21 Oct, 2016 by DhakaTribune

SECOND EDITION

Will AL council be Joy’s coming out party? Abu Bakar n Mohammad Siddique Road Transport and Bridges Minister and senior Awami League policymaker Obaidul Quader has said that the ruling party’s national council is set to come up with a new leadership – a blend of the experienced veterans and energetic youths. In a recent interview, incumbent General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam called it a high time for the third generation of Bangabandhu’s family to come into politics. Prime Minister and AL President Sheikh Hasina earlier this month said that she would be happy to re-

MORE STORIES ON P2 & 3 tire if she got the opportunity and if the councillors managed to find a new leader of the oldest as well as largest party of the country. But much before that, the increasing involvement of Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the only son of the premier, into the activities of the government as well as the party besides serving as an ICT adviser to the prime minister, a field of his personal expertise too, has been winding the speculation of his introduction to the party line-up. Many leaders and activists – from the top tier to the grassroots, anticipate that Joy would be elevat-

A large boat-shaped platform, symbolising the Awami League party emblem, has been built at Suhrawardy Udyan for the ruling party’s 20th National Council scheduled for October 22-23. The photo was taken yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU ed to the post of general secretary of the party. Just two days ahead of the AL’s 20th council, Joy’s possible induction dominated the air – in social media as well as party forum and even among the media workers. Joy is set to participate in the council as a councillor from Rangpur district. Convener of the Constitution

Sub-committee for the council Abdur Razzak also sees the possibility. “Joy has been helping in the activities of the party and the government. “And his contribution is increasing,” said the former food minister, without elaborating how his name would be proposed for the central committee. Several activists including some coming from different districts as

councillors and delegates acknowledged that they had learnt about the possibility, but refused to be quoted in media as they were unclear about the final outcome. They rely on the party chief and the high command over the matter, and instead wish to wait for the council day suppressing the enthusiasm. Speculations are also there in

the cyberspace. Many party supporters are seen posting photos of Joy on Facebook, giving an impression of his induction into the top tier of the party during the council. Some other activists have suggested that it may take more time. His name also came on the discussion tables during the previous councils in 2009 and 2012. But nothing came of it. l

Fury at debate as Trump refuses Jamaat chief Maqbul’s pledge to respect a Clinton win 1971 role under scanner n AFP, Las Vegas Turning his final presidential debate appearance into an unprecedented assault on US political convention, Donald Trump refused Wednesday to say that he would respect a Hillary Clinton victory in November. As the last head-to-head encounter of the toxic 2016 campaign

descended into mud-slinging, the Republican mogul doubled down on claims that his Democratic rival’s supporters plan to rig the vote. And when asked whether he would commit to recognizing the result of the November 8 vote no matter what, the reality television star said: “I’ll tell you at the time. I’ll keep you in suspense, OK?” Clinton declared herself “ap-

palled” by what she said was an attack on 240 years of US democracy. And, quoting her former rival Bernie Sanders, she called Trump the “most dangerous person to run for president in the modern history of America.” Trump had come into the third televised debate of the 2016 campaign in Las Vegas looking to  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

n Ashif Islam Shaon The investigation agency of the International Crimes Tribunal has launched a probe into the war crimes allegations raised against Maqbul Ahmed, the newly elected ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami. “An investigation officer was appointed on Wednesday to carry out a preliminary probe,” Coordinator

of the agency Abdul Hannan told the Dhaka Tribune Thursday. The agency has not got any evidence against Maqbul, “but we have got some specific information from the media about his complicity in war-time crimes,” he added. “We will launch formal probe once evidence of his involvement in crimes against humanity is found.”  PAGE 3 COLUMN 1

INSIDE Razzak: New committee to be a blend of old and new

DSCC mayor: Dhaka to be smart city by 2017

Debutant Miraz stars in eventful day

Dhaka Tribune’s Mohammad Abu Bakar Siddique talks with Awami League’s Dr Abdur Razzak on a wide range of issues centring the 20th council of Bangladesh’s oldest political party  PAGE 2

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon, while speaking at a discussion, declared that Dhaka would be transformed into a smart city by the year 2017.  PAGE 5

Mehedi Hasan Miraz became the youngest Bangladeshi to pick up five wickets on debut as the opening day of the first Test match well and truly belonged to the home side.  PAGE 32

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

Razzak: New committee to be a Ahead of the 20th council of the ruling Awami League Dhaka Tribune’s Mohammad Abu Bakar Siddique talked to the Convener of the Constitution Sub-Committee and Agriculture and Cooperatives Affairs Secretary of the party, Dr Abdur Razzak, on a wide range of issues centring the council of Bangladesh’s oldest political party

Awami League is the oldest and the largest party of the country. Every council of the party is a milestone in the history of the nation and so is the 20th council. You know, we have some challenges to take on in the competitive world and in the era of open market economy. There are some emerging challenges too. Add to that new agendas in the geopolitical context. There are already some issues while some others are new, emerging ones. This country of ours has a huge population having a hell lot of economic challenges. Given the context we take up new programmes and set our goals anew in every council. Another aspect is that we try to find out the effective ways or the road-map in order to implement the aims and goals or vision we set and we undertake our programmes in the council accordingly. We also determine a structure best suited to the party to pursue the goals.

At present the size and strength of the party is increasing and working area is widening. We are mulling over a plan to make some recommendations for deciding on the size of the party. Given the country’s context, we declared an elaborate vision to be achieved by 2021 apart from formulating the sixth Five-Year Plan. By this time, we have implemented the MDG goals: Bangladesh is now appreciated all over the world for its performance in alleviating poverty and achievement in attaining other MDGs, like reducing maternal and child mortality rates, girls’ enrolment into schools. Bangladesh is doing extremely well in achieving the 17 targets. In order to keep it up and move ahead in line with this development, we have adopted our programmes. We proposed the changes eying the upcoming election in 2019. And the changes and the new declarations will be reflected in the election manifesto. We had a meeting of the executive committee of our party

Internet service may be disrupted for 5 days n Tribune Desk Internet service in Bangladesh might be disrupted for five days as the submarine cable at Singapore end will undergo a repair work. The disruption might begin around Sunday midnight and continue till 2pm on October 27, a statement by Bangladesh Telecommunication Company Limited (BTCL) said yesterday. Earlier, the BTCL said that the repair work would start at 12:30am on Friday and end on October 26. Despite the disruption, BTCL would continue its services through alternative means, Assistant Director Tohura Sultana said in a statement. Chief Strategy Officer of Fibre@ home Limited Suman Ahmed Davis told the Dhaka Tribune: “During the repair work, Singapore based traffic in Bangladesh will not get qualitative service but International Terrestrial Cable (ITC) based service or other subscribers will not face any disruption.” Meanwhile, BTCL Director (public relations and publication) Meer Mohammad Morshed told BSS: “The

SEA-ME-WE-4 Consortium would carry out maintenance work of the undersea cable at its Singapore end from 12am of October 23 to 2pm of October 27 that may disrupt internet service temporarily in the country.” Bangladesh is now connected with lone submarine cable SEA-ME-WE-4. But, it has already joined another consortium SEA-ME-WE-5 that is expected to be connected with the country in December. Besides, the country is connected with ITC through different Indian companies. l

RAJIB DHAR

What are the fundamental changes that are likely to be brought about in the declaration of the party council?

