja festivities were observed in the same manner even during the Pakistan period.

However, Maulana Farid Uddin Masud told the Dhaka Tribune that every person had different views.

“In terms of celebration it can be said that Puja is an universal festivity but in religious terms it is not the same,” he added. l

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Four Rohingyas killed in retaliation for border attack in Myanmar n Tribune Online Report

Bangladesh National Human Rights Council form a human chain in the capital demanding punishment to Khadiza’s attacker Badrul yesterday

Students in China demand justice for Sylhet college student n Syed Samiul Basher Anik

Students from the North China University of Science and Technology have demanded justice for Khadiza Akhter Nargis who was brutally hacked with a machte in Sylhet.

The protest took place on Monday organised by some Bangladeshi students asking people not to spread rumors about the victim and demanded justice for her.

Khadiza, 23, a second year honours student of Sylhet Government Women’s College, was attacked with a machete by Badrul Alam, a fourth-year economics student at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) and a top leader of Chhatra League’s SUST wing on October 3.

She was admitted to the Square Hospital in Dhaka in a critical condition.

Around 50 students, mostly Bangladeshis from different departments of the university attended the protest programme carrying placards that said ‘We want justice’, ‘No more rumor’, Pray for Khadiza’, ‘It is the time to prevent people like Badrul’.

“We came to know about the incident from a student at the School of Medical Science, Sharnan Haque Shahin. We, the Bangladeshi community, here on campus was shocked and saddened to hear of such brutal attacks. What is worse is how rumors about Khadiza having a relationship with her attacker Badrul was being spread to trivial-

ise the matter,” said Saimon Zaman Srabon, one of the organisers to the Dhaka Tribune.

“That rumors is heartbreaking because Badrul used to harass Khadiza for many years which is why we decided to take a stand,” he added.

We decided to take a stand for Khadiza. We had a small meeting on October 8 and made banners and placards. As per the plan, we stood in front of the campus on Monday,” added the organiser of the event cum student of the university.

“We are far away from our country. We can only pray to Allah for her faster recovery and can seek justice for the welfare of our sister with this small initiatives,” he said.

DHAKA TRIBUNE

The organiser urged people to not silently watch crimes being committing or record them on their cellphones without coming to the victim’s aid first. He also requested people not to spread rumors about Khadiza and demanded the government make sure she gets justice.

Earlier on October 8, Bangladeshi people under banner of AMRA Sylhetbasi gathered in Altab Ali park in London and demanded justice for brutal attempted murder of Khadiza.

There are daily protests in Sylhet demanding capital punishment for the culprit Badrul. Khadiza is now on life support in ICU in Square Hospital while the Badrul is in police custody. l

Gazipur raid: Three of the killed militants identified n Md Raihanul Islam Akand

Police have made primary identification of three militants amongst the seven killed during a police raid on Saturday at a militant den in Pathartek area, Gazipur.

They have been identified as Saiful Islam Babul of Chhatak upazila in Sunamganj, Ibrahim of Bangshal, Dhaka and son of Azimuddin and Faridul Islam Akash from Sirajganj said the Superintendent (SP) of Gazipur police, Mohammad Harun-ur-Rashid yesterday.

He said the primary identification was made when their relatives identified the bodies.

Among the three, Akash, who had worked as the regional commander of a new offshoot of banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), was identified earlier.

On Saturday, seven suspected militants were killed during the Counter-terrorism and Transnational Crimes (CTTC) raid in Patartek, while the other two were killed during a raid conducted by RAB in Harinal Paschimpara area.

Meanwhile, Dhaka Metropolitan Police has released the photos of Patartek militants on their Facebook page and urged people to help identify them. l

An attack on three border police camps that left nine soldiers dead have had the Myanmar army combing the area for the responsible group, reports Reuters.

The area where the search has been taking place is along the northwestern border with Bangladesh.

Troops “providing security for residents” recovered four bodies after clashing on Monday with residents of Myothugyi, a village of about 1,000 Muslim homes in Maungdaw township.

This attack has been the most deadly in northern Rakhine State since the communal clashes in 2012. This will make it difficult for Aung San Suu Kyi, who has urged authorities to use caution to avoid inflaming tension.

Sources claim that the troops were ambushed by 20 armed attackers. When the troops drove them off, they recovered a homemade gun, three bullets, and a knife.

Husein Juha, a Muslim administrator in Myothugyi, claimed the death toll was much higher, at seven.

“They shot them because they were running outside the village.

They didn’t stop running when soldiers asked,” said Juha, 32, adding that fear of the soldiers had prompted some villagers to arm themselves with makeshift weapons.

Schools and markets remain shut amid the military and police hunt for those behind Sunday’s attacks. Authorities have called a curfew in Maungdaw from 7pm to 6am, and barred gatherings of five or more.

The officials claimed that in one of the attacks, 90 people believed to be Rohingyas targeted a border police headquarters. Official statements claim that the attackers looted and got away with more than 60 weapons and 10,000 rounds of ammunition.

Rakhine State police Major Sein Lwin said that two Muslim men captured during Sunday’s attacks have reportedly confessed to a number of crimes.

The men, charged with murder, conspiracy to murder and the assault of civil servants, said the attacks had been planned by a single “leader,” Sein Lwin added.

He declined to name the leader, but said he had ties to an unnamed armed group operating across the Bangladesh border, which Myanmar has closed, and where Bangladesh has stepped up patrols. l

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Ex-Eden College teacher found dead in city n Tribune Desk

Law enforcement agencies has taken special security measure at the Hussaini Dalan Imambara in old Dhaka this year following a bomb attack on it by militants last year.

Law enforcers stand guard at the entrance of the building. The picture was taken yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Ashura to be observed on smaller scale this year n Adil Sakhawat Police have taken strict security measures for Ashura this year to prevent a repeat of last year’s bomb attack on a Taziahh procession in front Hussaini Dalan Imambara in Dhaka, which has restricted the usual fervour of how the day is usually observed.

Visiting several areas in the capital, this correspondent learnt that police had instructed people not to bring out any Taziah procession or arrange other events after sunset.

In fact, all programmes must start from 6am and end by 6pm, according to police instruction.

The Taziah procession from Hussaini Dalan Imambara will start at 10am today, instead of in the early hours of Ashura, as has been the tradition.

“The procession will start at 10am and will end at 1pm in Jigatola

They were also unhappy about the fact that they would have to shorten their programmes due to the time restriction.

People in some areas even cancelled their Taziah procession that were scheduled today.

“Our programmes usually run for three days, day and night. This year, we were instructed to end all programmes by 6pm. So we decided to cancel our procession,” said Mohammad Rezwan, resident of Mirpur.

However, many others have welcomed the government’s decision to restrict the observance.

“As an untoward incident happened last year, we have to remain alert this year so something like that does not happen again, because terrorists do not care about anything. Naturally, it means that we cannot observe this occasion the way we have over the years,” said Salim Hossain Laddan, another imam in Pallabi.

area,” said MM Firoz Hossain, superintendent of Hussaini Dalan Imambara.

The entire route will be surrounded by law enforcers and monitored with 32 CCTV cameras inside Hussaini Dalan and 45 outside the building.

The strict security arrangement has put a damper on the usual Ashura observance, said several members of both Shia and Sunni Muslim communities in Mirpur and Mohammadpur.

“We tried to bring out a procession for rehearsal, but police did not let us do it,” said Syed Mohammad Shahid Hossain, imam of Darbare Panjatani Imambara in Pallabi, Dhaka.

Pallabi residents were shocked with this restriction, said Shohel, one of the locals. “We requested the administration to let us just stand on the road in different areas for some practice, but they did not allow that either.”

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12

Dhaka

31

24

Chittagong

30

26

Rajshahi

DHAKA TODAY SUN SETS 5:35PM

30

24

Rangpur

25

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Mirza Asif Ali, a Shia devotee who came to Hussaini Dalan for Taziah procession, told the Dhaka Tribune: “The security measures taken by the government is good, and we hope nothing will happen here. But as a follower of Imam Hasan and Hussain, we are not afraid of any bombing. If anything, last year’s attack has made us more brave.” l

Khulna

31

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Barisal 30

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:55AM

31.6ºC Jessore

23ºC Maizdi Court

Source: Accuweather/UNB

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PRAYER TIMES

A former teacher of Eden Mohila College was found dead in his office of a real estate company in the Old DOHS area at Banani in the capital in the capital yesterday.

The deceased is Mohammad Ali Hossain Malek, 65, a retired Professor of Zoology department of Government Eden College.

Officer-in-Charge of Bhasantek police station Nazrul Islam said that police got information about the death from family members of Mohammad Ali and sent a team to in the spot.

The body of Mohammad Ali was recovered around 9am morning, with his hands and legs tied up, from the second floor of an under-construction building in Banani.

His brother-in-law Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that Ali Hossain retired from the Eden College around seven to eight years ago and was working with a real company as a manager.

He said: “The real estate company has been constructing a multi-storey building in Banani. Ali Hosaain often used to stay overnight at his office in the under-construction building.”

He did not return home on Monday night, he added.

Later, in the morning of Tuesday, caretakers of that building found him dead and informed his family.

Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman said Mohammad Ali’s family will file a case in this connection.

The Bhasantek police station OC Nazrul Islam said Mohammed Ali was probably tied up and then stabbed on his chest.

He also said that one Selim Mia, a caretaker of the under construction building in 53/a, road number 2, has been detained and few others are being quizzed.

The official said Ali Hossain’s body has been sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for autopsy. l

Sylhet

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Cox’s Bazar

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Fajr: 5:20am | Zohr: 1:15pm Asr: 4:30pm | Magrib: 5:50pm Esha: 7:45pm Source: Islamic Foundation

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

Tengragiri Eco-park needs renovation n Tarikul Riaz, Barguna Tengragiri Eco-park, the natural habitat of wild animals, is a place where one will be mesmerized by the natural beauty of a forest and at the same time, by the mysterious call of the sea.

Here one can lose oneself in the vegetation and tweets of birds as well as in the sunrise and sunset in sea.

That is why hundreds of tourists visited the park, especially in winter, contributing to the government’s revenue fund.

But, recently, the number of visitors has decreased, as the infrastructures of the park have almost been damaged due to lack of its maintenance.

The eco-park was built on Sakhina beat of Tengragiri reserve forest at Taltoli of Barguna, encompassing an area of 13,634 acres, in 2011, aiming to promote eco-tourism.

It took Tk2,63,96,600 to set up the park, which includes four deep

Visitors to Tengratila Eco-park at Taltoli in Barguna seen crossing a canal in the park through a collapsed bridge. The photo was taken recently DHAKA TRIBUNE tube-wells, four toilets, four rest houses, a picnic spot, two ticket counters, 16 wooden bridges over small canals from the entrance to the end of the park and, most im-

portantly, a three-kilometre road leading to the sea.

Most of the aforementioned facilities for tourists are no longer offering any comfort to them due

to the poor condition of the infrastructures.

Three tube-well out of four have not been working, while doors, windows and basins of three toilets have been stolen, reports our correspondent after visiting the park recently.

The condition of the rest houses is also very poor. Plasters fall from the walls and ceilings.

Twelve out of 16 bridges have almost been damaged.

The bridge over Sakhina canal at the entrance of the park, which connects the park to the main forest, is on the verge of collapse.

Besides, the road leading to the sea is also in poor condition, causing sufferings to the sea-lovers.

College student Sabrina Yesmin told the Dhaka Tribune that the condition of the bridges made it difficult for her to see the whole park.

Another visitor Sumun Shikdar said lack of maintenance and renovation had turned the park into a

ruin.

Md Abu Jafar, another tourist, said the number of the tourists would increase if the authorities concerned could ensure security of the visitors as well as other facilities.

“The tourists feel unsafe while returning to the main land of the park, after enjoying the sunset in sea,” said Jafar.

Shajib Kumar Majumdar, forest officer of Sakina beat and also the in-charge of the park, said: “Earlier, hundreds of visitors thronged the park every day. Now, it has been decreased, as no renovation has been done in recent years.”

Muha Bashirul, deputy commissioner of Barguna, said the higher authorities had been informed of the matter.

“We have talked to the forest department as well as Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) executive engineer for renovation of the park as soon as possible,” added Muha. l

Three youths stabbed dead in three districts n Tribune Desk Two youths were stabbed to death in Comilla and Munshiganj districts yesterday.

Our Comilla correspondent said a young man was stabbed to death and three others were injured in an attack by some miscreants at Chotna village in Debidwar upazila in the morning.

The deceased was Foyez, son of Joynal Abedin of Mohonpur village in the upazila.

Local people said an altercation ensued among some young men including Foyez over a trifling matter near a Puja mandap in the village during Durga Puj. At one stage of altercation, some young men stabbed Foyez indiscriminately, leaving him critically injured.

Three others people-Mehedi, Goni Mia and Russel were injured in the attack as they tried to save Foyez.

Foyez was rushed to Comilla Medical College Hospital where on duty doctors referred him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Later he died on way to Dhaka, said Mizanur Rahman, officer-incharge of Debidwar police

station.

An unidentified young man was arrested in this connection, said police.

On the other hand, a youth was stabbed to death and three others injured in an attack by a young man at Pura village in Tongibari upazila of Munshiganj, reported our correspondent.

The deceased was Faisal Dhali, son of Nazrul Dhali, a resident of Dhalikandir Noadda village in Sadar upazila Alamgir Hossain, officerin-charge of Tongibari police station, said Faisal along with three other friends were returning to their village after visiting a puja mandap.

When they reached the village, one Miraj Miah, 23, attacked and stabbed them indiscriminately, leaving them critically injured.

The injured were rushed to Munshiganj General Hospital where doctor declared Faisal dead.

Later, the three injured were taken to Dhaka for better treatment.

There had been a dispute between Faisal and Miraj over love relation with a college girl, added the OC. l

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Four-lane highway turns unfit for vehicles n Motiur Rahman, Manikganj People in Manikganj have been suffering a lot for long as the Four-lane Highway in the district turned into dilapidated condition surprisingly within three months after the completion of its construction.

Locals said around one kilometre of the road became completely unfit for vehicular movement, as gigantic potholes developed at major points.

According to roads and highway sources, the one kilometre road four-lane, the upgradation of Hemayetpur-Singair-Manikganj regional highway (Manikganj Bus Stand-DC Residence road part) was constructed at cost of Tk6 crore.

Messrs Akter Construction Firm was given the responsibility to construct the road.

Through videoconferencing, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the road on October 13, 2015.

The road was supposed to be constructed in June this year but the authorities completed the work before time-line.

Locals alleged that the road was constructed within a short time hurriedly by using low quality materials.

Liton, a resident in the town, said bitumen washed away at several points and two culverts already

5 of a family burnt to death Mostafiz Milu, n Zakir Thakurgaon

Five members of a family were burnt to death yesterday in a fire that broke out at Jongaon village under Pirganj upazila of Thakurgaon district.

According to locals, the fire broke out around 5am at policeman Khoresh Chondro’s house.

The fire service officials are yet not confirmed about how the blaze had originated.

The deceased were policeman Khoresh Chondro, 45, his wife Keya Rani, 35, their son Niloy, 10, and daughter Nyce, 15, and Keya Rani’s sister Showrna Rani, 20.

Pirganj OC Amiruzzaman said: “A motorcycle parked in the house caught fire from an electric short-circuit and soon engulfed all the five rooms.

“On information, a fire engine went to the spot and doused the blaze. The injured were first taken to Thakurgaon Sadar Hospital.”

He said: “Keya Rani and Showrna Rani died on the spot while Niloy and Nyce on their way to Rangpur Medical College Hospital and their father died after being taken to the hospital.” l

Manikganj Four-lane Highway remains closed with heavy traffic after the road collapsed within a short time after the completion of its construction. The picture was taken recently DHAKA TRIBUNE damaged in the town area. The road in Islam Khan Law College and Wireless-gate areas subsided.

Meanwhile, the authority stopped a lane of the four, putting

sandbags in the western side of the town as accident is common phenomenon.

Rafique Mian, an auto rickshaw driver, said road accident was the

common incident on the road as potholes had developed here and there.