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Fury at debate as Trump refuses pledge restore hope to his campaign just 20 days before Election Day. Dogged by allegations of sexual misconduct, trailing in the polls and losing ground in key swing states, the 70-year-old was looking to capitalize on his last major chance to woo wavering voters. “The media is so dishonest and so corrupt and the pile-on is so amazing,” Trump said, referring to reports citing women accusing him of sexual assault, which he said were “fiction” and drummed up by Team Clinton. He alleged that millions of fake voters had been registered and that the 68-year-old Clinton should not even have been allowed to run because she mishandled classified State Department emails. Even some Republican lawmakers were outraged. Senator Jeff Flake said Trump was “beyond the pale” and onetime presidential candidate Senator Lindsey Graham said if Trump loses, it will be “because he failed as a candidate.” Democrats called on Republican leaders to repudiate “Trump’s utter contempt for our democracy,” as Nevada Senator Harry Reid put it. “One of our hallmarks has always been we accept the outcome

of our elections,” Clinton told reporters as she flew home to White Plains, New York. “So what he said tonight is part of his whole effort to blame somebody else for his campaign, and where he stands in this election.” The extraordinary exchange was only one of a series of ferocious clashes, as the two stonyfaced candidates faced off from behind podiums on everything from immigration to Syria. At one point, Trump broke into one of Clinton’s responses to call her “such a nasty woman.” The candidates took and left the stage without shaking hands.

Ripped from womb

The former secretary of state scored an early hit against the Republican property mogul, alleging that Russian President Vladimir Putin was backing his run for office. Clinton cited reports from US intelligence agencies that Russian cyber attacks had targeted her party and campaign and demanded that Trump condemn the interference. “They have hacked American websites, American accounts of private people, of institutions,” she

declared. “Then they have given that information to WikiLeaks for the purpose of putting it on the internet.” The Manhattan billionaire appeared not to mind giving credence to the charge that he sides with Moscow rather than Washington’s own intelligence agencies, declaring: “Our country has no idea.” Trump argued that he might negotiate better relations with Moscow than Clinton would, declaring: “Putin, from everything I see, has no respect for this person.” Clinton’s response was sharp: “Well, that’s because he would rather have a puppet as president of the United States.” Trump blustered back: “No puppet. You’re the puppet.” In what has been a bitter campaign, the two White House hopefuls got off to a subdued but oddly substantive start to the debate, compared to previous brawls. They were asked about their vision for the Supreme Court, prompting Clinton to argue the election was about “what kind of country are we going to be.” She insisted gay rights and women’s rights must not be rolled back. l

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

blend of old and new on Wednesday that approved the proposal to expand the size of the committee. However, the draft of the new constitution will be presented before the council. If the councillors give their nod, it will be adopted. A proposal is there to increase the size of the central committee from 73 to 81. There will be a 19-member presidium in place of the present 15-member one. The party will get four joint secretaries instead of three in the present committee. And two more organising secretaries and two more members were proposed for the new committee. Besides, the constitution subcommittee also proposed not including any convicted killers of Bangabandhu and war criminals in the committee.

What kind of changes is the party going to make in the leadership? Can you specify some concrete examples?

I cannot say anything about this exactly. New faces might come. The existing committee might be reshuffled with a new general secretary; new faces might also be included in the other posts too like that of the organising secretary or joint secretary. New faces in the new committee is pretty much natural. But we are mulling a committee with the combination of old and young generations to strengthen the party.

against terrorism in the regional and international spheres. We will maintain zero tolerance towards terrorism.

You have been named as one of the potential party general secretary candidates. Who do you think will be the party secretary in the next council? What would you do if you were made the general secretary of the party?

CCTV cameras have been installed ahead of Awami League council to beef up security MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU We want to make the party more dynamic and more organised.

What does this council mean to the party, its activists and the future of the country?

We said we would bring all the party activists and leaders together. The goal is to unite the party members at the grassroots level to achieve the party vision.

Is there any resolution that is going to be added to the existing ones? We want the new leadership to continue the developments that we have achieved. Our target is to

become a rich country, a country without poverty. And according to the SDGs, we have the aim to ensure there would be no poverty by 2030. By 2021, we want to make it a middle income country. We want to reduce poverty, increase investment, the revenue and GDP, we want to expand the role of the manufacturing sector. And our political goal is to make the country a proper democratic state. We want to ensure a democratic, secular ambiance. We will work to that end. We will continue to fight against fundamentalism and militancy. We are committed to fighting

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Jamaat chief Maqbul’s 1971 role under scanner After serving his party for six years as the acting ameer, Maqbul took oath on Monday after being elected as the new chief of the anti-liberation party. Most of the top leaders of the party have been convicted or executed after trial. Meanwhile, the freedom fighters in Feni raised allegations of Maqbul’s involvement in atrocities committed by Peace Committee and razakar force – formed by Jamaat – in Dagonbhuiyan Upazila of the district during the 1971 Liberation War. According to Feni district freedom fighters’ Commander Mir Abdul Hannan, Maqbul was a razakar leader of Dagonbhuiyan during the war. Upon his directives, members of al-Badr and razakar forces had abducted freedom fighter Maulana Waz Uddin, a former leader of Bangladesh Students Union and vice-president of Feni College Central Students’ Union, and later killed him in Chittagong, he said. Dagonbhuiyan unit Commander of freedom fighters Shariat Ullah Bangali accused Maqbul of masterminding the death of 10 Hindus at Laalpur village of Joylaskar Union

in the upazila. The victims were burnt to death. “In another incident, razakar Mosharraf Hossain Mosha killed freedom fighter Ahsan Ullah of Khushipur village of the upazila on the order by Maqbul. Mosha, hailing from Safua village, is still alive,” Shariat told the Dhaka Tribune, demanding investigation into the allegations against the new Jamaat chief. Mir Hannan alleged that around 200 razakars of Feni including Maqbul had been enjoying impunity as no charges were brought against them at the International Crimes Tribunal. Jamaat has refuted the allegations as baseless and imaginary. During the war, the Jamaat top brass had branded the freedom fighters as miscreants, atheists and agents of India, and took part in genocide, rape, looting and arson attacks in collaboration with the Pakistani occupation forces. After taking oath, Maqbul in a written statement the same day recalled the contribution and sacrifice of the “valiant and courageous freedom fighters and the people of

all classes” in 1971. He also mentioned the names of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Ziaur Rahman, Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and General Ataul Gani Osmani. In the same statement, Maqbul, however, claimed that the “authoritarian” government had “unlawfully” executed five Jamaat leaders “because of their pro-active and dynamic roles.” The government has executed the death penalties of Motiur Rahman Nizami, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid; Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, Abdul Quader Molla and Mir Quasem Ali. Jamaat guru Ghulam Azam, who was given 90 years’ jail due to old age though his crimes amounted to capital punishment, died when the appeals case was pending with the Appellate Division. Another Jamaat leader AKM Yusuf died in jail during the trial period. Maqbul also claimed that Jamaat leaders Abdus Subhan, Delawar Hossain Sayedee and ATM Azharul Islam had been kept in jail to face slow death as they were sentenced on the basis of “false and baseless” allegations of crimes against humanity. l

I do not know about it. I have never thought of it but I am committed to working for the country’s democracy with an inclusive approach excepting Jamaat, the party that worked against the country’s Liberation War and independence.

The BNP said they expected democracy to be restored through the council. Do you have any comment on this statement?