“When it rains, it can be difficult to locate the potholes as it goes un-

der water. So guru-some accidents occur during rainy season,” he said.

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

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

As a result, major and minor accidents became prevalent on the road, even many of them were fatal. During plying, drivers struggle to keep the control over their vehicles.

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

When contacted, Muhibul Haque, executive engineer of roads and highways, said the road damaged due to heavy downpour this year.

He also denied the allegation of using low standard materials.

Md Akter Hossain, owner of the firm, said they would repair the damaged lane soon. He also claimed the road turned into dilapidated condition due to heavy flood. l

Bijoya Dashami celebrated across the country n Tribune Desk Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the Hindus, ended yesterday with the immersion of goddess Durga in Bangladesh.

Devotees in their tearful eyes bade farewell to the mother deity and her children Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesh through the immersion of their idols in the water wishing Durga’s return next year.

Our Rajshahi correspondent said the five-day puja festival ended here with immersion of the goddess Durga in the Padma River.

The last day rituals of the festival were celebrated amid much enthusiasm and festivity. ‘Prasad’ and sweets were distributed among the devotees and the people belonging to other communities, who visited the Puja Mandops.

Marking the Bijoya Dashami women devotees applied ‘Sindur’ on the face of goddess Durga and exchanged among themselves amid joyous and festive mood.

Before removing the idols of Durga and other gods and goddesses from the altar of all mandops or makeshift pavilions for immersion, the Hindu devotees danced and sang `kirton’.

Thousands of devotees joined the colorful marches as the idols were

Marking the Bijoya Dashami, women devotees seen applying Sindur on their faces and goddess Durga amid joyous and festive mood. The picture was taken yesterday from Comilla Town Temple DHAKA TRIBUNE being carried to the nearby rivers particularly the river Padma, ponds, canals and other water bodies for immersion.

In Rangpur, the district unit of Bangladesh Puja Udjapon Parishad (BPUP) and mandop authorities brought out the ‘Shuvo Bijoya Dashami’ procession this afternoon carrying idols of Devi Durga, other gods and goddesses on trucks for immersions into water bodies.

Divisional Commissioner Kazi Hasan Ahmed, Deputy Inspector General of Police Khondker Golam Faruk and

Hindu community leaders addressed a ceremony held at ‘Shurovi Uddyan’ premises in the city before launching the procession from there, reports BSS. High government officials, leaders of Awami League, its associate bodies and district unit of BPUP along with thousands of the Hindu devotees of all ages took part in the procession.

The female devotees today thronged the Puja mandops to have last look at goddess Durga this year and seek her blessings for the nation,

people and the humankind by putting ‘sindur’ on face of the Mother and exchanging the same among themselves.

The law enforcers, who were on duty day and night over the last five days, were seen guarding today’s ‘Shuvo Bijoya Dashami’ procession for immersion of Devi Durga and other idols since the afternoon.

President of district unit of BPUP Advocate Rothish Chandra Bhowmick thanked the present government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the local administrations for ensuring security during celebration of Durga Puja festivity.

In Chittagong, idols of Goddess Durga are immersed peacefully in the city and district today after five-day colorful and joyous Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of Hindu community.

In city’s Patenga and Khalurghat sea beach areas immersion were held in the afternoon with presence of a large number of people of the community of all ages.

They uttered ‘Shuva Bijoya’ and exchanged greetings with one another.

This year as many as 251 puja mandaps were erected in the city and 1,692 in 14 upazilas of the district, police said.

The day ended with the immersion of goddess in Thakurgaon, Bhola, Shariatpur, Comilla, Madaripur and all other districts in the country. l

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

SOUTH ASIA

Pakistan bans top journalist from leaving country

Pakistan has imposed a travel ban on a leading journalist after he sparked an uproar by reporting that civilian officials had clashed with the military over its covert support for militants. Cyril Almeida, an assistant editor at Dawn, announced early Tuesday he had been placed on the “Exit Control List”. AFP

INDIA

7 killed in India after truck rams into crowd Seven people have been killed and 8 more injured after a truck rammed into a crowd near a busy Hindu temple in central India.

Hundreds of worshippers had gathered at the Banjari temple to celebrate the ongoing Durga Puja festival, when the truck driver apparently lost control of his vehicle and ploughed into the crowd. AFP

CHINA

China, Russia to hold second military drills China and Russia will hold their second joint anti-missile drills next year, after South Korea and US angered the two countries with plans to deploy a anti-missile system in South Korea. Tension on the Korean peninsula has been high this year, beginning with North Korea’s fourth nuclear test in January, which was followed by tests of various missiles, and largest nuclear test. REUTERS

ASIA PACIFIC

Thai junta appeals for calm after car bomb plot alert

Thailand’s junta chief appealed for calm Tuesday after police warned of a plot to target Bangkok with car bombs, sparking a security alert across the capital including at airports. An unusually detailed police memo was handed to reporters on Monday warning that an unidentified group was planning to target Bangkok between October 25-30. REUTERS

MIDDLE EAST

IS confirms minister of information killed The Islamic State group said Monday that a senior operative considered the group’s information minister had been killed, confirming an earlier Pentagon report. An IS statement on social media affirmed the “martyrdom” of Abu Mohammad al-Furqan, the nom de guerre of Wa’il Adil Hasan Salman al-Fayad, saying he was an emir of the group’s central media body. It did not release any further details. AFP

ANALYSIS

Runaway Trump train divides GOP n Tribune International Desk Donald Trump had a much stronger night against Hillary Clinton Sunday than he did when he self-destructed in their first debate two weeks ago. But it doesn’t change anything.

The man is a veritable geyser of offences and embarrassments that erupts as regularly as Old Faithful, and there isn’t anyone who can shut him off — least of all the candidate himself.

Consider how long it seems since he was fat-shaming former beauty contest winner Alicia Machado. And yet that was just two weeks ago.

By last weekend, the conversation had shifted to the new discovery of his old brag about how to get away with sexual assault — in his world, a perk of stardom.

Some Republicans are at last coming to realize there probably is no end to this and the time to get off the Trump train was before it ever left the station.

If only someone had warned them of what lay ahead, they could have tried harder to stop it! n that sense, it’s a good day to be Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.

Graham has watched and resisted the Trump phenomenon as it overwhelmed his party this year.

Instead, he turned his knack for blending blunt talk and casual outrage to enumerating the ways he believed Trump offended America’s core values.

“He’s a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot,” he said last December. “He doesn’t represent my party.”

At the time, Graham thought he might be a lonely voice, but he was nevertheless happy, he said, “to be in a category of one per cent who said ‘BS! This is not who we are as a party, this is not who we are as a nation.’”

It’s likely he foresaw a day when colleagues and friends would be pressed to explain why it took them so long to say the same.

That day has arrived.

Asking tough questions

A broadening swath of Republicans is awakening to the sobering question: “Is Trump who we are now?”

What has shoved the question into their faces is not simply the discovery of Trump’s mindless trivializing of sexual assault. Nor is it even the accumulation of

US REPUBLICANS IN DISARRAY OVER TRUMP Former US administration

Support Donald Trump

Member of Congress

Former Republican nominee

Defected from Trump campaign

Refuse to support Trump

Paul Ryan House Speaker, the top elected Republican Donald Rumsfeld Former Secretary of Defence

Dick Cheney Former Vice President

Bush family George W Bush Former president

John McCain Presidential candidate 2008, Vietnam POW

George Bush* Former president Mitt Romney Presidential candidate, 2012

And: Ted Cruz Trump’s top rival for the 2016 presidential nomination

Sarah Palin Vicepresidential candidate, 2008

Source: US media

abuses tossed at women, Muslims, Mexicans, veteran POWs, African-Americans, etc.

What’s really put the groan in that question is that it’s begun to look as though the sacrifice of principle to expediency won’t have a payoff.

Four weeks from Election Day, all signs point to a resounding Trump defeat — and with possibly spectacular collateral damage in the Senate and, most astonishingly, in the House.

Republicans who regularly twisted themselves up like pretzels to excuse Trump’s many outrages see they’ll get nothing for it.

Some are refusing to play the game anymore. One by one or in small groups, they are abandoning their leader.

Even House Speaker Paul Ryan, the most senior elected Republican in U.S. federal politics, is heading that way now. He said he won’t defend Trump any longer, although he hasn’t yet “unendorsed” him as others, such as Senator John McCain, did last week.

This will get uglier. There are bitterer days ahead.

True, it’s never really looked like Trump could win the White House — he was behind by about six points in Tuesday’s RealClearPolitics polling average, and that’s been the case, give or take, for months. But it’s also true it’s never looked like Trump could lose his base in the Republican Party either.

Sunday’s amped-up energy

Who else could thrill them like he

8 senators 15 congressmen/women 3 governors 5 former party officials

And: 8 senators 22 congressmen/women 6 governors >80 former party officials

*reported to be voting for Democrat Hillary Clinton

A 2005 video “I moved on her like a b...., but I couldn't get there. And she was married... When you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything...

Grab them by the p....”

Jeb Bush Presidential hopeful, 2016

Donald Trump on women "Nobody respects women more than I do"

About former Miss Universe Alicia Machado "She gained a massive amount of weight, and it was a real problem" About Fox News journalist Megan Kelly "You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever" Referring to a Republican primary opponent Carly Fiorina "Look at that face.

Would anyone vote for that?"

surely did in Sunday night’s debate?

Wounded and with his back to the wall, Trump put on the kind of performance that electrifies his rallies.

He reached down into the depths of “Hillary hatred,” threatened her with a special prosecutor and even jail if he becomes president, and seemed ready to lead the studio audience in a call-andresponse chorus of “Lock her up!

Lock her up!”

His message to the base in TV land: “I am still your champion!”

There was even the flourish of reality show surprise: In the audience, strategically placed

by Trump, sat three women who have alleged they were victims of sexual abuse decades ago after straying into the orbit of Bill Clinton.

It was an evening you can bet they’re still talking about in all the Trumpsvilles big and small across America.

In conversation with radio host Howard Stern "What is it at 35? It's called check-out time" "It's okay to call my daughter a 'piece of a..'"

About the Clintons "Bill Clinton 'was the worst abuser of women in the history of politics...

And Hillary was his 'enabler’" On Twitter, about Huffington Post's co-founder Arianna Huffington "@ariannahuff is unattractive both inside and out. I fully understand why her former husband left her for a man he made a good decision"

But it bodes ill.

Such a strong and welcome performance for the grassroots of the party is nevertheless trouble for the party leadership.

Without an unprecedented reversal in public opinion, Clinton will be elected president.

That will be a hard punch to the gut for Trump and his supporters, and many will turn against the Republican leaders who they believe abandoned them at the critical hour.

And on the other side, they will blame Trump as the only candidate who could have lost to someone as disliked as Clinton is.

And so with all that already simmering, whatever happens to the Republican Party next seems destined to begin in a boiling stew of bitterness, betrayal, spite and anger. l

[This is an excerpt of a CBC article, which can be found at http://bit. ly/2dGsn4N]

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

Soldiers protest army cuts outside Chinese defence ministry n Tribune International Desk More than 1,000 protesters walked and chanted in front of China’s defence ministry Tuesday, the latest apparent demonstration by soldiers as the world’s largest standing military modernises and downsizes, reports The Associated Press.

The protesters stood for several hours in front of the Bayi building in central Beijing, home of the Chinese Ministry of National Defence. Many wore green fatigues bearing the hammer-and-sickle logo of China’s ruling Communist Party.

The purpose of their demonstration was unclear. Protesters declined to be interviewed, and censors blocked searches on social media about retired soldiers or the Chinese defence ministry.

Hundreds of police and plainclothes security officers surrounded the protesters, hemming them

in with buses and police vehicles.

While Chinese authorities routinely suppress discussions about the military and soldiers’ issues, one human-rights activist, Huang Qi, said that veterans have staged more than 50 protests this year alone. However, demonstrations on such a large scale are extremely rare in the centre of the heavily policed capital.

Liu Feiyue, editor of the website Minsheng Guancha, which monitors civil rights issues, said he was told by retired soldiers that other ex-soldiers were present.

China’s armed forces are undergoing a large-scale modernisation to become a nimble organisation that can better handle conflicts at sea and in the air.

Those measures have gained pace as China builds up its presence in the South China and East China Seas amid territorial disputes and as relations have soured with self-governing Taiwan —

Turkey and Russia signed an agreement on Monday for the construction of a major undersea gas pipeline and vowed to seek common ground on the war in Syria, accelerating a normalisation in ties nearly a year after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan hosted Russia’s Vladimir Putin at an Ottoman-era villa in Istanbul for talks which touched on energy deals, trade and tourism ties, defence and the conflict in Syria, where the two leaders back opposing sides.

“Today has been a full day with President Putin of discussing Russia-Turkish relations ... I have full confidence that the normalisation of Turkish-Russian ties will continue at a fast pace,” Erdogan told a joint news conference.

Putin said Moscow had decided to lift a ban on some food products from Turkey, imposed after the Turks shot down a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian border last November, and that both leaders had agreed to work towards the fullscale normalisation of bilateral ties.

They signed a deal on the TurkStream undersea gas pipeline, which will allow Moscow to strengthen its position in the European gas market and cut energy supplies via Ukraine, the main route for Russian energy into Europe.

The plan for TurkStream emerged after Russia dropped

plans to build the South Stream pipeline to Bulgaria due to opposition from the European Union, which is trying to reduce its dependence on Russian gas.

Erdogan also said plans for a Russian-built nuclear power plant in Turkey would be accelerated.

Time lost on the Akkuyu project because of strained relations would be made up, he said.

In 2013, Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom won a $20bn contract to build four reactors in what was to become Turkey’s first nuclear plant, but construction was halted after the downing of the Russian jet.

Trump lashes out at disloyal Republicans Embattled White House hopeful Donald Trump lashed out at disloyal Republicans in a ranting tweetstorm Tuesday, saying they are to blame if his faltering campaign comes up short. He publicly berated party big-wig Paul Ryan - the speaker of the House of Representatives - as a weak and ineffective leader.

“It is so nice that the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to” Trump tweeted. AFP

3 killed in gun battle near Rio tourist zone Hundreds of protesters in green fatigues gather outside the Chinese Ministry of National Defense to protest in Beijing, China on October 11 AP which China claims as its own territory to be unified with by force if necessary.

President Xi Jinping announced last year that the 2.3-million-member People’s Liberation Army would cut 300,000 personnel but little has been said about the cost or where the surplus troops would go.

Veterans have staged sit-ins

and protests for several years over low or absent pensions and an inability to find work outside the military.

It wasn’t clear if anyone had been arrested Tuesday. Local police did not respond to faxed questions, and no one answered the phone at the press office of the defence ministry. l

RUSSIA SIGNS TURKSTREAM PIPELINE DEAL Russia and Turkey have signed an intergovernmental agreement to implement the TurkStream pipeline project, which will bring Russian natural gas to Europe via the Black Sea, bypassing Ukraine

Three people were killed and 5 wounded during pitched gun battles Monday between Brazilian police and drug traffickers in two Rio slums, triggering panic in the nearby Copacabana and Ipanema tourist areas. The man who fell to his death was wearing a backpack containing about 8kg of cocaine, the statement said. AFP

UK

Driverless cars hit British streets in landmark trial Driverless vehicles carrying passengers took to Britain’s streets for the first time on Tuesday in a landmark trial which could pave the way for their introduction across the country. The compact two-seater cars trundled along a pedestrianised zone in Milton Keynes, north of London, in a trial

by Transport Systems Catapult which plans to roll out 40 vehicles in the city. AFP

EUROPE

Putin cancels visit to Paris in Syria row Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday cancelled a visit to France in a furious row over Moscow’s role in the Syrian conflict.

The announcement from the Kremlin came a day after French President Francois Hollande said Syrian forces had committed a war crime in the battered city of Aleppo with the support of Russian air strikes. AFP

Deep divisions on Syria

Putin received Erdogan in a Tsarist-era palace outside his home city of St Petersburg in August, when the two leaders, both powerful figures ill-disposed to dissent, announced plans for an acceleration in trade and energy ties.

But progress on Syria, over which they remain deeply divided, has been more problematic. Erdogan described the topic as “very sensitive”, but said he had discussed Turkey’s military operations in Syria with Putin on Monday.

Both men said they had agreed on the importance of delivering aid to the city of Aleppo, whose opposition-held eastern sector has been encircled by Russian-backed Syrian forces for all but a short period since July.

Russia has backed Syrian Pres-

USA

THE AMERICAS

Russia and Turkey sign TurkStream gas deal n Reuters, Istanbul

DT

World

AFRICA

Kenya, South Africa vow to ease trade, visa barriers

ident Bashar al-Assad with a yearlong air campaign against the rebels fighting him. Turkey backs the rebels and wants to see Assad out of power.

On Saturday, Russia vetoed a

French-drafted UN Security Council resolution that would have demanded an end to air strikes and military flights over Aleppo. A rival Russian draft text failed to get a minimum nine votes in favour. l

South Africa and Kenya vowed Tuesday to soften borders between the two regional powerhouses by easing trade and visa barriers, part of ongoing efforts to boost low levels of commerce within Africa.

While both nations are economic giants in their respective regions, South Africa’s Jacob Zuma on Tuesday made the first-ever state visit by a president from his country to Kenya. AFP

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

INSIGHT

In fight against IS, Kurds expand their territory n Reuters, Iraq Like many houses in this northern Iraqi town, the drab concrete building used to be owned by an Arab family. Abu Suhail, a Kurd who owns a small shop, lived down the block. He and his family shared glasses of tea with their Arab neighbours; his two sons played with Arab kids in the streets.

But after Islamic State seized Zumar during its lightning sweep through northern and western Iraq in 2014, most Kurds fled, leaving the town to the Sunni militant group. Two months later, the Kurds hit back, pushing Islamic State out.

Now, Zumar is populated almost entirely by Kurds, many of whom, like Abu Suhail, have had no qualms about seizing homes. He said the Arab who owned the house he has taken supported Islamic State.

The same shift can be seen in towns and villages across the ethnically mixed ribbon of land that divides the autonomous Kurdish area in the north of Iraq from the Arab-majority part in the south. As the peshmerga – Iraqi Kurdistan’s fighting force – have battled Islamic State, many Arabs have been forced from their homes.

Ordinary Kurds have come in behind, seizing properties, destroying buildings, and grabbing farmland.

In total, Kurds have increased the size of the region they control in Iraq by around 40% since 2014.

This is how the map is being redrawn across Iraq and Syria: Groups fighting Islamic State are using the battle to settle older disputes and expand their territory.

Tensions have been rising in the past few months as Iraqi government forces, Kurds and Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias gear up for an offensive to drive Islamic State from its stronghold in the city of Mosul. The members of the uneasy alliance share a common enemy, but they agree on little else.

Falah Mustafa, the head of the Kurdish department of foreign relations, agrees. Many peshmerga have died fighting Islamic State, he said. The Kurdish government “cannot allow the sacrifices to be in vain by reinstituting Arabisation, which is the policy of the former regime. Definitely the Arabisation process has to be reversed.”

A troubled past

Kurds see consolidating their territory as an important step to statehood, which they have wanted ever since European powers carved up the Ottoman Empire a century ago. The new borders defined modern Iraq but spread the Kurdish people between it and three of its neighbours.

In Iraq, Kurds were regularly repressed, especially under Saddam.

Zumar is a case in point. The old village was submerged in the 1980s during the construction of Mosul dam, Iraq’s largest. When water levels in the dam are low, the tops of the tallest buildings can still be seen.

Saddam built a replacement village on land that the Kurds say was taken from them. There, and in Kurdish areas across northern Iraq, he spent the next two decades resettling Arabs.

Things changed after the US-led invasion in 2003 toppled Saddam.

After the first Gulf War in 1990, the Kurds had carved out an enclave that was protected by a no-fly zone backed by a US-led coalition. With Saddam finally gone, the Kurds became more powerful. Many returned to their villages, or what remained of them. Arabs left, sometimes under duress, often of their own accord.

A new constitutional provision called for a referendum on the future of the border areas. But the process festered because Iraq’s fractious political class could not agree how to implement it.

The arrival of Islamic State in August 2014 revived old fears. In an interview last year, Kurdish President Masoud Barzani told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat that many Iraqi Sunnis were using Islamic State to strengthen their own claims.

Kurds forced Islamic State out of Zumar in October 2014. The town is now tightly controlled by camouflage-wearing Kurdish security forces known as Asayish. Remaining Arab residents say they fear retaliation if they speak out. But quietly some say that Kurdish security forces have expelled hundreds of people accused of links with the militants. Kurds have taken over entire streets and areas that once belonged to Arabs.

Amnesty International puts the number of Arab residents barred from returning to their homes in all disputed areas – from the Syrian border in the west to the Iranian frontier in the east – in the tens of thousands.

The Kurds say only those with links to Islamic State are not allowed back, and point to the Arab communities who remain as proof there is no policy of demographic change.

Kurdish officials deny targeting Arab property. They say the damage was done by coalition airstrikes and fighting against Islamic State militants.

History repeats itself

The man in charge of security in Zumar is Colonel Noruz Balati, who spent 17 years in prison during Saddam’s rule for his role in the Kurdish independence struggle.

Balati said as much as 80% of Zumar’s Arab population had joined or

supported Islamic State when they occupied the town. Most of them, he said, had been settled in the area

by Saddam and were not “original” Arabs whose families had been there for generations.

Only 50 Arab families, a minority of the town’s former population, have been allowed to return to Zumar, he said. He admits that others are displaced within Kurdish territory and have not been allowed home. “We are suspicious of them,” he said.

At the same time, Kurds whose own homes in villages outside Zumar were damaged or are still close to the front line have moved into the town.

“History repeats itself: The Kurds were displaced and now they have returned,” said Adnan Ibrahim, 39, a tailor’s tape measure draped over his neck. “Things have returned to their natural order.”

Zumar’s commercial district used to be predominantly Arab. Now shops have been renamed to reflect their new Kurdish proprietors.

A middle-aged Kurd arranging goods on a shelf in a small supermarket said the shop was not his but he felt entitled to it because his own business had been destroyed by Islamic State. Earlier that day, the real owner of the shop had come to ask for rent, but the Kurd had refused to pay, reasoning that the money could end up in the wrong hands because the Arab’s brother is living in Islamic State territory.

The Arab, whose house has also been occupied by Kurds, confirmed his brother is living under the jihadists’ rule, but said he was trapped there and did not back them. He later obtained permission from the Asayish to collect the rent, but the Kurd still refused to pay, he said.

A member of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces gestures in Zumar, Iraq

THE KURDS KDP

PUK

POLITICAL PARTY

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) was established in 1946. Its leader. Massoud Barzani. is the president of Iraqi Kurdistan.

GORRAN

PESHMERGA

POLITICAL PARTY

HDP

PKK

POLITICAL PARTY

POLITICAL PARTY

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) was founded in 1975 by Jalal Talabani. The civil war between the KDP and PUK tasted from 1994 to 1998.

MILITARY FORCE

The peshmerga are Iraqi Kurdish military forces. Many brigades are under the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs' control, though some serve as milrtary wings of the PUK and KDP.

Gorran, the second-largest Kurdish party in Iraqi Kurdistan, split off from the PUK in 2009, undermining the PUK and KDP's dominance in Kurdish politics.

MILITARY GROUP

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), founded in 1978 by Abdullah Ocalan. waged an insurgency The Peoples' Democratic against the Turkish state from 1984to 2013. Turkey Party (HDP) is a pro-minority broke the cease-fire. in 2015 when it bombed PKK opposition party, wrth 59 camps in Iraqi Kurdistan. seats in Turkey's 550-seat parliament. HOP has criticised MILITARY GROUP the government's handling of milrtancy in Turkey's primarily The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) claims Kurdish southeast. to be separate from the PKl< but is in fact the PKI<'s specialized urban terrorism wing.

TAK

PYD

POLITICAL PARTY

The Democratic Union Party (PYD) was established in 2003 and is ideologically similar to the PKK.

YPG

‘Duhok supports me, Peshmerga protect me’

Zumar officially remains under the jurisdiction of Baghdad, which pays the salaries of most state workers, makes official appointments and is meant to fund local government budgets.

But there is little doubt who controls the town. The Iraqi flag is nowhere to be seen and Zumar’s administration is increasingly integrated into the neighbouring Kurdish province of Duhok.

Ahmed Jaafar, the Kurd who heads the Zumar sub-district, said Baghdad had done nothing for the area. But Duhok had given him a 50 kilowatt electricity generator, ambulances and medicine.

“Administratively, officially, I belong to Nineveh province, but in practice Duhok supports me and the peshmerga protect me. This is the reality.”

Some Arabs living under Kurdish rule support the Kurds. “They

REUTERS

MILITARY WING

The People's Protection Units (YPG) are the PYO's military wing and came to prominence during the fight against Islamic State.

KDPI

POLITICAL PARTY

The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) was established in 1945 as a pan-Kurdish party. It has historical links to Iraq's KDP and does not have official representation in Iran's parliament.

PJAK

MILITARY GROUP

The Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) was founded as a PKK offshoot in 2004. It seeks to establish a democratic Kurdish republic within Iran and has a history of clashing with security forces.

Source: Stratfor.com

(the peshmerga) liberated our lands with their blood,” said one Arab sheikh who earlier this year collected signatures on a petition for the Zumar area to be annexed to the region. “Our loyalty is to Kurdistan.”

The region’s Ainzala oilfield, with a capacity of 10,000 barrels per day, is still officially operated

by Iraq’s state-run North Oil Company. But its workforce has fallen by around half because many Arab employees either joined the mili-

tants or are trapped in their territory. As a result, around 60 percent of workers are now Kurdish, up from 20 percent before Islamic State, according to the engineer in charge of the operation.

Abu Suhail summed up the prevailing mood: “We are tribal. If a man kills my brother, even if he is jailed for 20 years, when he is freed I must kill him,” he said. “Only then will it be over, truthfully. The state cannot control this. It is impossible.” l

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

EU sanctions against Russia over Ukraine n Tribune International Desk

Economic sanctions

The European Union’s indignation over Russian air strikes against rebels in Syria has shifted its debate on sanctions against Moscow over a different conflict - in Ukraine.

Any extension of sanctions requires unanimity of all 28 EU countries. The United States has introduced similar sanctions, reports The Associated Press.

Below are details of the EU sanctions on Russia.

The main EU sanctions against Moscow restricting the access of the country’s banking sector to international money markets.

They also include an embargo on most arms trading with Russia and prohibition of exports for the so-called dual-use goods that can be used for military means. The sales of some energy-related equipment and technology are also not allowed.

The economic sanctions are in place until January 31, 2017.

EXPLAINER

Why Ethiopia is under state of emergency n Tribune International Desk One of Africa’s best-performing economies, Ethiopia, has declared a state of emergency, its first in a quarter-century, after months of widespread, often deadly, protests demanding greater freedoms.

On Tuesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn during a three-nation tour of Africa and said her country has offered to help mediate in the troubled region. Here’s a look at why this East African country, a security ally of the West, is now a target of its criticism, reports The Associated Press.

Anger over land turns to anger over rights

Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, the Oromo, rose up in protest almost a year ago when the government proposed annexing some of their land into the capital, Addis Ababa, as part of a drive to transform this largely agricultural nation into a regional manufacturing power. While the government later gave up the idea, the protests broadened into a demand for more rights and for the release of detained activists, opposition figures and journalists. The anti-government anger caught fire in other parts of the country.

Hundreds of deaths, and a stampede

Rights groups and activists have said more than 400 people have been killed in the protests, and some in the international community, including the United States, have called on the government to use restraint. Last week, the protests landed in the global

spotlight when more than 50 people were crushed to death in a stampede after security forces tried to disperse protesters during a massive religious festival. The government blamed the stampede on what it called “the action of some hooligans.”

The new state of emergency

Pressure has grown on Ethiopia since the stampede, and further protests last week targeted both local and foreign businesses suspected of having ties to the government. An American woman was killed in a rock attack by protesters on the outskirts of the capital. On Sunday, after the week of unrest, the government declared a six-month state of emergency, citing “enormous” damage to property.

“The recent developments in Ethiopia have put the integrity of the nation at risk,” the prime minister said.

No internet ... again

The six-month state of emergency is the maximum allowed, though it can be renewed.

A government spokesman said Ethiopia’s security forces will be reorganized during this time to better respond to the protests. The government says the state of emergency may include a curfew in some locations, arrests and searchand-seizures without a court order, restrictions on the right to assembly and a ban on some communications.

Opposition figures say an informal state of emergency has been in place for some time, and the country’s most recent internet blackout has been in place almost continuously since last week. l

Blacklist of people end entities

A list of 151 people and 37 entities subject to visa bans and an assets freeze in the EU for their role in the annexation of Crimea or the Russia-backed rebellion in eastern Ukraine.

The blacklist covers advisers and close aides of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian parliamentarians, defence and intelligence officials, army and navy commanders, as well as Crimean separatists and rebels in east Ukraine. Putin himself is not on the list.

This list is most often looked at by advocates of an easing of sanctions who say that de-listing some Russian officials would send a positive signal to the Kremlin while making little real difference.

That, however, has not happened so far and these sanctions are in place until March 15, 2017.

Crimea sanctions

Restrictions on business dealings with the Russian-annexed Crimea are seen as the least likely to be eased or lifted

as Russia says it will never return the Black Sea peninsula to Ukraine.

The annexation has not been internationally recognised and the sanctions include bans on importing goods produced in Crimea, investing or providing tourism services there.

Most transport, telecoms and energy exports to Crimea are also prohibited, though a Reuters investigation revealed how EU companies are skirting them.

This set of EU sanctions is now in place until June 23, 2017. l

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ERL new unit work stalled for fund crisis Second unit work of the oil refinery was scheduled to be completed by June 2016 n Aminur Rahman Rasel The work of setting up second unit of the Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL), the only state-owned oil refinery in Bangladesh, has been disrupted due to lack of funds.

The installation of the ERL unit2 was scheduled to be completed

by June 2016. But the work of the project worth Tk16,731 crore is not progressing as financial assistance from foreign sources is still at negotiating stage.

Once installed, the unit is expected to refine 4.5m tonnes of petroleum annually.

About the situation, ERL General Manager and Project Director Aktarul Haque told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that the development project proposal (DPP) has been sent to the Planning Commission for approval while negotiation for funds is on-going with several foreign banks and financiers.

“The design of the project will be finalised after the DPP is passed

Once installed, the second unit of the Eastern Refinery is expected to refine 4.5m tonnes of petroleum annually from the Planning Commission, and French company Technip will do the designing,” he said.

Haque added the government has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Technip for the unit.”

He said: “The construction cost

will be negotiated with Technip on the basis of the MoU. If both parties reach a consensus, Technip will be awarded the job. Otherwise, the government will look for another company.”

ERL Managing Director Engr.

Md Emdadul Haque said: “The unit may take around three years to

Bida seeks govt help in equity fund for new entrepreneurs n Asif Showkat Kallol

Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida) has urged Finance Division to provide assistance in its initiative of forming an equity fund for the country’s new entrepreneurs.

He said Bida plans to create an equity fund with an initial amount of Tk110 crore.

“We want to help young entrepreneurs from the fund in the current fiscal year,” Aminul Islam said.

He said the government is unable to create new entrepreneurs in the

This fiscal year Bida has allocated Tk10 crore for the emerging entrepreneurs’ fund

Bida Chairman Md Aminul Islam recently sent a letter to Finance Minister AMA Muhith requesting for the help.

In the letter, the chairman said: “This fiscal year Bida has allocated Tk10 crore for the emerging entrepreneurs’ fund.”

absence such funding initiative.

This is helpful as the new entrepreneurs in Bangladesh usually do not have enough resources to start a business, according to the letter.

Bida said it has prepared concept papers on creation of new entrepreneurs with the help of Brac Univer-

sity and Daffodil International University in Dhaka.

The concept papers have elaborated on management of the training and financing for new entrepreneurs.

On the basis of the guidelines as developed in the papers, the standards will be set for the emerging entrepreneurs.