It is a democratic country. Elections are held constitutionally but election is just one aspect of democracy. There might be political programmes like hartal, blockade, movement, rally or procession etc. These are not unexpected in democratic politics. If we make any mistake as the government, they will protest. But this is not acceptable or understandable when they unleash violence and subversive activities in the name of hartal or blockade. Now there is democracy in the country. There are many newspapers, elec-

tronic media, online portals; people are writing or publishing whatever they like. Press is another aspect, the fourth pillar of democracy. There is elections in every sphere – from local to national level. But they (BNP) made a mistake in not taking part in the January 5 elections. We hope that they would take part in the next election to be held in 2019. We will seek their support to hold free and fair election.

Is Sajeeb Wazed Joy coming to the leadership from the young generation?

Joy is already contributing, more or less, to the party despite having no post. He is doing it for the government too. He helps development activities. With his professional expertise, he is contributing to the IT sector. He is performing a lot of responsibilities for the party and government as well. However, it is not known to me if he is coming to the leadership.

In what process will the leadership be decided? What are going to be crucial factors in deciding leadership?

The leadership will be elected as it is inscribed in our party constitution. Normally, those who have experience of running the party with organisational capability would be brought in. l

Suhrawardy to be remembered in AL council

n Tribune Desk Awami League (AL) will remember Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy along with father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in their upcoming council. An invitation letter sent to a foreign dignitary, seen by the Dhaka Tribune, also suggested that the council came as an opportunity for the party to share the “indeli-

ble contributions” of the two great leaders of the nation. During the council, the contribution of the daughter of Bangabandhu, Sheikh Hasina, the existing party president and the prime minister of the country, in the political evolution of the country will also be remembered, read the invitation. Rashidul Mahmud Rasel, a member of the reception subcommittee formed for the upcoming council told Dhaka Tribune: “With the father of the nation, we would also remember Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, who was president of the party in 1953, as an ideological leader of AL.” “We will acknowledge his influence in making the history of the nation with great respect” he said. He also said: “Bangabandhu was in close contact with Suhrawardy from the days of involvement in politics as a student in Kolkata before the partition. After partition, he was a guide to Bangabandhu.” l

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

TIB: Don’t take World Bank’s $2 billion n UNB Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has voiced concerns over the World Bank’s intention of expanding its lending portfolio by providing a loan of $2 billion to Bangladesh as climate finance over the next three years. In a statement yesterday, TIB executive director Iftekharuzzaman called upon the World Bank to recognise that to address challenges of climate change, Bangladesh is entitled to compensation in the form of grants, rather than loans. “It is unacceptable that the Bank appears to see an opportunity for expanding its business of lending in Bangladesh in the name of standing by ‘the poor and the hardest hit’ as a result of global climate change,” Iftekharuzzaman said. Welcoming WB President Jim Kim’s emphasis on governance and zero tolerance against corruption during his visit to Dhaka, the TIB chief said if the Bank is genuinely interested to support Bangladesh on account of climate change, it should refrain from increasing further indebtedness of Bangladesh. “Instead, the Bank should seek ways to contribute to the processes that may ensure that Bangladesh receives the promised compensation from

the developed countries responsible for climate change,” he said. As one of the countries most affected by global climate change, the statement said, Bangladesh is already acutely vulnerable. The climate-affected people of this country cannot afford to further accentuate their vulnerability in the form of interest payable to the mega lending group even if such loans are offered at the best possible concessional terms. “If the World Bank is interested to expand its lending business in Bangladesh we ask it to explore other areas of public interest where, unlike climate finance, interest-free grants are unavailable. The Bank will do well to apply whatever capacity and expertise it may have to facilitate easier and enhanced scope of Bangladesh’s access to grants from such sources as the Green Climate Fund,” the statement added. TIB called upon the government not to accept any loans for climate finance, especially when grants should be made available as compensation. “We also appeal to the government to deploy all political, technical and diplomatic skill and expertise at its disposal to persuade the developed countries to deliver on their commitment to provide compensation”, the statement said. l

Imam jailed for stalking schoolgirl Taieyb Ali Sarker, n Md Nilphamari

A mobile court in Jaldhaka of Nilphamari has sentenced an imam of a local mosque to three months’ imprisonment for harassing a schoolgirl repeatedly. Maulana Nurunnabi, 32, the imam of Baktiar Para Utachhari mosque of the upazila, was sent to jail yesterday morning, Jaldhaka OC Mofiz Uddin told the Dhaka Tribune. The accused had long been proposing to marry the class X student of Jaldhaka Pilot High School on her way to and from

the school. On Wednesday afternoon, Nurunnabi obstructed the girl again when she was returning home after attending an examination at the school. The girl informed the headmaster about the matter immediately, following which the teachers caught Nurunnabi and handed him over to the police. Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mohammad Rashedul Huq Pradhan conducted a hearing the same night and gave Nurunnabi three months’ jail after he confessed his crimes. l

The National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources and Ports yesterday stages a demonstration in front of the National Press Club protesting police attack on its procession demanding cancellation of Rampal Powe Plant DHAKA TRIBUNE

3,621 pilgrims yet to return from Saudi Arabia after last flight n Tribune Desk The last flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines for carrying homebound pilgrims arrived Dhaka on October 17 and the last Saudi Airlines flight reached yesterday, leaving a number of 3,621 pilgrims stranded in Saudi Arabia who are yet to return to the country. This year 1,01,758 pilgrims went to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj, but according to data provided yesterday by the Ministry of Religion, so far a num-

ber of 98,137 pilgrims came back to the country after performing Hajj. That means 3,621 pilgrims are still stranded in Saudi Arabia who might remain there illegally. When asked about these pilgrims reasons behind, Secretary of Ministry of Religion Abdul Jalil said: “Some pilgrims are coming back to the country by scheduled flight of other careers between Bangladesh – Saudi Arabia.” “We can inform about the number of those pilgrims on October 25,” he

also said. The secretary said that it is not possible to remain there illegally as we can easily detect who stayed back there illegally, as everyone of the pilgrims went there using Machine Readable Passport (MRP). He also informed that Saudi Immigration is yet to inform about the number of pilgrims who remained in their country. “They will inform us on October 25,” he added. l

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

DSCC mayor: Dhaka to be smart city by 2017 n Abu Hayat Mahmud Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon, while speaking at a discussion, declared that Dhaka would be transformed into a smart city by the year 2017. He made the declaration yesterday during a panel discussion titled “Digital Bangladesh – Perspective Smart Dhaka” on the second day of Digital World 2016 Conference at International Convention City in Dhaka's Bashundhara area. The DSCC mayor, while speaking as the chief guest of the panel, said: “Smart city does not mean we will turn Dhaka into London or Singapore. It means there will be improvements to the city corporations’ services such as waste management and infrastructure.” He promised that technologies would be integrated into all aspects of life in Dhaka city including transport and security. He also said that WiFi zones in the city would cover more areas with topnotch connectivity services.