Bida has urged Finance Division to fund Tk100 crore under the Bida venture capital fund.

In Bangladesh, around 2m new faces are entering the job market every year, with only half of them being employed, either at home or abroad.

Bangladesh Bank has taken efforts as part of its policy to create additional employment opportunities in the country.

In 2013 the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry published a handbook on entrepreneurship with a view to creating 2,000 innovative entrepreneurs across the country. l

complete, after the DPP is passed.”

The estimated project cost is Tk16,731 crore, out of which, Tk5,000 crore will be provided by the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) and the remaining Tk11,731 crore is expected to come as project assistance.

Presently, ERL refines 1.3m

DHAKA TRIBUNE

tonnes of crude oil annually though its capacity of 1.5m tonnes. The BPC annually imports nearly 5m tonnes of crude and refined oil at an average cost of Tk50,000 crore.

Technip, which installed the ERL’s first unit, was also given the task of designing the second unit. l

‘China economy improving, debt risks under control’ n Reuters China’s economy performed better than expected in the third quarter and the country’s debt risks are under control, Premier Li Keqiang said yesterday.

“China’s economy in the third quarter not only extended growth momentum in the first half but showed many positive changes,” Li said in the speech in Macau that was broadcast live on state television.

Key indicators such as factory output, company profits and investment have rebounded, he said, ahead of China’s release of third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data on Oct. 19.

More than 10 million new urban jobs were created in the first nine months, with the survey-based jobless rate falling below 5% in September, he said, while acknowledging that the economy still faces downward pressure. l

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Foreigners cut down on emerging Asia bonds n Reuters Foreign investors have cut holdings in most emerging Asian government bonds so far this month on expectations that US interest rates will rise in December and that other major central banks will not ease further. South Korea, India and Thailand have suffered outflows so far in October.

“The global environment for bonds has become less favourable with major central banks contemplating reducing stimuli,” said Eugene Leow, interest rate strategist for DBS Bank in Singapore.

The US Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates in December, as three months of slower employment growth is not considered enough to stop it from moving.

Also weighing on emerging Asian debt are perceptions that other major central banks are unlikely to ease further as well as higher oil prices, which have reduced concerns about inflation being too low.

Outflows

Foreign investors sold a combined net 1.7tn won ($1.5bn) worth of South Korean bonds in the first 10

Bhumibol Adulyadej, 88, was in an “unstable” condition.

Malaysia saw bond outflows of 1.4bn ringgit ($336.9m) in September after three months of inflows, central bank data showed.

Indonesia

days of October, preliminary data from the country’s Financial Supervisory Service showed.

This follows 663bn won of outflows from bonds in September, with foreigners reducing holdings of maturities of less than one year by 3.4tn won, according to separate data from the regulator.

“Short-dated notes are not attractive, given low chances of a rate cut in a near term, although investors extended duration, indicating

their sentiment stays bullish,” said Shin Dong-su, a fixed-income analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities in Seoul.

South Korea’s central bank holds a policy meeting on Thursday and is not expected to lower rates, with rising household debt seen as one hurdle to a cut.

In India, foreign investors booked profits by selling more $600m worth of domestic bonds this month after buying $1.5bn of

them in September, before a policy meeting on Oct 4 at which interest rates were cut.

Foreign investors cut Thai bond holdings by 9.2bn baht ($263.8m) in the first 10 days of October, following inflows of 15.3bn baht in September and of 41.1bn baht in August, according to Reuters calculations based on Thai Bond Market Association data.

Thai markets have fallen this week after a palace statement on Sunday said the health of King

Foreign holdings of Indonesian bonds, by contrast, have hardly changed this month. Among Asia’s highest yielding bonds, they attracted 16.9bn rupiah ($1.3bn) of inflows in September, nearly double the August level.

These inflows came as Bank Indonesia last month delivered its fifth interest rate this year, boosting bond prices. The country also collected 97.2tn rupiah in revenue from the first phase of the country’s tax amnesty, helping cover the government’s fiscal deficit.

Some investors think the falling yuan might prompt some foreign investors to sell Chinese bonds and move into other emerging Asian debt. The renminbi has hit six-year lows this week.

“After CNY depreciation, money has been flowing out of onshore China to the offshore market,” said Gordon Ip, investment director at Value Partners in Hong Kong. l

Runner to bring US-Bangla Airlines adds first Boeing to its fleet Bajaj 3-wheelers Tribune Business Desk n in Bangladesh US-Bangla Airlines has brought Boeing 737-800 aircraft into its market fleet to expand its wing to home and abroad. n Tribune Business Desk Cockpit crew and officials of the Runner, a local motorcycle manufacturer, has tied up with Bajaj Auto Limited, India-based three-wheeler manufacturer, to introduce Qute and LPG and Diesel range three wheelers.

On this tie-up, Manish Singh Rathore, general manager (International Business) said: “Bajaj would be introducing LPG three-wheeler along with four-wheeled Qute to Bangladesh market through Runner in December,” said press release yesterday.

Both Qute and three-wheeler would provide added mobility options to Bangladesh Customers.

Qute – a safe, smart, fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly and compact mobility solution on 4 wheels – is already operating in 20 countries.

“With its unique design, it would cater to consumer travel needs on highways as well as in dense traffic conditions, especially in metro cities like Dhaka, Khulna and Chittagong etc,” said Mukesh Sharma, managing director and CEO, Runner Automobiles Ltd. Runner would create a complete ecosystem for Distribution and Servicing of three-wheelers and Qute in Bangladesh, he added. l

US-Bangla Airlines received the new aircraft at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport yesterday evening, creating a new milestone in the aviation industry of Bangladesh.

US-Bangla will now be able to connect more international destinations in the upcoming days with the 158-seater Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

The carrier began its journey on July 17, 2014 with its maiden flight from Dhaka to Jessore. The airliner has so far successfully operated over 16,000 flights in the domestic and Dhaka-Kathmandu route.

With the new Boeing 737-800 aircraft, the total number of aircraft of the company is now four.

Boeing 737-800 aircraft has 158 revenue seats each including 8 business class and Dash8 Q400 aircraft 76 seats each.

It took to the skies with a slogan “Fly Fast-Fly Safe” and has been providing committed services ever since. Since its inception, US-Bangla Airlines received a positive market response and presently holds a major connectivity of the domestic routes and one region-

US-Bangla Airlines officials and crew members pose for photo as the company brings a Boeing to its fleet al Dhaka-Kathmandu route. In a span of just two years of its operation, US-Bangla has established its brand reputation.

In the domestic sectors, currently it provides connectivity to all the domestic airports with the capital by giving regular flights. US-Bangla Airlines operates three aircrafts in its inventory; these are DASH 8-Q400 aircrafts.

To further expand its operation into the international arena, the management of US-Bangla will procure two more brand new Boeing 737-500 aircraft, out of which,

one will be arriving in Bangladesh in the third week of this month and the other one in December 2016. Each aircraft will posses 4 lavatory to facilitate the passengers’ comfort.

The management of US-Bangla Airlines has decided to operate regular scheduled flight to Kolkata, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Singapore, Muscat, Doha, Guangzhou and many more international destinations with these Boeing 737800 aircraft. US-Bangla will be the first airline in Bangladesh to connect Paro (Bhutan) with Dhaka in

COURTESY

the near future.

US-Bangla Airlines maintains an impeccable standard of service equipped with incomparable reliability and flying comfort with in-flight service of international standard, and reached the milestone for best on-time performance, which is about 98.7%.

To facilitate its passengers further beyond flying, US-Bangla also maintains a frequent flyer program named ‘Sky Star’. For in-flight entertainment of the passengers, US-Bangla also published its own in-flight magazine ‘Blue Sky’. l

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German investor cheer could hit growth buffers n AFP, Frankfurt Sentiment among investors in Germany sharply improved this month from its post-Brexit doldrums, data showed yesterday, but analysts warned against overconfidence.

The ZEW economic institute’s headline investor confidence index hit 6.2 points in October, an increase of 5.7 points over September and beating the 4 points analysts surveyed by Factset had predicted.

Sentiment had hovered at low levels in August and September after a sharp dip in July following Britain’s June 23 vote to quit the European Union.

Even with the October increase, the barometer remains well below its long-term average of 24.1 points.

The result was “very positive, and points to a thoroughly robust development of the business cycle,” ZEW president Achim Wambach said in a statement.

But Wambach warned of “a few political and economic risks” that could still weigh on the index, including “dangers for the German banking sector”.

German and global investors have eyed Deutsche Bank, the country’s biggest lender, with concern in recent weeks as it negotiates with the US Department of Justice over a $14bn fine demand.

But other banks in Europe’s largest economy are struggling too, complaining of the crowded sector’s intense competition and low interest rates set by the European Central Bank cutting into profits.

Easing fears

The latest ZEW reading follows a battery of positive indicators, including strong readings of exports, industrial orders, and industrial production in August and a resurgent business confidence index from the Munich-based Ifo institute in September. That was reflected in an increase in the ZEW “current situation” sub-index to its highest level since January.

Analysts warned that expectations of the “golden autumn” pointed to by Ifo should be treated with care.

“The improvement in current economic activity may have raised expectations for future growth” among investors, Berenberg bank’s Florian Hense said, but “expectations remain below the pre-Brexit vote averages.”

“Easing fears about the effects of Brexit have more than offset concerns about the wider implications of Deutsche Bank’s troubles,” analyst Jennifer McKeown of Capital Economics said.

While “broadly encouraging ... the index still points to a slowdown in German GDP growth” based on the ZEW’s past relationship to economic activity, she added.

Beyond Germany, investors’ expectations for the economies of eurozone neighbours also saw a positive turn, gaining 6.9 points to stand at 12.3.

ZEW questions analysts and institutional investors about their assessment of the current economic situation and the outlook for the coming months to compile its regular survey. l

Worst 4 days since June push sterling below $1.23

n Reuters

Sterling slid back below $1.23 yesterday as senior officials and investors pointed to the potential for more falls for a market still in shock after Friday’s 10% flash crash.

The past four days for the pound are now its worst since the aftermath of the vote to leave the European Union in June and Bank of England policymaker Michael Saunders warned a “bumpy” Brexit could sharply reduce British economic growth.

“Given the scale and persistence of the UK’s current account deficit, I would not be surprised if sterling falls further, but I am fairly agnostic as to whether any further depreciation is likely,” Saunders said. l

Facebook launches intra-office ‘Workplace’ network n AFP, London Social network giant Facebook recently launched new global product Workplace, a platform that it hopes will replace intranet, mailbox and other internal communication tools used by businesses worldwide.

The platform allows employees to collaborate in real-time and is intended to compete with similar office communication products including Microsoft’s Yammer, Salesforce’s Chatter and Slack.

The Silicon Valley company developed the concept, hitherto called “Facebook at Work”, two years ago in its London office and has since tested the product on 1,000 companies worldwide.

It is the first Facebook product launched outside the United States.

“We combined the things that already exist into a single tool that will allow employees to display a wall of information, like on their private profiles,” Julien Codorniou, director of Workplace, told AFP. Workplace was developed outside of the Facebook ecosystem and remains completely separate from the social network - even using grey as the dominant colour, rather than Facebook’s distinct blue.

It is accessible on a computer or phone without a Facebook account and employees can access the platform using their work email address.

The service will only enable the transfer of intra-office

data, which will remain fully owned by the business.

“We’ve brought the best of Facebook to the workplace whether it’s basic infrastructure such as News Feed, or the ability to create and share in Groups or via chat, or useful features such as Live, Reactions, Search and Trending posts,” said the company.

“This means you can chat with a colleague across the world in real time, host a virtual brainstorm in a Group, or follow along with your CEO’s presentation on Facebook Live.”

Subscribers will pay between one to three euros ($1.1$3.3) per connected employee, depending on the size of the business, while NGOs and educational establishments will receive the service for free. l

CORPORATE NEWS

Southeast Bank Limited has recently opened a booth for collecting municipal tax at Feni Pourashava.

Nizam Uddin Hajari, MP inaugurated the booth, said a press release. The bank’s managing director, Shahid Hossain was present on the occasion

Employees walk in Hungarian oil and gas group MOL’s main Danube refinery in Szazhalombatta REUTERS

Oil glut to last until mid-2017 unless Opec cuts output n AFP, Paris A massive oil glut may weigh on world markets deep into next year unless the Opec producer cartel makes good on its promise to cut output, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said yesterday.

The oil price has recovered steadily since Opec said last month that it would reduce production, with details to be hammered out at the cartel’s November meeting, and such a deal would “speed up the process” of working off global oil inventories, the IEA said in its monthly report.

“Even with tentative signs that bulging inventories are starting to decline, our supply-demand outlook suggests that the market - if left to its own devices - may remain in oversupply through the first half of next year,” the IEA said.

“If Opec sticks to its new

target, the market’s rebalancing could come faster,” it said.

Initially greeted with scepticism among analysts, Opec’s agreement to cut output has gained traction in the oil market, with the IEA noting that the oil price has risen by 15% since the cartel’s announcement on September 28.

Oil prices rose to their highest level in several months after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that his country, not a member of the cartel, was ready to align with Opec’s push to limit oil output.

In morning European trade yesterday, both WTI and Brent held well above the key $50 (45 euro) level per barrel, at $50.90 and $52.89, respectively.

“The waiting game is over,” the IEA said. “OPEC has effectively abandoned its free market policy set in train nearly two years ago.” l

German investor cheer could hit growth buffers n AFP, Frankfurt Sentiment among investors in Germany sharply improved this month from its post-Brexit doldrums, data showed yesterday, but analysts warned against overconfidence.

The ZEW economic institute’s headline investor confidence index hit 6.2 points in October, an increase of 5.7 points over September and beating the 4 points analysts surveyed by Factset had predicted.

Sentiment had hovered at low levels in August and September after a sharp dip in

July following Britain’s June 23 vote to quit the European Union.

Even with the October increase, the barometer remains well below its long-term average of 24.1 points.

The result was “very positive, and points to a thoroughly robust development of the business cycle,” ZEW president Achim Wambach said in a statement.

But Wambach warned of “a few political and economic risks” that could still weigh on the index, including “dangers for the German banking sector”. l

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Every woman’s partner Tailored services for women through Nibedita

n Features Desk

I

t is not very often that we see a big corporate venture place a great deal of emphasis on addressing social issues.

However, Green Delta Insurance Company Limited (GDIC) – the largest and leading “AAA” rated non-life insurance company in Bangladesh – have spent years catering to the needs of different segments of society through numerous innovative and customised products.

This includes ‘Shudin’ for garment workers, micro-health insurance ‘Niramoy’ for rural populations, ‘Probashi’ insurance for migrant workers and so on.

But the flagship product of Green Delta is Nibedita – the first ever comprehensive insurance scheme for women in South Asia.

Customised insurance for women

Nibedita was designed to ensure women’s economic security and provide them with a platform to be socially and economically empowered. It can be availed by any Bangladeshi woman aged between 14 and 65 years old. They can get a coverage of BDT 100,000 to BDT 1,000,000 for a minimum annual premium of BDT 580 only.

What makes Nibedita unique

is that beside other insurance benefits, it provides trauma allowances for the victims of rape, street harassment and assault, acid attacks and other discriminatory acts.

Farzana Chowdhury ACII (UK), managing director and CEO of Green Delta Insurance Company, was honoured at the UN Global Compact Leaders’ Summit 2016, held in New York in June 2016, as one of ten Local Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Pioneers for her efforts in promoting gender equality in Bangladesh, in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals, through Nibedita.

A tailored app for policy holders

In order to create a one-stop service solution platform for women in Bangladesh, Green Delta have recently launched a mobile application called ‘Nibedita Mobile App’ for Nibedita policy holders. An event titled ‘Nibedita App Launch and Local SDG Celebration’ was held on October 8, 2016 at the Le Méridien Dhaka.

Speaker of the Parliament, Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury MP, graced the occasion as chief guest and officially launched the app.

She congratulated Green Delta

Besides security, this app will also give women access to better health, capacity building, financial services and other value added services

on such a noble initiative for women and also praised Farzana Chowdhury for being honoured as a Local SDG Pioneer by the UN Global Compact, calling her a source of inspiration to the millions of women in Bangladesh who want to break through socioeconomic barriers and succeed in their respective endeavours. She expressed her optimism on the role Nibedita can play in ensuring women‘s well-being.

Special guest Zunaid Ahmed Palak MP, state minister, ICT Division, expressed his delight at the app launch and hoped that Green Delta can be a role model for the private sector to come forward and play a pivotal role, along with the government, to realise the dream of Digital

Bangladesh. He also provided assurance of his full support for Green Delta’s aspirations to help establish gender equality and women’s empowerment in Bangladesh. Ambassador of the US Embassy Dhaka, Mercia Bernicat, and former Bangladesh ambassador and permanent representative to the UN, Dr. A K Abdul Momen, were also present as guests of honour.

Safety and services

The unique feature of the Nibedita app is the panic button.

Any women, when in danger, can press the panic button, which will create a loud siren-like sound and also simultaneously send a distress SMS, with her geographic location, to her relatives or

nearest ones (according to the information provided during app registration), to Green Delta Head office and to the security service provider, who will mobilise its rescue team to the spot within 15-30 minutes for help. Besides security, this app will also give women access to better health, capacity building, financial services and other value added services. For this, Green Delta has partnered with various service providers, to give Nibedita policy holders special offers and fast-track services. Some of the partners include EBL, IDLC, Elite Force, Ghurbo.com, Persona, Bagdoom.com, Dhaka Ahsania Mission, Agora, Green Delta Securities Limited, Green Delta Capital Limited, Professional Advancement Limited and GD Assist Ltd. Farzana Chowdhury hopes that by empowering women, who constitute more than 52% of the population, Nibedita can play a pivotal role in the overall socio-economic development of Bangladesh. Nibedita is aspiring to play a pivotal role in the national development of Bangladesh by enriching the lives of millions of women across the country with the slogan – “Nibedita is every woman’s partner”.l

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Gender be gone Breaking down stereotypes of masculinity

n Tasaffy Hossain Gender equality – as soon as we usually hear those words, two major concepts come to our mind – women and feminism. And then the questions usually go into how something can be about equality, when we haven’t talked about the other side of the coin – men!

Men – that epitome of MANkind, the torch bearer and the leader. Everywhere we look, we are bombarded with the different roles and forms that men take in our societies. Historical figures, newspapers, sports channels, movies and comics – there is an endless number of male characters that help to define what it means to be a man. Or is that what we would like to think?

If we actually try to break down these people, whether fictional or real, I think what truly stands out is that fact that most of these men are usually revered for some of the same basic things – looks, strength, brilliance, and mostly for being winners. Whether in sports, business or politics, men are respected and celebrated solely based on their prowess at being a leader.

Starting from the kindergarten playground, through advanced levels of education systems into the workplace – the one clear message about what it means to be a man, is simply that they are successful.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not

saying this makes life easier for women, but maybe we have missed out on noticing what this constant pressure on men in needing to be the best has done.

Coming back to gender roles, the black and white designation of manliness or masculinity has remained unchallenged for a long time. Men are still seen as the household head, the bread earner, the stable problem solver.

Feminism and gender rights projects have been pushing to break down the barriers of femininity and womanhood, encouraging girls and women to be just as independent, competitive,

mothers for their ability to give everything up and we even celebrate women who have the courage to maneuver societal pressures by being happily single. Do note that by “we”, I mean the liberal, feminist circles and mindsets that have been evolving even within the social constraints of Dhaka.

But we have not

The black and white designation of manliness or masculinity has remained unchallenged for a long time

and worldly as their male counterparts, while also being able to love their feminine sides. The same encouragement has not been provided to men, who are still only being acknowledged and noticed for those same masculine traits and “manly” roles as before.

We celebrate the woman who can do it all, we celebrate

yet embraced the notion of stay-athome fathers, or husbands being less successful than their wives, or even male nurses or caregivers. And that is where we have failed to push for gender equality from the other side.

Equality is when we are not

holding anyone back or judging them for making a choice that suits them on an individual basis, but does not fit into our preconceived notions of gender roles. That

can only be possible once we acknowledge that our socially constructed gender norms are not benefiting either males or females, and agree to create the space for anyone to become who they want to be.

Keeping this is mind, the upcoming production “Men don’t TALK” will delve into the issues that boys and men face while growing up in a society like Dhaka’s, where there is a strong pressure to uphold gender norms and fit into the roles set up by society. The shows will be held on 4th and 5th November in Khamarbari and Gulshan-1 respectively. Further information can be found on the facebook page: Men don’t TALK 2016. l Tasaffy Hossain is the founder of Bonhishikhaunlearn gender. Bonhishikha believes that who you look like, how you are treated and what role you play should not be determined by the sex organ that you are born with

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5 ways to maximise your mornings

Photo: Bigstock

Get those early bird benefits

n Sabrina Fatma Ahmad

D

o your days begin with mad mornings where there’s never enough time to get everything done? If you’re not a morning person, worry not. These five changes can make the start to every day a lot more manageable.

Screen out

From work emails to group conversations to the #wokeuplikethis selfies, there are many temptations that make you reach for the phone as soon as your eyes open in the morning, but not only is this a health risk (who wants eye strain and computer face first thing in the morning?) it eats up a chunk of time and sets the tone for an

unnecessarily hurried day. Even though the ping of an email might sound urgent, there’s usually nothing that can’t wait for you to get out of bed, stretch and wash your face at the very least.

If you can train yourself to stay away from screen time at least for an hour after you wake up, you’ll find your general stress levels much lower throughout the day.

A little homework

While an hour of languor every morning is ideal, not everyone has the luxury of taking one’s sweet time. You can still minimise the rush by getting some stuff ready the night before. If you’ve picked out and ironed your outfit for

the day, packed your bag, and made breakfast or packed your lunch before you went to bed the night before, there will be fewer things to check off your list in the morning, and you can pace yourself more comfortably.

You snooze, you lose

If you’re the kind of person that punches the snooze button on the alarm at least fifteen times before finally getting out of bed, you’re going to hate us for this next one. Skip the snooze and get up when the alarm rings, and, after a groggy minute or two, you’ll start to feel more relaxed throughout the morning. Snoozing only gives you the illusion of more rest, so if you want to wake up feeling refreshed, it’s better to try

turning in earlier at night.

Breakfast of champions

This has been said so many times in so many articles, it’s almost a cliché. Start your day with a big breakfast, and you’re set.

It stabilises your blood sugar, keeps you full and less likely to indulge during the day, and thus keeps your weight gain at bay. Also, starting out the day on a full stomach can boost your productivity by a significant amount. And sweet lovers rejoice – if there’s ever a time when it’s okay to treat yourself to something sweet, it’s breakfast time.

Priorities

To-do lists are awesome. They help us plan and organise our

Not everyone has the luxury of taking one’s sweet time

days. But a to-do list that’s too ambitious can leave you feeling frazzled. Go ahead, make that list in order to put things into perspective, but focus on the priorities and focus on getting the three most important ones out of the way before you look at the rest. Strategising about a smaller number of tasks makes it easier to manage, and helps you feel accomplished.l

19

DT

Biz Info

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

| event |

MIB Spirit’s unique Fall Meet-up

MIB Spirit - Made in Bangladesh is a lifestyle brand that has specialised in crafting bags and currently focuses on a range of products, including accessories that ignite feelings of national pride and patriotism. Dedicated to

the local wisdom and environment of Bangladesh, all products introduced by this brand are

green, locally sourced, stylish and of top-notch quality.

Meet-Up is its flagship event platform where the public, loyal customers and stakeholders are invited to share a conversation, meet with each other and

connect. These meetup events are organised every two months at MIB Spirit’s design studio.

Bangladesh has invited 15 local boutique and craft brands who practice ethical business. These brands will display and sell their products throughout the event.

Ajo will be available at the event

and more. Closet De Tatiana, Sweet Potato, Rene’ Bangladesh and Print Me Yellow by Sabah Khan will be attending the event with boutique, handmade purses, clutches, handbags and many

This is a public event where the brand representatives directly meet and interact with the guests, have a conversation and share experiences - thus getting the chance to engage others with the brand.

Through this meetup, MIB Spirit’s main motive is to allow selected F-commerce brands to also display their flair and inventiveness. These meet-ups are usually thematic, curated for each season of the year.

To celebrate fall this year, Made in Bangladesh, aka MIB Spirit, is organising the Monsoon Meet-up & Craft Fair, co-hosted by Ajo - fast casual and relaxed dining, Head Office Communication and SM products. The event will be held on October 13, 14 and 15, from 12PM-8PMm at MIB Spirit - Made in Bangladesh Studio Premises, house 50, road 10 /A, Dhanmondi.

This time, MIB Spirit - Made in

for dine-ins and takeaways, and will serve a few popular items from the prior menu, as well as some new ones. SM Products will also showcase their premium notebook series.

Stellar will be there to exhibit home decor, pastel dream catchers, organic jarred candles, notebooks, totes, pencil bags, art-prints and many other quirky items at the Fall Meet-Up. Made with love, Boka Baksho and Ruth will showcase and sell artworks, goodies, illustrations, bookmarks

more amazing new kits.

Sundarbans Busy Bee will also bring their 100% pure wild honey, harvested directly from the Sundarbans, to add that extra sweetness to the event.

There will be more exciting and creative attendees like Leela, Amar Bangladesh and Cartoon People, who will display their art installations.

Dhaka Tribune, Radio Shadin, Ice Today, UNB, Bengal Beats and 71tv will be acting as MIB’s media partners.l

chartered insurer, managing director and CEO, Green Delta

Insurance Company Ltd, and Syed Moinuddin Ahmed, CEO, GD

Assist Limited, were also present at the event. l

| talk |

GD Assist organises health talk at MH Shomorita Medical College & Hospital GD Assist Limited – a subsidiary of Green Delta Insurance Company Limited, recently organised a health talk for the doctors and students of MH Samorita Medical College & Hospital. The session titled “Health Talk on Weight Loss Surgery” was conducted by Dr Andrea Ooi Se En, consultant bariatric & medical surgeon, clinical assistant professor, University Abdul Rahman

Malaysia.

The event is part of GD Assist Ltd’s continuous effort in creating health awareness and promote healthy lifestyles. GD Assist Limited regularly organises such health talks and medical consultations in Bangladesh, as a part of its knowledge sharing initiatives between medical professionals of Bangladesh and Malaysia.

Farzana Chowdhury ACII (UK),

DT

20 Editorial

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

TODAY

Will Brexit take the great out of Britain?

Even if Germany, Holland, France, and many other countries would want to give the UK a good deal, this is not enough PAGE 21

Our dead young politicians These young politicians who are getting killed wanted to serve their country and compatriots as well in their own ways.

Noble enough causes, but what was the point, given that their lives were cut so short?

PAGE 22

Act against militants or face international isolation Whenever action has been taken against certain groups by civilian authorities, the security establishment has worked behind the scenes to set the arrested free 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.

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Standing with the Shia community this Ashura

T

oday is Ashura, one of the holiest days of the year for Shia Muslims.

This year brings us a fresh chance to leave behind sectarian tensions and stand with Bangladesh’s Shia community, who comprise of a small but vibrant, valued, and valuable minority among Muslims in Bangladesh.

Many will remember how last year’s Ashura was marred by violence, when bomb attacks at a Shia community procession to mark the holy day killed a teenage boy and injured more than 100 people.

About a week later, gunmen opened fire on a Shia mosque in Bogra, killing the muezzin and three others.

These attacks were an affront to our spirit of sectarian harmony, and have no place in Bangladesh.

This is not who we are.

We must all stand vigilant and united to make sure last year’s shameful and cowardly acts are not repeated this year or any other year for that matter.

Unlike many other nations, Bangladesh does not have a history of Shia-Sunni conflict. We certainly cannot afford to start going down that road now. Nor will we.

Let us stand together to ensure a safe and harmonious Ashura for all. Bangladesh’s longstanding history of religious tolerance and communal solidarity is much stronger than the hate of the tiny minority who wish to undermine it.

Ashura symbolises a struggle against injustice, recalling, when, 1,300 years ago, Imam Hussein (RA) took a stand against the brutal forces of Yazid in the fields of Karbala.

Let us not stand for any injustices on this holy day.

Let us stand together to ensure a safe and harmonious Ashura for all

DT

21

Opinion

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

Will a hard Brexit take the great out of Great Britain?

So much for taking back control

n Azeem Ibrahim

T

heresa May has finally spelled out the future of the UK in her party conference speech. It will be hard Brexit. And it will be a disaster.

The Article 50 process will be triggered next year and the government’s negotiating position is that immigration will be prioritised over continued membership of the European Single Market.

Of course, the official story is that curbs on immigration are the non-negotiable red line for the government, while they will also try to get the best trade relationship with the European Bloc.

But, in practice, this means that Britain will be unceremoniously kicked out of the Single Market before the end of 2019, and will have to resume trade with all of the rest of the world on WTO rules.

Fantasists like Liam Fox and Boris Johnson will continue to insist that we will be able to get favourable trading conditions with Europe, but their nonsense will be exposed before long.

For one, nobody in Europe has any reason to reward Britain for shunning the European project.

How anyone can look at the appointment of Guy Verhofstadt, the federalist former prime minister of Belgium, as Europe’s lead Brexit negotiator and think that France and Germany are lining up to give the UK a good deal is baffling.

And the other aspect of this is that, even if Germany, Holland, France, and many other countries would want to give the UK a good deal, this is not enough. When the European Union negotiates such deals, for a trade treaty to come in effect, it must be ratified by the parliaments of all member countries.

Terms of the deed

Back in January, when Boris Johnson was touting the Canada deal as a model of what Britain can achieve in Brexit negotiations, what he conveniently glossed over is that the terms of the deal had been agreed back in 2014.

It was held up for two years until this year because the Czech

Republic, Romania, and Bulgaria refused to ratify the deal until Canada agreed to give their citizens visa-free access to the country.

The notion that these, and other Eastern European countries, would agree to give Britain a good trade deal when the UK is leaving the Bloc specifically so it can discriminate against their citizens is, frankly, insane.

The short of it, then, is that, with her Sunday speech, Theresa May has effectively destroyed any prospect of a preferential trade arrangement with Europe. The UK will have the same level of access to the European market that Ethiopia has. Egypt will have an easier time trading into Europe than British exporters.

Even if Germany, Holland, France, and many other countries would want to give the UK a good deal, this is not enough.

When the European Union negotiates such deals, for a trade treaty to come in effect, it must be ratified by the parliaments of all member countries

Theresa May’s ‘hard Brexit’ is setting up to be a disaster And the really fun part is that the UK loses not only access to the markets of the EU and the EEA themselves, but also to the market of 50+ other countries that we had access to as members of the Single Market.

Any takers?

Will there be takers for free trade deals with the newly

“independent” UK? Sure. The Chinese must already be licking their lips at the prospects. As are many of the largest and most predatory American corporations.

And Putin’s henchmen are probably already tabulating their spreadsheets.

Theresa May has just made this country fully vulnerable to the caprices of the titans of global

trade.

Next time, neither she nor her successors will have the luxury to put a project like Hinkley on hold for a reassessment for a few months. Nor will the Chinese ambassador need to express loud objections.

Next time, the government will be told exactly what to do, where and when. Like Hong Kong in

REUTERS

reverse. So much for taking back control. 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. This article previously appeared in Al Arabiya News. He tweets @AzeemIbrahim.

DT

22

Opinion

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

Our dead young politicians Young politicians in our country are often killed before their time

Our politics cannot be separated from bureaucracy and violence

BIGSTOCK

These young politicians who are getting killed wanted to serve their country and compatriots as well in their own ways. Noble enough causes, but what was the point, given that their lives were cut so short?

n Faruque Hasan

I

was sitting in the office of my friend’s garments processing and dyeing plant in Mirpur, speaking to him. The security guard appeared at the door, and told my friend that a young man would like to see him. “OK, let him come in,” my friend replied.

In a minute, a rickety-looking young man, most likely in his early 20s, came into the room. My friend asked him to have a seat. He did

so, and then introduced himself as the cultural secretary of the student union of a nearby college, not forgetting to mention that he was also the president of the local unit of the student wing of a political party.