Participants of a panel discussion titled ‘Digital Bangladesh - Perspective Smart Dhaka’ at the International Convention Centre in Bashundhara yesterday on the second day of the Digital World 2016 Conference MEHEDI HASAN Access to Information (a2i) initiative under the PMO. Kim defined smart city as an innovative city where information and communications technology (ICT) and other technological implementations improve the quality

year 2017 will be the year for Smart Dhaka,” he said. At the discussion, World Bank Consultant Isaac Kim presented the keynote paper for the session which was moderated by Mustafizur Rahman, innovation director of

“With integration of technology in transport related services, daily commuting will become easier for people,” he added. “Earlier we had announced 2016 to be the year of cleaning the city and that is being implemented. The

of life and make urban operation and services efficient while ensuring that it meets that needs of the present and future generations with respect to economic, social and environmental aspects. Ashok Kumar Seetharaman, director of the eGovernment Leadership Centre at National University of Singapore, said Dhaka's growing population and transport movement was a big challenge for the authorities He recommended that the authorities take steps to reduce private transport and introduce services such as Uber, a popular taxi-booking mobile application. According to it's website, Uber is planning to start it's service in Bangladesh. Other panelists at the event were Shyam Sunder Sikder, ICT secretary; Srikant Kadambi, director public sector, Microsoft APAC; Zhou Henghui, senior smart city planner at ZTE Corporation; and Derek Sun, vice president of government, public utility sector at Huawei Technologies. l

ICT entrepreneurs urge govt to ease tendering conditions

‘Govt has to lead in creating mobile financial services’

n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

To get the most benefit from mobile financial services, the government will have to lead the way in establishing infrastructure for the sector and make the industry friendly, policy experts said yesterday. The view came during a seminar titled “Inclusive Finance through Technologies” at the International Convention Centre in Dhaka’ Bashundhara on the sidelines of Digital World 2016 Conference. Yesterday was the second day of the three-day conference. At the seminar, keynote speaker Krishnan Dharmarajan, executive director of Center for Digital Financial Inclusion, talked about barriers of

Local ICT entrepreneurs and professionals yesterday urged the government to ease tendering conditions so that they also can drop tenders and win contracts for digitisation of government services. ICT professionals and entrepreneurs made the appeal at a seminar on “Industry Readiness for Digitization of Government Service” where the government policy makers also participated. In response, government policy makers, however, urged the entrepreneurs to come up with best solutions and to show the capacity to take the risk of handling big projects. Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) senior vice president Russell T Ahmed moderated the seminar, organised as part of the threeday “Digital World 2016” Expo being held in Dhaka. At the seminar, entrepreneurs complained that the current process of bidding is not in favor of local entrepreneurs. If we want to boost the local industry, we

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY

PARTLY CLOUDY FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21

CEO M Rezaul Hasan said, “We have to prove that we can take risk and want to compete with everyone. If we cannot compete in the local market, then how we will be able to compete in the global market.” “The local entrepreneurs should come up with bigger plans and solution regarding digitisation of government services with challenges and BASIS should take the lead,” said State Minister for Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid Bipu. Advising local professionals to forget about the high efficiency of multi-national companies, the state minister said, “You should take the risk and challenge. Show your capacity and compete with others. This is the time to deal with your confidence. The market is getting bigger and we have several ministries as well as companies to digitise,” said Nasrul. Talking on the opportunity of digitisation in the day to come, the minister said his ministry is going to float tender of $200 million to digitise the power division. l

have to create space allowing them to work jointly with foreign companies. Proposing that the conditions in the tendering process should be in such way that local companies can participate and bid, Spectrum Engineering Consortium Limited Managing Director Forkan Bin Quasem said, “When a multinational company gets a software-implementing tender, it should be mandatory to have local agents with it, so that the local professionals can acquire knowledge and experience of big projects.” “If all the software-related tasks are done by the foreign companies, the local companies will have to do only the hardware-related tasks which would bar the growth of the sector,” he added. Stressing that digital literacy is very important to digitise the country, Microsoft Asia pacific Sales Director Arijit Roy, said, “We are working with partnership so that professionals of the country can be skilled and increase capacity.” Citing example of local ICT company Tiger IT which is now working in Nepal, REVE System Dhaka

Chittagong

Rajshahi

DHAKA TODAY SUN SETS 5:28PM

n Ishtiaq Husain

Rangpur

Khulna

Barisal

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:59AM

35.4ºC Jessore

19.5ºC Tetulia

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES

technology based financial services. He said: “Bangladesh has a huge population but a large percentage of it is economically weak.” “Low literacy and awareness about financial products are a barrier for technology based financial inclusion,” Dharmarajan added. He also criticised the existing mobile financial services saying that the existing model was designed to cater only to the urban customer segment. Sanjay Patel, South East Asia specialist sales director, APAC, said: “MFS is needed for everyday life as an access to sustainable and secure financial services which contributes directly in increasing income and reducing vulnerability for the poor.” l

Sylhet

Cox’s Bazar

Fajr: 5:25am | Jumma: 1:15pm Asr: 4:15pm | Magrib: 5:41pm Esha: 7:45pm Source: Islamic Foundation

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

Kamal: None of the forest robbers, pirates, militants be spared n Tariqul Islam, Barguna Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal yesterday said none of forest robbers, pirates and militants would not be spared. He also urged all the people who are involded in anti-state activities to surrender and lead a normal life.” The minister made the comment while addressing a surrender ceremony of 14 forest robbers on Barguna Circuit House premises in the morning. At the programmes, ringleader of forest robbers Sagar and his 13 cohorts have surrendered to Rapid Action Battalion along with a large amount of firearms and ammunition. The surrendered pirates are ringleader Alamgir Sheikh alias Sagar, Kamrul Fakir, Abdul Malek, Kader Sheikh, Hafizur Rahman, Kabir Sardar, Delwar Sheikh, Hasan Sardar, Nanna Fakir, Tauhidul Islam, Razu Sheikh, Litan Hawlader and Tariqul Gazi. They formally surrendered in presence of Home Minister Asa-

Motaleb Hossain Lipu

RU student found dead

n Abdullah Al Dulal, Rajshahi

A forest robber is seen surrendering a firearm to home minister at Barguna circuit house yesterday duzzaman Khan Kamal and RAB Director General Benazir Ahmed at Barguna Circuit House premises on Thursday morning. Initially the pirates surrendered to RAB on October 19 during a raid

in Sundarbans. They laid down their arms including- 20 foreign and locals guns and over 500 rounds of bullets. On September 8, fourteen robbers of two Sundarbans-based

DHAKA TRIBUNE

pirate gangs surrendered to law enforcers with arms and ammunition in presence of Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal at the headquarters of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in Barisal city. l

A student’s blood-stained body was found on the campus of Rajshahi University yesterday morning. University staff found the body of Motaleb Hossain Lipu, 22, in a drain behind the Abdul Latif Hall around 8am and informed police about the matter. Officer-in-Charge of Motihar police station Humayun Kabir said the body was recovered from a drain behind the hall’s dining room. Lipu was a resident of room 253 at Abdul Latif Hall. He was a second year student of the Mass Communication and Journalism department. His hometown is Mukimpur village, Jhenaidah. The body has been sent to Rajshahi Medical College morgue for an autopsy, said OC Humayun. l

Enormous irregularities surface over Tk10 rice Samsur Rahman, n SM Bagerhat The government has trying to eradicate sufferings of the ultra poor people through providing rice at Tk10 per kilogram for five months a year during the lean season. But a section of ruling party men and unscrupulous local representatives of Bagerhat district are spoiling government’s efforts. Locals alleged that local ruling party men and representatives are committing irregularities with Tk10 rice distribution. Local leaders of Awami League and deprived of the district said, responsible people have listed solvent people and distributed cards among them instead of poor and helpless, enrolled name of keens and relatives in the lists, inscribed names by taking bribe, appointed ruling party men as distributors, name of several members of a family listed, given cards to government employees, taken Tk300 but distributed 15-20 kg rice instead of 30kg, offered cards to vulnerable group feeding (VGF) card holders, provide less rice in weight and not submit list to local authorities.

In Kachua upazila, local leaders of ruling party and local representatives distributed cards after taking Tk10 for per card, put government officials and rich people’s names in the lists. During rice distributing processes dealers of the upazila are giving less rice weight. Momotaj Begum, headmaster of a local primary school, said: “Local representatives enlisted me and my husband’s name without our concerns.” Nakib Faisal Ohid, chairman of Badhal union in the upazila, said: “Local people have added his relative’s names in the list mistakenly.” In Morrelganj upazila, local people contended that influential leaders with the help of local chairmen and members took Tk200 to Tk500 from poor people to enlist their names in the lists. However, helpless people of Putikhali union did not get rice as chairman of the union failed to submit lists of poor people local people. Shachan Mia Shamim, chairman of Putikhali union, ignored the allegation and said: “Due to insufficient of rice authorities have failed to distribute them rice.” l

AL’S NATIONAL COUNCIL

Narayanganj AL expecting central committee posts Hossain, n Tanveer Narayanganj Narayanganj has a historic association with Awami League. The district with five upazilas had played significant roles in Language Movement and Liberation War both. Despite this rich political background, Narayanganj Awami League could not bag any place in the cabinet as well as in Awami League central committee. That is why the leaders and activists of the district Awami League are looking forward to the upcoming national council of the party. They are expecting lawmakers Shamim Osman and Nazrul Islam

Babu to be elected as the central committee members, because in the district Awami League committee, which was declared on October 9 after long 14 years, Shamim and Babu did not get any position. The 20th national council of the ruling party is going to be held in the capital’s Suhrawardy Uddan on 22-23 October, while the party’s central committee will be formed through voting. A total of 169 councillors, who will vote in election of the central committee, and the same number of activists from Narayanganj would join the three-yearly council, said Abdul Hye, president of the district AL and also administra-

tor of Zila Parishad. But many more were interested to go to Dhaka, at least, to witness the council, said M Saifullah Badal, president of Fatullah Awami League. Despite prevalent excitement ahead of the council, no decoration or lighting is seen in the town, even in the party office, and important places of the district. Khokon Shaha, general secretary to Narayanganj city Awami League, said as they would go to the council in a grand caravan of buses and would present themselves differently, they did not concentrate on the decoration of the places. l

News

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

KGDCL goes tough on misuse of gas n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Ltd (KGDCL) has launched a special drive to check misuse of gas. The gas distribution company has formed a total of 18 vigilance teams for conducting the drives against misuse of gas. From October 2014 till September 2016, the vigilance teams of the KGDCL severed as many as 2,344 connections, including 2,152 domestic and 120 commercial ones for illegally using gas. The gas distribution company also suspended supplying gas to a total of 12,690 consumers for arrears. Later, 10,785 consumers were given reconnections as they cleared off the outstanding bills amounting to Tk 44.40 lakh.

As per Bangladesh Gas Act 2010, an illegal gas user can be awarded with three months to one year imprisonment and fined ranging from Tk10,000 to Tk5 lakh. The vigilance teams also removed 3,569 feet long illegal gas pipeline after conducting drives in many parts of the city in the last two years. A total of 31 mobile courts were also conducted by the executive magistrates of Chittagong district administration in the last 24 months where 181 gas connections were severed and 694 cluster gas cylinders were seized. The mobile courts sentenced eight offenders with different terms of imprisonment and realised Tk11.10 lakh as fine. A total of 13 cases were filed against offenders during the drives of the mobile courts. l

300 shops, houses gutted n Ziaul Haque, Rangamati

An elderly woman was killed and 300 shops and houses were burnt in a fire at Durchhari Bazar, Bagaichhari upazila, Rangamati early yesterday. The deceased was identified as Shikha Saha. The fire originated from a shop namely Sunil Dey Bedding Store around 12:30am. As there are no available fire services in Baghaichhari, the nearest firefighters were called from Khagrachhari, but it could not reach the area due to the inaccessible hilly roads. Upazila Nirbahi Officer Tajul Islam said: “This disaster could not be stopped in time due to unavailability of fire service in the upazila.” Later, BGB, army and police personnel along with the locals went to the spot and brought the fire under control. l

A fire breaks out at Durchhari Bazar, Bagaichhari upazila, Rangamati early yesterday that left one person killed and 300 houses and shops gutted

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Police to ban hawkers from public transport n Arifur Rahman Rabbi The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) plans to ban hawkers from public transport following the arrest of 19 doping gang members, yesterday. Dope gang members are known to sedate people without their knowledge with rubbing sedative ointments on their noses and robbing them of their possessions. They usually pose as hawkers on public transport. DB Joint Commissioner Abdul

Baten said: “DMP is planning to ban hawkers from conducting business inside buses so that we can prevent the activities of dope gangs.” “We will take a decision regarding the matter after holding meetings with the proper authorities and transport owners’ association,” he added. Police have found that the dope gangs have increased their activities recently, he said. “The dope gang members return to their criminal activity after being released from jail or securing bail, said Baten.

We will take a decision regarding the matter after holding meetings with the proper authorities and transport owners’ association Last week, DB police have raided different areas of the capital and

have arrested 19 members of dope gangs on Wednesday, added the official. They were identified as Jamal, Sayed, Rana, Enamul Haque alias Enam, Abul Hossain, Arif Hossain, Mona, Almaj Shekh, Imran Ali, Milon Patoary, Milon alias Patkata Milon, Rana, Alamgir, Shajib, Rubel, Manik Rahman alias Saju, Shakil Siddik, Sujon and Joynal. They were arrested from Sayedabad and Gabtoli bus terminals, Bongshal, Bhatara, Kamalapur BRTC bus stand and some

other areas of Dhaka. Joint Commissioner Baten said that a lot of these criminals are not from Dhaka, they come here from adjoining districts and usually join such snatching gangs first. These crimes usually go unreported as victims prefer not to get into a legal hassle, he said. “We are trying to prevent such crimes and have taken additional security measures in the strategic points of the city and shopping malls to catch these criminals,” added Baten. l

8 World

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

SOUTH ASIA

UN urges Sri Lanka to reduce army’s grasp A UN rights expert Thursday reiterated calls for Sri Lanka to step up reconciliation efforts and reduce the military presence in former war zones seven years after the end of fighting. UN minority rights expert Rita Izsak-Ndiaye urged the government to press ahead with healing the wounds of the conflict, after coming to power last year promising reforms and reconciliation. AFP

INDIA

Indian court acquits 14 over 2002 Gujarat massacre An Indian court on Thursday upheld appeals by 14 Hindus convicted over the massacre of 33 Muslims burnt alive during some of the worst religious unrest the country has seen since independence. The victims had crowded into a small house seeking shelter during a wave of anti-Muslim violence in the western state of Gujarat in 2002, triggered by a train fire in which Hindu pilgrims were burnt alive. AFP

CHINA

Hong Kong lawmakers blocked from taking oath Hong Kong’s legislature again descended into chaos Wednesday as pro-Beijing politicians blocked the swearing in of two new lawmakers who want a split from China, in an increasingly divided parliament. It comes as fears grow in the semi-autonomous city that Beijing is tightening its grip, fuelling an independence movement in Hong Kong. AFP

ASIA PACIFIC

Philippines’ Duterte announces separation from US

Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte declared his separation from longstanding ally the US in Beijing on Thursday, as he rebalances his country’s diplomacy towards China. I announce my separation from the United States, he said to applause at a meeting in the Chinese capital. AFP