My friend wanted to know the purpose of his visit. The young man asked for Tk5,000 as a donation for a cultural program that was to be organised by the student union of his college.

Without any further talk, my

friend told his accountant to give the boy the sum he asked for and then resumed the conversation we were having. A few minutes later, the accountant came back with the money and gave it to the boy. The boy took the money and got up to leave. “Please pray for me; I start my political career today,” the boy asked of us.

We didn’t care much for his request.

I started to ruminate: What did he mean by “I start my political career today”? When I inquired, my friend said: “You know, this is the first time that boy has collected ‘chanda’ from a businessman -- he thinks that’s politics.”

I did not pray for the boy for his success in politics -- doing him a favour. Nowadays, the lives of politicians, especially young ones, in Bangladesh are mired

in conflict. If we go through the pages of daily newspapers, we see how most such young men and women are not only getting killed in inter-party conflicts, but in intra-party conflicts as well.

These days, inter-party conflict in our politics is a thing of the past, while factional infighting is now the most decisive killer of young politicians.

Let’s go through some old issues off of our national dailies.

On August 8, a local youth leader was hacked to death by miscreants at Jamirakanda village in Purbadhola upazila of Netrakona district. On August 13, a youth leader was hacked to death by unidentified miscreants at Balaishpur village of Lakshmipur Sadar upazila.

On August 31, a local student leader was hacked to death in Khulna. On September 10, a ward-level youth leader was shot dead by some unknown assailants in Kanchana union of Satkania upazila. On September 21, a local student leader was found dead in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila.

There are at least 10 more instances of such deaths that I could have listed here for dramatic effect, but I hope I’ve gotten the severity of the situation through.

These young politicians who are getting killed wanted to serve their country and compatriots as well in their own ways. Noble enough causes, but what was the point, given that their lives were cut so short? How could I have given that young man my blessings knowing his probable fate?

The lives of our youths matter.

To save our budding politicians’ lives, we need to root out the causes of such killings. The politicisation of various highlylucrative businesses such as the admission business, room allotment at student dormitory business, tender manipulation, sand lifting, land grabbing, etc, could be a few possible avenues that we can explore.

Our nation’s bigger political parties must reach a consensus to stop this politicisation, or shut down the branches of their parties, youth wings, and student wings at each and every village, ward, and mahalla of the country. Many of our youth and student leaders flock to politics, attracted by those lucrative businesses. The trend of killing of young politicians, if not stopped, will only get worse as time progresses. l Faruque Hasan is a freelance contributor.

DT

23

Special

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

Act against militants or face international isolation Prime Minister Sharif’s new attempts are a gamble

n Cyril Almeida

I

n a blunt, orchestrated, and unprecedented warning, the civilian government has informed the military leadership of a growing international isolation of Pakistan and sought consensus on several key actions by the state.

As a result of the most recent meeting, an undisclosed one on the day of the All Parties’ Conference on Monday, at least two sets of actions have been agreed.

All Parties’ Conference, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry gave a separate, exclusive presentation in the Prime Minister’s Office to a small group of civil and military officials.

The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Sharif and included senior cabinet and provincial officials. On the military side, ISI DG Rizwan Akhtar led the representatives.

The presentation by the foreign secretary summarised the results of the recent diplomatic outreach

by Pakistan, the crux being that

Whenever action has been taken against certain groups by civilian authorities, the security establishment has worked behind the scenes to set the arrested free First, ISI DG Gen Rizwan Akhtar, accompanied by National Security Adviser Nasser Janjua, is to travel to each of the four provinces with a message for provincial apex committees and ISI sector commanders.

The message: Military-led intelligence agencies are not to interfere if law enforcement acts against militant groups that are banned, or until now considered off-limits for civilian action. Gen Akhtar’s inter-provincial tour has begun with a visit to Lahore.

Second, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed that fresh attempts be made to conclude the Pathankot investigation and restart the stalled Mumbai attacksrelated trials in a Rawalpindi antiterrorism court.

Those decisions, taken after an extraordinary verbal confrontation between Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and the ISI DG, appear to indicate a high-stakes new approach by the PML-N government.

The following account is based on conversations with Dawn of individuals present in the crucial meetings this week.

All declined to speak on the record and none of the attributed statements were confirmed by the individuals mentioned.

Foreign secretary’s presentation On Monday, on the day of the

Pakistan faces diplomatic isolation and that the government’s talking points have been met with indifference in major world capitals.

On the US, Mr Chaudhry said that relations have deteriorated and will likely further deteriorate because of the American demand that action be taken against the Haqqani network. On India, Mr Chaudhry stated that the completion of the Pathankot investigation and some visible action against Jaish-i-Mohammad were the principal demands.

Then, to a hushed but surprised room, Mr Chaudhry suggested that while China has reiterated its support for Pakistan, it too has indicated a preference for a change in course by Pakistan. Specifically, while Chinese authorities have conveyed their willingness to keep putting on technical hold a UN ban on Jaish-i-Mohammad leader Masood Azhar, they have questioned the logic of doing so repeatedly.

Extraordinary exchange

The foreign secretary’s unexpectedly blunt conclusions triggered an astonishing and potentially ground-shifting exchange between the ISI DG and several civilian officials.

In response to Foreign Secretary Chaudhry’s conclusions, Gen Akhtar asked what steps could be

Will Sharif’s gamble pay off ? taken to prevent the drift towards isolation. Mr Chaudhry’s reply was direct and emphatic: The principal international demands are for action against Masood Azhar and the Jaish-i-Mohmmad; Hafiz Saeed and the Lashkar-e-Taiba; and the Haqqani network.

To that, Gen Akhtar offered that the government should arrest whomever it deems necessary, though it is unclear whether he was referring to particular individuals or members of banned groups generally. At that point came the stunning and unexpectedly bold intervention

by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

Addressing Gen Akhtar, the younger Sharif complained that whenever action has been taken against certain groups by civilian authorities, the security establishment has worked behind the scenes to set the arrested free. Astounded onlookers describe a stunned room that was immediately aware of the extraordinary, unprecedented nature of the exchange.

To defuse tensions, Prime Minister Sharif himself addressed Gen Akhtar and said that policies pursued in the past were state policies, and as such, they were the collective responsibility of the state and that the ISI DG was not being accused of complicity in present-day events.

PM’s strategy?

Several eyewitnesses to the incredible events of Monday believe that the foreign secretary’s presentation and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s intervention were orchestrated by the prime minister to stir the military to action, leading to the decision to dispatch

REUTERS

the ISI DG on an inter-provincial tour.

Yet, according to the accounts shared with Dawn, the sparring between the ISI DG and civilian officials did not degenerate into acrimony.

Earlier in the meeting, ISI DG Gen Akhtar stated that not only is it the military’s policy to not distinguish between militant groups, but that the military is committed to that policy prevailing. The ISI chief did mention concerns about the timing of action against several groups, citing the need to not be seen as buckling to Indian pressure or abandoning the Kashmiri people.

Gen Akhtar also readily agreed to tour the provinces at the direction of the prime minister, issue fresh orders to ISI sector commanders and meet with provincial apex committees to chalk out specific actions that need to be taken in various provinces.

According to several government officials, Monday’s confrontation was part of a highstakes gamble by Prime Minister Sharif to try and forestall further diplomatic pressure on Pakistan.

In separate meetings with the army chief, participants describe an animated and energised Mr Sharif, who has argued that Pakistan faces real isolation if policy adjustments are not made.

Government officials, however, are divided about whether Prime Minister Sharif’s gamble will pay off. According to one official, commenting on the ISI DG’s commitments, “This is what we prayed to hear all our lives. Let’s see if it happens.”

Another government official

offered: “Wait till November to see if action will be taken. By then a lot of things will be settled.”

Military officials declined to comment.

Clarification: The spokesman for Prime Minister’s Office on Thursday denied a story appearing in Dawn on October 6 regarding “purported deliberations” of a meeting held on security issues. The spokesman termed contents of the story not only speculative but misleading and factually incorrect, describing it as an “amalgamation of fiction and fabrication.”

Dispelling the impression created by the report, headlined “Act against militants or face international isolation, civilians tell military,” he said that intelligence agencies, particularly the ISI, are working in line with the state policy in the best interest of the nation, both at the federal and provincial levels to act against terrorists of all hue and colour without any discrimination.

Indeed the army’s and ISI’s role and contributions towards implementation of NAP have been proactive and unwavering, the spokesman said. Meanwhile, the office of the chief minister of Punjab also denied the comments attributed to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif in the news story. l This news report has been rejected by the Office of the Prime Minister in Islamabad as a fabrication.

Dawn maintains the truthfulness of this report.

Cyril Almeida is a Pakistani journalist.

This article was previously published in Dawn.

DT

24 Sport

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

BANGLADESH V ENGLAND 3RD ODI, ZACS HEAD-TO-HEAD

TOP STORIES

BANGLADESH ENGLAND 18 Matches 18 4 Wins 14 14 Losses 4 22.22 Win % 77.77 Kayes (374) MR Strauss (610) Tamim (125) HS Strauss (154) Shakib (14) MW Flintoff (12) Mashrafe (4/29) BB Collingwood (6/31)

‘I think incidents will fire up both teams’ The high-voltage third and final ODI between Bangladesh and England today is all set to usher in the newest rivalry in world cricket following the much-talked about war of words after the second game in Mirpur on Sunday. PAGE 25

Tamim is 34 runs away from becoming the first Bangladesh batsman to score 5,000 runs in ODIs Ben Stokes needs 13 runs to reach 1000 in ODIs.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Is it the end of a tunnel?

The crisis in Bangladesh football right now is nothing new. It has been years since their decline began while some would argue that it stretches back to a decade.

Monday’s defeat against Bhutan was the lowest point though. PAGE 26

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan is a picture of concentration during a nets session at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Mashrafe: Criticism hasn’t touched me at all n Tribune Report

Kohli gets mace after India top rankings Skipper and champion batsman Virat Kohli was yesterday presented with the ICC Test Championship mace as India were officially crowned the number one side after their 3-0 thrashing of New Zealand. PAGE 27

Pogba fires France as Portugal run riot A searing first-half strike from Manchester United starlet Paul Pogba handed France a 1-0 win at rivals the Netherlands as Belgium and Portugal clocked up 6-0 victories and Christian Benteke grabbed a slice of World Cup qualifying history. PAGE 28

The clash and heated conversation between the Bangladesh and England cricketers during and after the second ODI in Mirpur on Sunday gave birth to a lot of anger and discussions.

Countless Tigers fans were unhappy as captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza and Sabbir Rahman were both fined 20 percent of their match fee while English skipper Jos Buttler only received an official reprimand for breaching the International Cricket Council’s Code of Conduct.

However, one of the men in question, Mashrafe, said he is not reading too much into the situation and only concentrating on the series decider, scheduled for today at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong.

“Actually the discussion and criticism have not touched me at all. I don’t even know what happened. Yes, Sabbir and I got fined, but I have not been thinking about these things. I have never thought about these things in my career,” Mashrafe told the media yesterday.

“If you look at the past, I have played for 16 years, we have heard

comments of many people and we have kept on playing. The Bangladesh team played (in the right spirit) and I don’t think that we did something unjustly.

“Even we have heard comments from others. Yes, maybe many things might happen in the heat of the moment, so one doesn’t have to go overboard with this. Everyone will have to take this easily.

Match referee was there, he saw our mistakes and we have been fined. I have accepted this and it is a gentleman’s game so we will try to play our best,” he said.

The Tigers skipper added that they are not tensed or nervous on the eve of the third and final ODI and that they are approaching it normally.

“As far as our team are concerned, I hope it will be a normal match. We are concentrating on our preparation. Obviously, we will start the game as we always do. I am expecting nothing to happen on the ground. I am also expecting a good match,” he said.

Meanwhile, there are major concerns regarding the weather in the port city, especially in the last 24 hours. Persistent rainfall is threatening the deciding game and Mashrafe said, “Firstly, since

it’s raining, obviously this is a matter of concern because we have to think of how the weather will behave [today]. A lot will depend on how the wicket will behave [today].”

Bangladesh will be targeting their seventh consecutive ODI series win at home but Mashrafe said they will need to be on their guard against an established side like England.

“Not really, as I said England are doing really well. In the first press conference, I said England are playing really well and even in the last two matches, they were on top. Luckily, we won the second match. Yes, we played well, but we have not been up to the mark,” he said.

“The next match is obviously a big match for us, we will try our best. You asked if we were favourites, I don’t think so.

“For a team to win, they have to play well in all departments.

If you talk about top-order batting or if you see the first match, the dropped catches cost us, I feel that it is important to have balance in all departments. We have the ability to play well in all departments and we are thinking about that.” l

MAHMUDULLAH A lot will depend on one of the most effective and in-form batsman in the shape of Mahmudullah when Bangladesh take on England in the third and final ODI in Chittagong today. The 30-year old was the highest scorer with 75 runs in the second ODI where the Bangladesh batsmen faced some controlled bowling from the visitors. He scored exactly 100 runs in two matches so far and the home side will want another mature innings from the stylish right-hander in order to clinch a memorable win in the much-talked about series.

BEN STOKES It has been an eventful tour so far for English middle-order batsman Ben Stokes after the left-hander smashed a hundred in the first ODI, guiding his side to a 21-run win over the Tigers. However, the 25-year old Durham cricketer was out for a duck in the second match.

His participation in the game did not stop there as he got engaged in a clash with Tamim Iqbal during the handshake formalities after their 34-run defeat. The spotlight will surely be on Stokes in the high-octane series decider.

25

DT

Sport

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

ECB declines request for reserve day in Chittagong n Cricinfo

The England and Wales Cricket Board has declined a request from the BCB to include a reserve day for the third ODI in Chittagong, a spokesman confirmed. The offer was made due to the inclement weather conditions which are threatening a washout of the series decider.

On Monday, 30mm of rain was recorded in the port city which is experiencing unseasonal rain.

Yesterday also saw plenty of rain, and the drizzle continued in the evening. Both teams were forced indoor for training while the ground was mostly under covers.

The forecast for today isn’t encouraging but there is chance of rain abating after 4pm which could offer a shortened game.

The ECB said they did consider the request but the nature of the tour didn’t allow them the last-minute change.

“The ECB were asked whether it would be possible to schedule a rain day. At this late stage, and on a compact tour, it is sadly not possible,” said the ECB spokesman. l

England off-spinner Moeen Ali bowls while leg-spinner Adil Rashid looks on during training in Chittagong yesterday

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

‘I think incidents will fire up both teams’ n Tribune Report The high-voltage third and final ODI between Bangladesh and England today is all set to usher in the newest rivalry in world cricket following the much-talked about war of words after the second game of the three-match series at Sher-eBangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Sunday.

It all started when England captain Jos Buttler and the Bangladesh fielders got engaged in a heated conversation following his dismissal in the second ODI. The excitement reached its peak when Ben Stokes and Tamim Iqbal

got involved in another clash during the handshake formalities after the game.

And according to English all-rounder Moeen Ali, neither of the two teams will give no quarter today.

“Regarding the (previous) game, some of the guys got heated up and that can happen in a competitive game. I think we have players who can get heated up and also Bangladesh have players who can get heated up and that’s what it was really. That has been put to bed now and we can concentrate on the game,” Moeen told the media during the pre-match press conference

at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.

“I think it will just fire up both the teams. I think both the teams will be wanting to win more than before. Bangladesh have not lost a home series for six series now. And I know some of our players, especially our captain will desperately want to win this game.

“I know from Bangladesh’s point of view it [Buttler’s wicket] was a big wicket. They celebrated. But there is also a way you celebrate sometimes. But things can happen before and after a match, it will just fire up everybody and makes it for a good series now.

last two years. So hopefully [today] we can play the way we have been batting and not just throw our wickets away,” said the left-handed batsman.

The 29-year old went on to praise the security arrangements organised by the hosts.

“I have never seen security like this. It’s been the best. In other words another country will have to do well to beat this security that’s been provided and I think it’s a big thing. I will definitely encourage other teams to come. So far it’s been amazing and I will really encourage other teams to come,” he said.l

England’s Hameed oversleeps!