MIDDLE EAST

US government sanctions Hezbollah fundraisers The US Treasury Department took action on Thursday to disrupt the operations and fundraising of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah organization, imposing sanctions on four people believed to be Hezbollah financiers and one firm, Global Cleaners SARL. The sanctions prevent US citizens doing business with the individuals and organization. Saudi Arabia joined the United States in imposing sanctions on some of the people. REUTERS

World diplomats seek post-battle plan for Mosul n Tribune International Desk Iraq’s prime minister vowed Thursday to protect civilians fleeing the battle to oust Islamic State extremists from Mosul, as the offensive picked up speed and diplomats worked to ensure the gains are lasting - and that jihadists don’t escape, reports The Associated Press. French President Francois Hollande, hosting a conference on stabilising Mosul, urged the international community not to abandon the city once the multi-pronged military operation is over. Diplomats from the US, Iraq and some 20 other countries gathered in Paris to devise a plan to protect civilians, distribute aid and address questions about governing areas newly liberated from IS. The offensive for Mosul - Iraq’s second-largest city and the biggest IS-held city - is expected to take weeks, if not months. There are fears it could unleash sectarian tensions, and threaten civilians in a region ravaged by years of violence. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi said Thursday that Mosul may fall sooner than expected. “The fighting forces are currently pushing forward toward the town more quickly than we thought, and more quickly certainly than we established in our plan of campaign,” he told the Paris conference via video transmission. French Foreign Minister JeanMarc Ayrault warned that up to

a million people might try to flee Mosul, and said authorities must check each one to make sure extremists aren’t among them. Ayrault also said the international community must think about the next step - notably, what do about the IS stronghold of Raqqa in Syria. As the Mosul fighting intensifies, al-Abadi said the Iraqi government is “providing support for internally displaced people,” and opening humanitarian corridors amid the ongoing military operations. “We will not allow any violations of human rights,” he said. He stressed that the battle is led by Iraq and is not a foreign invasion, though it has military support from a broad US-led coalition. He also praised the diverse nature of today’s Iraqi forces, including Kurdish peshmerga, fighting IS. Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders, speaking in Paris, said his government will contribute $1.1m to fund demining activities in Mosul once Islamic State fighters have been driven out. “By demining these areas, people who have fled can safely return to rebuild their lives,” Koenders said in a statement. French authorities believe attacks on French soil in recent years have been plotted from IS strongholds in Syria and Iraq. French warplanes and artillery are involved in the battle for Mosul, as part of the US-led military coalition

IRAQI FORCES CLOSING IN ON MOSUL

backing the Iraqi campaign. Hollande said France has 4,000 people deployed in the region, including

those on the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier and support forces on the ground near Qayyarah. l

East Aleppo ceasefire has begun, promises safe exit n Reuters, Amman The Syrian military said on Thursday a unilateral ceasefire backed by Russia had come into force to allow people to leave besieged eastern Aleppo, a move rejected by rebels who say they are preparing a counter-offensive to break the blockade. State media earlier said the army had opened exit corridors in two designated areas in the Bustan al Qasr quarter and near the Castello road in northern Aleppo city. Waiting buses were shown on state television. Intensified Russian and Syrian bombing of besieged rebel-held parts of Aleppo in the past weeks has hit hospitals, bakeries and water pumping stations, and killed hundreds of civilians. The United Nations has criticised unilateral ceasefires after long sieges, saying they can be

helpful only if combined with humanitarian access for those who do not want to leave. The 250,000 civilians trapped inside the besieged rebel held parts of the city have so far stayed away from the corridors. The army blames rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad for preventing them leaving and says they use civilians as human shields. Rebels say the goal of Moscow and Assad is to empty rebel-held areas of civilians so they can take over the whole city. State-owned Ikhbariyah television said rebels had fired a mortar barrage near to where ambulances had been heading to take patients from the besieged parts of the city for treatment in government-held areas.

Medical treatment The

Syrian

military

said

Wednesday it would observe the temporary ceasefire over three days from morning to sunset to allow trapped civilians to escape and said it had pulled back to enable rebel fighters to leave the city via two designated corridors. Residents reported no raids on residential areas on Thursday morning though rebel sources said planes believed to be Russian jets flying at high altitude continued to pound targets in towns and villages in Aleppo’s western countryside and in rebel-held Idlib province in northwest Syria. People ventured onto the streets in some neighbourhoods to buy essentials before an expected resumption of nightly raids after sunset. Near the Turkish border, at least one civilian and scores were wounded when a car bomb blew up in an industrial area in the town

of Azaz, a stronghold for Turkish-backed rebels who are waging a campaign to drive out Islamic State militants from their remaining foothold in the northern Aleppo countryside. Since Russia intervened in the war a year ago, the government’s side has gained the upper hand on numerous fronts, including Aleppo, where the opposition-held sector has been completely encircled for weeks. The Syrian army has pressed ahead with a major campaign, supported by Iranian-backed militias and Russian air power, to take full control of Syria’s largest city, divided between rebel and government zones since 2012. The rebels, however, say they are preparing a large-scale offensive to break the siege of Aleppo and that the Russian air force has failed. l

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

USA

FACTBOX

UK heads for Brexit showdown with EU: What’s at stake Prime Minister Theresa May will come under pressure from other European Union leaders on Thursday to say what kind of deal she wants for Britain when it leaves the bloc. May, attending her first EU summit since becoming prime minister in July, has so far given only glimpses of her vision for Britain’s future relationship with the EU. Below is a summary of the most important issues in the negotiations which are due to start by March next year.

Single market access British firms are likely to face barriers to the EU’s single, tariff-free market of 500m consumers because May has said she will heed the call from many voters for more controls over migration. Such controls would breach the EU’s core principle of freedom of movement for workers in the bloc. Supporters of a “hard” Brexit say Germany and other EU nations are bluffing about putting tariffs on British goods and services because their own exporters have too much to lose. But employers are worried, especially in sectors which would could face the highest tariffs if there is no deal between London and Brussels.

300,000 now, something that would require tough controls. Most economists say migration has helped Britain’s economy although wages for lower-paid workers have taken a small hit. May has ruled out the introduction of a points-based system modelled on the one used by Australia to select migrants, preferring a system that allows in the workers most needed by British employers. But EU leaders are unlikely to turn a blind eye to any restrictions on free movement of workers from the bloc. They fear that any concession to Britain would lead other states to demand similar deals, ultimately unraveling the Union.

Budget The pro-Brexit campaign before June’s referendum argued that once outside the EU, Britain would no longer have to make contributions to the bloc’s budget, which the UK Statistics Authority estimated at about £7bn a year. But Britain might still have to pay into the EU budget in order to maintain access for its financial services industry or other key sectors. Norway and Switzerland both pay into the EU budget to have preferential access to the EU market.

Migration

Customs union v trade deals

About half the immigrants coming to Britain are from the EU. May wants to cut total net migration to below 100,000 a year from more than

Britain could seek to remain part of the EU’s customs union once it is no longer a formal member of the bloc. The customs union includes non-EU

Nepal will allow its nationals to go to war-torn Afghanistan for work, a labour ministry official said on Thursday, ending an almost fourmonth ban imposed after 13 Nepali security guards were killed by a Taliban suicide bomber in the Afghan capital. Labour Ministry Spokesman Govinda Mani Bhurtel said employers would have to make adequate security arrangements for their stay, travel and work before Nepali nationals were given a work permit by the government to leave Nepal. Nepalis are still banned from working in other conflict hotspots such as Iraq, Libya and Syria, Bhurtel said. The impoverished Himalayan nation, which relies heavily on remittances from its migrant

workers, imposed the ban after 13 Nepalis and two Indians who were security guards at the Canadian Embassy in Kabul were killed while on a bus on June 23. Nepal, one of the world’s 10 poorest countries, is still reeling from two devastating earthquakes in 2015 that killed nearly 9,000 people. Political instability since a decade-long civil conflict ended in 2006 has discouraged investment, stunted growth and curtailed job creation -- forcing hundreds of thousands of Nepalis to migrate overseas in search of work. More than four million of the country’s 28 million population are working mainly in the Middle East, South Korea and Malaysia as guards, drivers, construction workers or domestic staff - sending home remittances which make up nearly 30% of the country’s annual gross domestic product. l

Clinton accuses Trump of being Putin’s puppet Clinton accused presidential rival Trump on Wednesday of being a puppet for Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country has been accused by US intelligence officials of meddling in the US election. During presidential debate, Trump said he did not know Putin but would likely get along better with the Russian leader than Clinton. REUTERS

THE AMERICAS

Venezuela delays state elections to 2017

Anti-Brexit campaigners set up a mock customs hut during a protest against Britain’s vote to leave the EU on October 8 REUTERS Turkey, Andorra and San Marino who trade freely with the bloc and share its common external tariffs. But if Britain opted to stay in the customs union, it could complicate attempts to strike free trade deals with other countries around the world, a central argument of the Brexit campaign. British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Wednesday he was sensitive to the potential problems for British exporters, especially those involved in cross-border supply chains, should the country end up outside the customs union.

Mechanics of negotiation May has said she will launch the formal, two-year process of negotiating Britain’s exit from the EU before the end of March 2017 and London wants to use the interim period to sound out European counterparts and decide its

priorities for the talks. So far, EU leaders have rebuffed attempts by Britain to talk informally about the outlines of a final deal, something that would help London settle on its Brexit strategy. After May triggers the exit process, the other 27 EU leaders will meet within a month or two to draft instructions for the European Commission for the negotiations. Those talks will be led on the EU side by Michel Barnier of France, who had tense relationship with London when he was the Commission’s financial regulation chief from 2010 to 2014. But a new relationship, including trade ties, will probably take many more years, requiring some kind of transition agreement so that Britain is not left in limbo. l

Sources: REUTERS, LONDON

Nepal lifts ban on allowing Argentine girl’s brutal rape, migrant workers to Afghanistan murder sparks new demos Reuters n Thomson Foundation, Kathmandu

World

n AFP, Buenos Aires The brutal killing of a 16-yearold girl who was allegedly raped and impaled on a spike by drug dealers has sparked outrage in Argentina, where protesters plan a “women’s strike” Wednesday. Lucia Perez, a high school student in the resort city of Mar del Plata, died on October 8 after being brought to the hospital by two men who said she had overdosed on drugs. But after doctors noticed signs of violent sexual penetration, investigators pieced together a different story. Prosecutors say the two men drugged, raped and impaled her through the anus, causing pain so excruciating that she went into cardiac arrest and died. The killing is just the latest incident of horrific gender violence in Argentina, which has seen more than a year of mass march-

es to protest brutality against women. Last year in June, protests broke out nationwide over a trio of gruesome killings: a kindergarten teacher whose estranged husband slit her throat in front of her class; a 14-year-old girl whose boyfriend allegedly beat her to death because she got pregnant; and a woman whose ex-boyfriend stabbed her to death in broad daylight at a Buenos Aires café. In the latest protest, 50 activist groups have called on women across the country to go on “strike”, taking to the streets dressed in black. One organiser, Sabrina Cartabia, said the goal was to protest not only Perez’s killing, but a culture that values women less than men. That is visible in statistics such as the unemployment rate, she said: 9.3% nationally, but 12% for women. l

Elections for Venezuela’s state governorships will be held in 2017 rather than December as expected, the election board said on Tuesday, giving the unpopular socialist government more breathing space before going to the polls. Critics say authorities have delayed the elections - and are also seeking to derail an opposition push for a referendum to recall President Nicolas Maduro - because they are frightened of letting Venezuelans have their say. REUTERS

UK’s May vows to work closely with EU Arriving at her first European Union summit, Prime Minister Theresa May promised that Britain would remain a strong partner to the EU after Brexit and called for unity in pressuring Russia for its sickening atrocities in Syria. Her speech at a conference of her Conservatives in Birmingham in early October suggested she is leaning towards a so-called hard Brexit in which Britain would place limits on immigration. REUTERS

EUROPE

EU leaders lash Russia over Syria but split on sanctions European Union leaders lashed out at Russia Thursday, criticising its backing for the Syrian regime and accusing it of atrocities in the besieged city of Aleppo. The EU has imposed sanctions on Syrian officials, but unanimity is lacking within the 28-nation bloc about extending the measures to Russia. AP

AFRICA

South African police fire stun grenades to disperse students Police fired stun grenades to disperse hundreds of students gathered outside President Jacob Zuma’s offices on Thursday, after weeks of violent protests across the country. Demonstrations over the cost of university education, prohibitive for many black students, have highlighted frustration at enduring inequalities in South Africa. REUTERS

World

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

FACTCHECK

Trump, Clinton and their debate claims 18 DAYS REMAIN

n Tribune International Desk Donald Trump painted an inaccurately dark portrait of manufacturing in America while Hillary Clinton stretched credulity in boasting that her spending plans won’t add to the country’s debt. As well, both struggled in the presidential final debate to explain comments from their past, reports The Associated Press. A look at some of the claims in the debate and how they compare with fact: Trump: “We’re not making things anymore, relatively speaking.” Fact: Despite his “relatively speaking” hedge, the assertion is wrong. US factory production has more than doubled since 1979, when manufacturing employment was at its peak. The problem is that it takes fewer people to produce more. The United States has lost more than 7 million factory jobs, a drop of nearly 40%, since the 1979 manufacturing employment peak. Factory production, minus the cost of raw materials and certain other expenses, reached $1.91tn last year, according to the Commerce Department, which uses 2009 dollars to adjust for inflation. That’s a notch below the record set on the eve of the Great Recession in 2007. Factories have used robotics and computers to increase output even with fewer workers. The US still produces plenty of autos, planes, steel and other metals, and large industrial machinery. Clinton: “I don’t add a penny to the national debt.” Fact: Not true, according to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsi-

ble Federal Budget. It estimates her increased spending in areas such as infrastructure, more financial aid for college and early childhood education, would increase the national debt by $200bn over 10 years. That is far less than their estimate for Trump, who they predict would add $5.3tn over 10 years. But it’s plenty more than a penny. Trump: Referring to a 2010 US-Russia treaty limiting both countries to 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads: “They create warheads. We can’t.” Fact: Incorrect. The New START treaty, which Trump called “Start Up,” does not prevent either the US or Russia from building nuclear warheads. It restricts each country to a total of 1,550 warheads deployed on bombers, submarines and in underground silos and requires that this limit be reached by February 2018. Clinton: On whether she called for open borders in a 2013 speech to a Brazilian bank: “I was talking about energy.” Fact: She was actually talking about more than energy, but apparently less than an open border that immigrants can spill across at will, according to the partial transcript released by WikiLeaks. Clinton: “He held a number of big rallies where he said that he could not possibly have done those things to those women because they were not attractive enough.” Trump: “I did not say that. I did not say that.” Fact: He did say that. At an October 13 rally, Trump criticized the physical attractiveness of People magazine reporter Natasha Stoynoff, who has said Trump forced himself on her at Mar-a-Lago while she was interviewing him for a story. Trump said: “Take