India thrash Bangladesh in Kabaddi WC n Tribune Report Bangladesh kabaddi team conceded their first defeat in the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup as they lost to favourites and hosts India 57-20 in their second match in Ahmedabad yesterday. Captain Aruduzzaman Munshi scored six points for Bangladesh while raider Pardeep Narwal scored the game’s highest eight total points for the home side. l

“Hopefully both the teams will behave well in this game and according to the rules of the game and we can look back at the series and say this was a very good cricketing series,” said Moeen.

Moeen informed that the most disappointing aspect of the second ODI was that they were unable to play their natural game of recent times.

“I think the most disappointing thing was we batted a little bit like the old England for the first time in a couple of years. That’s more disappointing than the way we lost.

We would rather lose the game playing the way we played in the

n Tribune Report

England teenager Haseeb Hameed smiles before training in Chittagong yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Teenager Haseeb Hameed, who joined the England side for the upcoming twomatch Test series, had an embarrassing start to the tour as he held up the side’s departure for training for at least eight minutes yesterday when he overslept after completing a long journey from the UK to Bangladesh.

Hameed, who scored heavily in Division One of the English County Championship this year, was reminded of the time by England and Wales Cricket Board’s security expert Reg Dickason

before he rushed towards the team bus containing the visitors’ 39-man strong party.

He was given a verbal warning by the English assistant coach Paul Farbrace while head coach Trevor Bayliss also had a quiet word with him but he escaped a fine with the management not willing to go hard on the youngster.

Hameed is contesting for the opening spot in the Test side.

Test captain Alastair Cook had earlier joined the touring party while veteran cricketer Gareth Batty later arrived to complete the visitors’ squad.l

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

POST-MORTEM OF BANGLADESH FOOTBALL

Is it the end of a tunnel? n Shishir Hoque The crisis existing in Bangladesh football right now is nothing new.

It has been several years since their decline began while some would even argue that it stretches back as far as a decade. But Monday’s humiliating defeat against Bhutan was so abject that it was labelled in many quarters as the death of Bangladesh football.

Let’s face the facts first. Bangladesh were never among the top 100 teams in the world ever since the creation of the ranking system in 1993. They had never been a big team in Asia as well. They were one of the best teams in South Asia but that was more than a decade ago.

In recent years, they had been being outplayed regularly against the likes of Afghanistan, India, Maldives and Nepal.

Losing to Bhutan for the first time in history was not the biggest concern. It can happen to any team in the world but what was difficult to accept was their uninspiring per-

formance.

Therefore, the time has finally come for Bangladesh football to rebuild from scratch.

Looking back to the year 2003, Bangladesh had won their first and only South Asian Football Federation title till date. They finished runners-up in the following edition two years later. Most of the players were at their peak.

However, since then, almost all the players of the title-winning squad have retired. A new generation of players are being groomed by the Bangladesh Football Federation.

With that said, it is well known that the BFF has failed to predict the future of the country’s football scenario. Football’s governing body in the country seems to be lacking the word “development” in its vocabulary. They somehow managed to make domestic league regular on the pitch but has rarely made any attempt to produce players. It took 43 years for them to finally build a football academy but since then three years have elapsed

with absolutely no activity taking place there. Looking back in time, it is no surprise to see Bangladesh struggling.

What’s more, the BFF has failed to add any glamour to domestic football. Questions regarding the players’ professionalism are refusing to go away. There has also been allegations of match-fixing for a long time now.

The BFF’s lack of attention towards the players’ development and non-professionalism from the clubs have ensured that the new generation of footballers would be vulnerable technically, physically and psychologically. Majority of the players these days have rarely contributed to the national team’s cause.

Bangladesh have no major Fifa/ Afc events at least for the next two years, right until the beginning of the qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup and the 2023 Asian Cup. This period should be utilised properly by the relevant authorities.

Ten out of 23 players from the latest squad against Bhutan will be

over 30 years old in the next two years, including the likes of Mamunul Islam, Jahid Hasan Ameli and Mamun Miah, among others.

BFF general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag admitted there is no return from where they are now. He spoke with authority that the BFF will “look after everything, make overall planing and assessment”. The words however, are nothing new.

There maybe a new group of players but what about the situation of the footballers in the pipeline? Apparently, they are nowhere near good enough.

Who are to blame? The federation, the clubs or the players? There is plenty of time now to ponder and rebuild again.

Along with the results and performances, there has been instability of head coaches in the national team. The coach has been changed as many as 19 times in the last 10 years, including four in the previous 12 months. Now, Bangladesh must appoint a permanent coach for the long term, at least for three

to four years.

The Asian Football Confederation will introduce the Solidarity Cup next month with the participation of teams who have failed to qualify for the Asian Cup Qualifiers. The opportunity to play international friendlies has increased over the years so there will still be some platform to see how the newly-shaped football team would do in the upcoming years.

From next year onward, the football federation will get more than double the financial support from Fifa than they used to get previously. They are preparing a plan of their future activities that they will present to the world football’s governing body in a month. In the context of the current situation, the national team and development of the players should be the top-most priorities in the proposal.

Will the BFF finally learn and be serious? Because if they don’t act soon, the country’s football will be non-existent sooner rather than later. l

18TH NCL, RD 3, DAY 4 TIER 1 DHAKA 523 v BARISAL 103/1d Match drawn KHULNA 293 v DHAKA METROPOLIS 59/0d Match drawn

TIER 2 RANGPUR 234 & 233/7 in 79 overs (Saymon 94, Jahid 52, Sanjamul 4/106) v RAJSHAHI 268 Match drawn SYLHET 444 & 243/5d in 42 overs (Zakir 86, Kapali 58, Arif 3/85) v CHITTAGONG 315 & 146/9 in 57.3 overs (Saeed 68, Rahatul 5/48, Yasir 23) Match drawn Action from the IHF Trophy match between the Bangladesh women’s team and their Afghanistan counterparts in Dhaka yesterday

POINTS TABLE TIER 1 Teams

M

W

L

D

Pts

Barisal

3

0

0

3

23

Khulna

3

0

0

3

19

Dhaka Metro

3

0

0

3

15

Dhaka

3

0

0

3

13 Pts

TIER 2 Teams

M

W

L

D

Rajshahi

3

1

0

2

33

Rangpur

3

1

0

2

28

Sylhet

3

0

1

2

19

Chittagong

3

0

1

2

18

COURTESY

Bangladesh men, women reach IHF semis n Tribune Report Hosts Bangladesh, Nepal and arch-rivals India and Pakistan reached the semi-finals in the men’s category of the International Handball Federation Trophy after winning their respective matches yesterday.

In the women’s section, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan completed the semi-finals line up.

Bangladesh women’s team defeated Afghanistan 34-7 in the first match. Bangladesh led the first half 16-2. Rubina was the highest-scorer with nine goals for Bangladesh.

The second match of the day in the women’s section was a nail-biting affair with Pakistan edging Nepal 21-20. Nepal were leading 20-19 moments away from the final whistle before Pakistan scored two goals in the last minute to register

an exciting victory. Sehar Iqbal of Pakistan was the highest scorer with nine goals. Nisha Roy of Nepal also netted nine.

In the third match of day, India beat Maldives 51-13 to cruise into the last four. Menika and Nidhi scored nine and eight goals respectively for India.

In the men’s category, Nepal prevailed over Maldives 32-21 in the first match of the day. KC Chan-

dra of Nepal netted nine times to steer his team to victory. Mohammad Firoz scored eight goals for the losing side.

In the second match of the day, Pakistan outplayed Afghanistan 44-20 to top the group. Belal scored highest 11 goals for Pakistan. Both the teams progressed to the last four.

In the third match of the day, Bangladesh outplayed Sri Lanka.l

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

3RD TEST, DAY 4

QUICK BYTES

INDIA 557/5d & 216/3d in 49 overs (Pujara 101, Gambhir 50, Patel 2/56) beat NEW ZEALAND 299 & 153 (Ashwin 7/59, Jadeja 2/45, Taylor 32) by 321 runs

Smiling Sharapova plays Las Vegas charity event Maria Sharapova set foot on a tennis court for the first time since her positive drug test at the Australian Openon Monday, smiling throughout an appearance in the World Team Tennis Smash Hits charity event in Las Vegas. The Russian star, who last week earned a reduction in her drug ban that will allow her to return to tennis in April, played in two light-hearted doubles matches in the event at Caesar’s Palace to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Sharapova lost her doubles match with American youngster Taylor Johnson when they faced Martina Navratilova and Liezel Huber. The 29-year-old indicated had felt a hint of nerves along with her 16-year-old doubles partner Johnson.

ICC TEST RANKINGS Rank Team

Iran fans banned from celebrating on holy day

–AFP

DAY’S WATCH CRICKET

GAZI TV, BTV, STAR SPORTS 4 2:30PM England Tour of Bangladesh 3rd ODI

TEN 3 5:30PM Australia Tour of South Africa 5th ODI

STAR SPORTS 1 10:00AM New Zealand Tour of India 3rd Test, Day 5

FOOTBALL STAR SPORTS 1 7:30PM Indian Super League Pune v North East United

KABADDI STAR SPORTS 2 Kabaddi World Cup 2016 8:30PM Poland v Japan 9:40PM Australia v Argentina

India

29

3328

115

2

Pakistan

25

2767

111

3

Australia

36

3905

108

4

England

41

4427

108

5

S Africa

25

2412

96

6

Sri Lanka

32

3055

95

7

New Zealand 35

3189

91

8

West Indies 26

1749

67

9

Bangladesh 12

687

57

10

Zimbabwe

54

8

7

Former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar presenting the ICC Test Championship mace to Indian skipper Virat Kohli after the end of 3rd Test match against New Zealand in Indore yesterday

–AFP

Iranian football fans faced a tricky balancing act Tuesday as they prepared for a clash with South Korea in the midst of a religious holiday in which they are banned from expressing joy. Many took part in mourning processions as they gathered at the 75,000-capacity Azadi (“freedom”) stadium in Tehran to mark the eve of Ashura, one of the holiest days in the Iranian calendar. For Shiite Muslims, Ashura marks the death of Imam Hussein in the seventh century, and is traditionally a day of sombre processions through the streets, in which black-clad men beat their chests and heads in anger and despair.

Matches Pts Rating

1

AP

Kohli receives mace after India tops Test rankings n AFP, Indore Skipper Virat Kohli was on Tuesday presented with the ICC Test Championship mace as India were officially crowned the number one side after their 3-0 thrashing of New Zealand.

India, who had reclaimed the top spot in the world Test rankings after taking an unassailable 2-0 series lead in Kolkata, won the third and final Test by 321 runs Tuesday

to consolidate their position.

Batting legend and ICC Hall of Famer Sunil Gavaskar presented Kohli with the mace on behalf of the International Cricket Council at Indore’s Holkar Stadium.

Kohli was only the second India captain after Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the 10th overall to receive the mace since its introduction in 2001.

The others are Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke,

Steve Smith (Australia), Andrew Strauss (England), Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla (South Africa) and Misbah-ul-Haq (Pakistan).

India are now four points in the ratings above arch-rivals Pakistan, who enjoyed the top spot only briefly after Misbah received the mace last month in Lahore.

“I’ve got a few Man of the Match awards, so have the boys. This is much more special. The last time India got the mace, I was watching

Zimbabwe appoint Streak as coach n AFP, Harare Former Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak has been appointed national cricket head coach to replace Dav Whatmore who was dismissed in June.

“Zimbabwe Cricket has named former captain Heath Streak as the new national head coach,” Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) said in a statement on Tuesday.

The 42-year-old was unveiled at a press conference in Zimbabwe’s second largest city Bulawayo after accepting a two-year contract.

“For me, having captained this country, to be offered the post of head coach is a great honour and I know with it comes responsibility not just to the players but to the fans and supporters of Zimbabwe cricket as well,” Streak said.

“My promise is, I will leave no stone unturned in terms of our endeavour and our quest to improve the team’s performances.

“I believe that we have the re-

sources here in Zimbabwe to do just that and planning is obviously going to be a major factor.”

Streak previously coached a local cricket team and had stints as bowling coach for Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. He takes over as Zimbabwe bid to qualify for the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. His immediate assignments are a two-match Test series at home to Sri Lanka, and a one-day international

tri-series involving West Indies.

“I feel that with the upcoming series and the latter half of next year we have some really good cricket coming up so we can really work towards improving,” he said.

“I do see a strong future. Obviously things don’t just happen overnight. It’s a process but I know that process can happen quickly and for me that will be a big goal to facilitate that,” he said. l

on TV,” said a delighted Kohli.

“The key right now is maintaining our game. We’re working really hard on the areas needing improvement and we’ve been able to correct the wrongs quickly and we’d like to continue that and give the people what they want to see.”

India had replaced Australia at the top of the rankings after their series win against the West Indies in August, only to be leapfrogged

by Pakistan later. l

Don’t rule out Roger and Rafa, warns Djokovic n AFP, Shanghai Novak Djokovic said Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal still rate among the world’s best on Tuesday after they both dropped out of the top four for the first time in 13 years.

Djokovic said it would be unwise to omit Federer and Nadal from an assessment of the world’s top players despite a new wave of talent which is fast closing on the elite ranks.

This week’s updated ATP tennis rankings are missing both Federer, 35, and Nadal, 30, who have 31 Grand Slam titles between them, for the first time since 2003.

“It’s kind of expected to have some new faces in this sport, but I still wouldn’t rule out Roger and Rafa and I would not take them out of that context of the best players in the world,” Djokovic said at the Shanghai Masters.l

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

RESULTS Belarus

1-1

Luxembourg

Savitskiy 80

Sweden

Joachim 85

3-0

Bulgaria

Toivonen 39, Hiljemark 45, Nilsson-Lindelöf 58

Netherlands

0-1

France Pogba 30

Latvia

0-2

Hungary Gyurcso 10, Szalai 77

Andorra

1-2

Martinez 90+1

Faroe Islands

Switzerland Schaer 19-P, Mehmedi 77

0-6

Portugal Silva 12, 22, 37, Cristiano Ronaldo 65, Moutinho 90+1, Cancelo 90+3

Estonia

0-2

Greece

Torosidis 1, Stafylidis 61

Bosnia

2-0

Cyprus

Dzeko 70, 80

Gibraltar

0-6

Belgium Benteke 1, 43, 55, Witsel 19, Mertens 51, Hazard 79

France’s midfielder Paul Pogba (C) vies with Netherlands’ midfielder Kevin Strootman during their FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifying match at the Amsterdam Arena in Amsterdam on MOnday AFP

Pogba fires France as Belgium, Portugal run riot n AFP, Amsterdam A searing first-half strike from Paul Pogba handed France a 1-0 win at rivals the Netherlands as Belgium and Portugal clocked up 6-0 victories and Christian Benteke grabbed a slice of World Cup qualifying history.

Criticised by coach Didier Deschamps for his performance in Friday’s 4-1 win over Bulgaria in Paris, the world’s most expensive footballer emphatically replied with a towering display for Les Bleus in Amsterdam in the most eye-catching fixture on Monday.

The Manchester United midfielder’s powerful hit from 25 metres out after half an hour left diving Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg able to get his hands to the fizzing ball but unable to stop it.

“I didn’t speak to him (Pogba), I just said a few words to him before entering the changing rooms, ‘I have confidence in you,’” said Deschamps.

“The match confirms what he is able to do. Pogba was much better in everything he did. He showed what he can do.

“We never doubted he could do

it. We mustn’t forget Paul is relatively young and he can still progress.”

France, losing finalists on home soil at Euro 2016, are equal on seven points at the top of Group A with Sweden, who beat Bulgaria 3-0 at home in Solna. The two countries will play on November 11 at the Stade de France.

Pogba, 23, was imperial in front of a central defence made up of Raphael Varane and Laurent Koscielny, who pushed back wave after wave of Dutch attacks.

And Pogba nearly doubled his account with a header off a Dimi-

tri Payet corner on 66 minutes just lacking power.

“If the team has a good match, I have a good match,” said a defiant Pogba. “If it’s a bad match, I have a bad match.

“We’re not going to talk about individual performances. It’s true it’s not always nice to hear criticism, ‘bad things’ about myself.

There wasn’t any answer. Today it was a good team effort.”

The French had a slight scare in the final minute but Hugo Lloris did well to keep out a Memphis Depay effort on the line.

“It’s an important win for us,

even if we could have had a larger lead,” said Deschamps.

“We could have hurt them more in the first half. It’s good to have got these two victories.”

The Dutch failed to make it to the Euros and now sit third in the group, needing to improve fast if they are to make it to Russia in 2018.

“Our goalkeeper made a mistake which he never makes in training,” said coach Danny Blind.

“We played better in the second half and we should have had at least a point because we had chances at the end of the match.”l

Australia draw against Japan n AFP, Melbourne

Pogba willing to do the hard yards to help Utd

Australia came from behind through a Mile Jedinak penalty to grab a 1-1 draw against Japan to remain unbeaten in Asian World Cup qualifiers in Melbourne on Tuesday.

The Blue Samurai rocked the Socceroos with a fifth-minute goal from midfielder Genki Haraguchi but skipper Jedinak retrieved a point in a tense game with his spot kick.

Australia have not beaten Japan for seven years, while the Japanese have still to win a World Cup qualifier in Australia. l

n Reuters

Genki Haraguchi of Japan in action with Ryan McGowan of Australia in Melbourne, Australia yesterday REUTERS

Paul Pogba feels more comfortable in an attacking midfield role but is willing to work on the defensive side of his game in order to adapt to manager Jose Mourinho’s tactics at Manchester United.

Pogba, who joined the Premier League club for a world record fee from Juventus in August, has been utilised in a deeper role by Mourinho and is yet to produce his best form at Old Trafford.

“I try to adapt. I am a player who would rather go forward. The

coach gave me instructions, I try to follow them,” Pogba told reporters after scoring the winner in France’s 1-0 victory over the Netherlands in a World Cup qualifier on Monday.

Pogba, 23, has played as one of two holding central midfielders for United, scoring one goal in eight matches and failing to control games in the way Mourinho would have hoped after paying $111m to sign him.

“I have to retrieve balls and make defensive efforts,” he said. “It cost me a bit to play differently, much like Pirlo. I have to play, be there to recover and play more for the team.”l

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Niggard (5) 4 Result of addition (3) 6 American state (4) 8 Divine messenger (5) 9 Venture (4) 11 Leave out (4) 12 Locations (5) 15 Raw hides (5) 18 Ugly amphibian (4) 20 Single occasion (4) 21 Command (5) 22 Rainbow goddess (4) 23 Cover (3) 24 Happening (5)

DOWN 1 Sounds of suffering (5) 2 Vision (5) 3 Governs (5) 4 Pretended (4) 5 Fitting (4) 7 Sun-dried brick (5) 10 Fissure (4) 13 Metal (4) 14 Tree (5) 15 Non-verse (5) 16 Deposit (5) 17 Small fish (5) 18 Work hard (4) 19 Sour (4)

29

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Downtime

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 3 represents T so fill T every time the figure 3 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

Showtime

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

BiralPakhir Mojma

A neo movement in Bengali cinema

Members of BiralPakhi Cine Club

n Rafid Imran Shuddho

E

very once in a while a revolution clouds over the realm of arts and culture. BiralPakhi Cine Club is a prime example of this phenomenon according to many Bengali artists today.

As solitary as a cat while free as a bird, BiralPakhi reflects on its name for a definitive goal of bringing cinema communities together who sincerely dedicate their true love to cinema and its experimental application.

It all started with Ishtiaque Zico’s idea to instill the ethos of a cinema club inside the hearts of people around him. His short film 720 Degrees is the only

Bangladeshi film yet to enter the Venice International film Festival followed by several other nominations in different international film fests. He has also won the HBO Short Film Award at SAIFF in New York; USA. As a matter of fact, the power of these amazing achievements is only second to the passion of all people combined at BiralPakhi Cine Club. Aspired to bring all cinema people under one roof, BiralPakhi has become a cinema hub.

Members of BiralPakhi range from below-the-line crew to renowned directors. However, this is not merely an audience exclusive club. Rather, it is primarily a community of

Mostofa Sarwar Farooki and Ishtiaque Zico

filmmakers only, which includes all the people connected to creation of cinema. Beside its dint of experimentation, the club has the intention to work with and within the Bangladeshi cinema industry. This has recently led to, one of the prominent filmmakers of our industry, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s presence at BiralPakhi.

The cat and bird appear together at every BiralPakhir Mojma; an event held once every month at different location all over Dhaka city. Mojma stands for meeting of people or a gathering of minds alike.

The upcoming Mojma, Mojma 5.0, which is scheduled to take place on October 15, will feature renowned architect and film

I have rediscovered the youth in cinema through this new crowd which reminds me of my early days – Mostofa Sarwar Farooki maker Enamul Karim Nirjhar, where he will embark on a twoway discussion with the audience to relate architecture with cinema. Cinemas are created, shown, talked-about, debated-on and studied in general amongst its peers at these events. For someone visiting Mojma, it appears to be an inspiring gettogether of a few hundred cinema folks. It’s a place where fellow filmmakers foster and inspire each other.

Signifying on the freedom of exploring the cinema form, president Zico welcomes anyone with passion, to jump-start. The philosophy of BiralPakhi dictates a rule of idea-before-action.

This means, you don’t need to own flashy gears to start making cinema; all you need is cinematic conviction. According to Zico: “If you have accidentally created something out of just a phone’s camera and your cinematic muse, you are welcome to become a member of BiralPakhi Cine Club.”

An artistic revolution might just be on its way for the country.

Most members of BiralPakhi Cine Club believe that it’s only a matter of time before this movement spearheads a cinematic evolution for a cinema-loving nation. l

WHAT TO WATCH

Wild Wild West HBO, 4:15pm Jim West is a former civil war hero and Artemus Gordon is a US marshal who is an expert at disguise. Arliss Loveless is a mad man threatening the country. President Ulysses Grant orders Jim and Artemus to team up against the villain and have him arrested. Jim and Artemus use their combined skills to outsmart Arliss during a train journey from Washington to Utah.

Cast: Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Salma Hayek Tomorrowland Star Movies, 11:30pm Bound by a shared destiny, a teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boygenius inventor embark on a mission to unearth the secrets of a place somewhere in time and space that exists in their collective memory.

Cast: George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Britt Robertson World War Z Zee Studio, 11:45pm

When former UN investigator Gerry Lane and his family get stuck in urban gridlock, he senses that it’s no ordinary traffic jam. His suspicions are confirmed when, suddenly, the city erupts into chaos. A lethal virus, spread through a single bite, is turning healthy people into something vicious, unthinking and feral. As the pandemic threatens to consume humanity, Gerry leads a worldwide search to find the source of the infection.

Cast: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, James Badge Dale l

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

Farooki reveals new film on Holey Artisan attack n Showtime Desk Film maker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, who is currently serving as a jury in the 20th Busan International Film Festival, has revealed that his film will chronicle the horrific events at the Holey Artisan Bakery this year.

The film, initially titled Holy Bakery, will be made as a singleshot film, the director disclosed.

In his words, the film will be an “intimate and intense” one.

“In that one-shot I believe we will be able to explore the complexity of South Asian politics, the rise of the culture of hatred, the rise of intolerance, the rise of militancy and conflict between the modern Bangladesh and a

small segment of those who are conservative,” Farooki exclusively told the American entertainment weekly Variety.

The film is based on the events of 1 July 2016, when militants took hostages at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan, Dhaka and ended up massacring a total of the 20 hostages.

Cast of the film is yet to be revealed while its filming will start from March 2017. Chabial, Farooki’s own production outfit, will produce the film with other partners.

Currently, Farooki is on postproduction phase with No Bed of Roses which stars international and local actors including Irrfan Khan, Nusrat Imroz Tisha, Parno Mittra and Rokeya Prachi. l

Kim is 'emotionally damaged'

n Showtime Desk Days after being held at gunpoint and robbed, Kim Kardashian, 35, is still incredibly traumatised, and she’s ready to see a specialist to talk through her feelings about it. “Kim is surrounded by her friends and family now,” a source informed close Kardashian told E! News. “She is really upset and is going to speak to a therapist in deeper lengths about this,” the source said.

After all, it is a certainly a traumatic experience to be dragged out of bed with a gun to the head, then tied up and locked up in a bathroom by strange men in masks.

The site reports that Kim is “emotionally damaged” over the ordeal, and adds that “it’s going to take a while to get over it.”

She has already cancelled an upcoming appearance in Dubai, and has been hiding out in New York City since all this went down on Sunday night.

For now, Kim probably won’t be publicly flaunting her expensive jewellery on social media as much as she used to, and it’s likely that she’ll be upping her security in a big way. Kim’s bodyguard, Pascal Duvier, was actually out with Kourtney Kardashian, 37, and Kendall Jenner, 20, when the robbery happened, so she was without protection in her giant suite. l

Guy Ritchie to direct Disney’s live-action

‘Aladdin’

n Showtime Desk The filmmaker who made his name directing snappy crime thrillers such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch is in talks with Disney to direct Aladdin, the latest in the studio’s venture to re-tell the classic fantasy for contemporary audiences.

Disney’s earlier classic animated feature titled Aladdin, released in 1992, had won two

Oscars, with Robin Williams providing the voice of Genie.

John August, the writer of Big Fish, has written the script and Dan Lin of The Lego Movie fame is producing. Sources say they will keep many of the musical elements of the original.

Ritchie, who directed the first two Sherlock Holmes films with Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, most recently wrapped King Arthur: Legend of the Sword with Charlie Hunnam and Jude Law. l

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Back Page

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

ERL NEW UNIT WORK STALLED PAGE 12

MASHRAFE: CRITICISM HASN’T TOUCHED ME AT ALL PAGE 24

A NEO MOVEMENT IN BENGALI CINEMA PAGE 30

Rain cools excitement on eve of decider Shahriyar Bappa from n Ali Chittagong The cricket-mad Bangladesh fans and the entire cricketing fraternity might be waiting with bated breath for the third and final ODI between the Tigers and the visiting England team but the threat of rain is refusing to go away even a day before the series decider.

It rained heavily in Chittagong for the most parts of yesterday so the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium fans will be lucky if they get to witness a full 50-over affair today.

Keeping the inclement weather in mind, the toss will be extremely vital if the match does go ahead.

And when it does, all sparks will fly considering the much-talked about incidents following the second ODI in Mirpur on Sunday.

The Tigers lost the first match before winning the second one. At one stage in the first game, Bangladesh were in the driving seat, needing only 39 runs from 52 balls with six wickets in hand. But the home side lost their nerve and surprisingly lost the match from a winning position.

In the second game, the Tigers fought back and sealed a 34-run win. But the outcome of the game paled in comparison to the controversies which took place during and after the match.

Bangladesh fielders celebrated passionately after getting the wicket of England captain Jos Buttler during their run-chase. Buttler reacted angrily and exchanged a few words with the Bangladesh players after being adjudged leg before wicket.

In the aftermath of the incident, Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe bin

Mortaza and Sabbir Rahman were both fined 20 percent of their match fee while Buttler only received an official reprimand.

At the end of the match and during the hand-shake formalities, there was a dispute between Ben Stokes and Tamim Iqbal that created a storm on social media. A video shows Tamim approaching Jonny Bairstow to shake hands but the latter apparently shoulder-charged the former, thus paving the way for the social media storm. Stokes then entered the scene, exchanging a few heated words with Tamim.

All these incidents will no doubt heat up the competition between bat and ball.

Bangladesh have established themselves as a strong competitor, especially in the ODI format, in the last two years or so, winning six

consecutive series on home soil.

They have defeated several big teams including Pakistan, India and South Africa among others.

Ever since reaching the 2015 World Cup quarter-finals, Bangladesh have played 17 ODIs at home, including the first two matches against England. Among them, Bangladesh won 13 losing the other four. If the Tigers win the final ODI against England today, then they will have secured their seventh successive series win on home turf in the last two years.

England on the other hand have emerged as one of the best ODI sides since their stunning defeat to Bangladesh during the 2015 World Cup down under. Since then, they have re-invented themselves as one of the most entertaining sides in world cricket through their ag-

gressive and positive brand.

Players like Jason Roy, Buttler, Alex Hales, Eoin Morgan and Joe Root made their name playing this particular brand of cricket, inspiring England to several successes in the last 18 months. Although Morgan, Hales and Root were not present for the ODIs, England still have plenty of firepower in their squad to achieve the series victory.

So far Bangladesh have played 16 completed ODIs at ZACS in the last 10 years. Among them, the Tigers won 10 and lost six.

No major changes are expected in the Bangladesh playing XI while England will be unchanged as well.

As far as records are concerned, local lad Tamim is on verge of joining the 5000-run club in ODIs. He is just 38 runs shy of becoming the first Bangladesh batsman to do so. l

Bangladeshi worker takes Fifa to court n Tribune Desk

People of Hindu community celebrate sindoor (vermilion) ritual at Kalabagan in Dhaka on the occasion of Bijoya Dashami yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

6 USA Nobel laureates are immigrants n Tribune Desk A report on The Hill quotes American Nobel laureate Sir J. Fraser Stoddart: “I think the resounding message that should go out all around the world is that science is global. United States should be welcoming people from all over the world, including the Middle East.”

Fraser, who is Scottish by birth, became a US citizen in 2011. He is one of three laureates in chemistry.

Fraser was also quoted to praise

America for its “openness” which makes it possible for the top scientists to come together. He believes the scientific establishment will remain strong as long as they don’t “turn back on immigration.”

He had won the prize in chemistry with Jean-Pierre Sauvage and Bernard Feringa, French and Dutch researchers-- for the design and synthesis of molecular machines.

Another America Nobel laureate Duncan Haldane called the immigration process as a “bureaucratic

nightmare for many people” in an interview with The Hill.

Duncan is an English Princeton University researcher and won the prize for physics. He shares this award with two other British immigrants David Thouless of Yale University and Michael Kosterlitz of Brown University. The other winners are British immigrant Oliver Hart of Harvard University and Finnish immigrant Bengt Holmström of Massachusetts Institute of Technology who both won the prize for Economics. l

Migrant workers have been lied to about their pay, forced to live in squalor, and had to buy their own food as they labored day and night to construct opulent stadiums for the World Cup in Qatar The Netherlands Trade Union Federation (FNV) is taking Fifa to a Swiss court on behalf of a migrant worker. Nadim Sharaful Alam, 31, a Bangladeshi migrant.

The FNV sent a letter to Fifa on Sunday night and asked it to accept responsibility for the mistreatment and pay damages. If Fifa does not comply with the demand, the case will be taken to a court in Zurich.

The lawsuit states that Nadim was harassed and exploited during his employment tenure in Qatar.

The lawsuit claims that he was subject to terrible working conditions for 18 months. There was intensive manual labour involved, i.e. loading and unloading from ships.

Nadim said that he was deported unceremoniously after he was paid a pittance that did not even cover the sum he paid to be recruited.

Nadim asks for $11,500 in compensation for a deal where he paid $4000 to a middleman. This is the first instance of the football governing body being taken to a court.

Amnesty International released

a report that exposed the rampant exploitation in the construction of Khalifa International Stadium. It detailed how migrant workers from India, Bangladesh, and Nepal were deceived about their salaries and forced to house in cramped conditions. In addition, the workers went unpaid for months and had to pay for their own food.

Workers were also unable to contact their embassies for help since their passports were confiscated.

Liesbeth Zegveld, a lawyer for FNV said: “Fifa should take responsibility for the irregularities.

They could have demanded that the construction process be fair and unscrupulous.”

“The lawsuit does not say that Fifa should bring about social change everywhere, but that projects endorsed by Fifa should be transparent and humane,” she added.

If the lawsuit is penultimately taken to court if Fifa does not respond, it may prove to be disastrous. There are thousands of workers who have shared and still share the fate of Khalid. Thousands of litigations might jeopardise the football governing body in the future, The Guardian reports.

Qatar invested $200bn and employed hundreds of thousands of migrant workers in preparation for the 2022 Fifa World Cup. l

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