a look. You take a look. Look at her, look at her words, you tell me what you think. I don’t think so.” Clinton: “I want to make college debt free.” Fact: Clinton might aspire to that lofty goal, but she has only proposed making college tuition free for in-state students who go to a public college or university. Even with expanded grant aid, room and board can lead students to borrow. Clinton would have the government pay for in-state tuition at public colleges and universities for students from families earning less than $125,000 a year. Students would still need to foot the bill for housing and food, which makes up more than half of the average $18,943 sticker price at a four-year public university, according to the College Board. But Trump is correct that government would shoulder higher costs with Clinton’s plan. Her plan would cost the federal government an estimated $500bn over 10 years, with additional costs possibly for state governments. Trump: “Her plan is going to raise taxes and even double your taxes.” Fact: Clinton’s plan wouldn’t raise taxes at all for 95 percent of Americans, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Centre. The very wealthiest would take the greatest hit, though a doubling is highly questionable. Two-thirds of her proposed increases would hit the top 0.1% of richest Americans, the centre estimates. The main components of her tax plan: a minimum 30% tax on those earning at least $1m a year, and a 4% tax surcharge for those earning more than $5m a year. She would also cap the value of tax deductions and exclusions for wealthier taxpayers.

THIRD CLINTON-TRUMP DEBATE: KEY QUOTES On Russian President Vladimir Putin

"He has no respect for her. He has no respect for our president"

"I'll tell you at the time. I'll keep you in suspense, OK?"

"Now that is not the way our democracy works. We've been around for 240 years. We've had free and fair election. We've accepted the outcomes when we may not have liked them"

On recognizing Nov 8 results

"We have some bad hombres here and we're going to get them out"

On deportations

"If you go with what Hillary is saying, in the ninth month, you can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb of the mother just prior to the birth of the baby" Source: AFP/Debate transcript/Photo: Ethan Miller/AFPPhoto/Getty Images

"Well, that's because he’d rather have a puppet as president of the United States"

" I don't want to see the deportation force that Donald has talked about in action in our country.... I think it is an idea that would rip our country apart"

On abortion

"I do not think the United States government should be stepping in and making those most personal of decisions"

VIEWERS SAY CLINTON WON FINAL DEBATE A CNN/ORC poll of U.S. voters who watched the final presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump conclude that Clinton won. A YouGov poll of almost 40,000 respondents also puts Clinton ahead

52%

Democrat

Republican

47.4% 39%

43.3%

CNN/ORC poll

YouGov poll

Clinton Trump

CNN/ORC poll: 547 registered voters surveyed after debate. Margin of error: 4.0% YouGov poll: Survey of 39,934 potential voters between October 5-19, including 1,844 new interviews in past 24 hours. Margin of error: 3.9%

Sources: CNN/ORC, YouGov

Pictures: Associated Press

Clinton: on her opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal: “It didn’t meet my test.” Fact: It met her test when she was secretary of state and she promoted it worldwide. Hacked emails from Clinton’s campaign, released Wednesday by WikiLeaks, showed that Jake Sullivan, her top foreign policy adviser, called her a “big champion” of the deal and worried about how to handle the issue in the face of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ opposition. She later flip-flopped into opposition during the Democratic primaries against Sanders. Trump: “Hillary Clinton wanted the (border) wall. Hillary Clinton fought for the wall in 2006 or thereabouts. Now, she never gets anything done, so naturally it wasn’t built.” Fact: He’s partly right. As a senator from New York, Clinton did support the 2006 Secure Fence Act, which authorised the construction of hundreds of miles of fencing along the US-Mexico border. But it was built, contrary to Trump’s assertion. Nearly 700 miles of fencing was put in place during President George W Bush’s second term and the beginning of President Barack Obama’s first term. The fencing is placed largely in urban areas along the nearly 2,000-mile frontier. It is not the type of solid wall that Trump has pledged to construct at Mexico’s expense. The fence has miles-long gaps and gates built in to allow landowners access to their property on the south side of the fencing. Immigrants have been known to go over and around the fence. Trump: “So I just left some high representatives of India. They’re growing at 8%. China is growing at 7%. And that for them is a catastrophically low number. We are growing, our last report came out and it’s right around the 1% level and I think it’s going down.” Fact: China and India are growing faster in large part because they’re playing catch-up to the United States,

the world’s largest economy. Those two Asian countries are starting from a much lower baseline with a much larger population than the United States, meaning that by definition they should be growing faster. Economists would warn of a dangerous bubble if the United States grew that quickly and financial markets would fear a devastating recession to follow. But China and India aren’t any better off than the US, said former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in an analysis released Wednesday. On a per-capita basis, China has just 10% of the United States’ income. India has about 6%. Trump: Under Hillary Clinton, “$6bn went missing” at the State Department. Fact: Not exactly. That figure is a distortion about a legitimate record-keeping concern. In 2014, the State Department’s inspector general released an alert warning that the documentation for $6bn in State Department contracts was incomplete. But there’s no reason to think that all occurred under Clinton. The inspector general, Steve Linnick, specifically disavowed the conclusion that the money went missing. Trump: Clinton “has no idea whether it’s Russia, China or anybody else” behind recent hacks of Democratic organisations and individuals. “Our country has no idea.” Fact: Trump’s refusal to point the finger at Moscow is at odds with the prevailing position of the US intelligence community. “We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia’s senior-most officials could have authorised these activities,” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said recently in a joint statement with the Department of Homeland Security. Russia has denied accusations that it was behind the effort. l

Find more stories on US presidential election at www.dhakatribune.com

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

12 Business

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

TOP STORIES DCCI worried over India’s anti-dumping duty on BD jute Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) has expressed its concern over the ‘unexpected treatment’ by Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties or DGAD under India’s commerce ministry. PAGE 13

ECB holds rates, seen charting course to more easing in Dec The European Central Bank kept interest rates and policy guidance unchanged yesterday but may lay the groundwork for more easing to come in December as it tries to sustain a long-awaited rebound in consumer prices. PAGE 14

Inflation is next nerve-jangler for investors After undershooting inflation targets for years, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and some of his global peers are now talking about tolerating overshoots. The volte-face will necessitate nimble investor footwork. While bonds would be obvious losers, the winners will depend on whether inflation is of the good or bad variety. PAGE 15

Capital market snapshot: Thursday DSE Broad Index

4,692.4

-0.2% ▼

Index

1,111.8

-0.2% ▼

30 Index

1,748.2

-0.1% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk

5,007.6 -10.6% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

176.4 -22.1% ▼

CSE All Share Index 14,404.0

-0.3% ▼

30 Index

-0.3% ▼

Selected Index

12,949.2 8,763.4

-0.3% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk

390.9

25.4% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol

14.2

-0.0% ▼

Insurance scheme suggested for sustainable growth n Jebun Nesa Alo Access to social insurance, pensions and savings is very limited in Bangladesh which poses a challenge to sustainable and inclusive growth of the country. Bangladesh Social Protection and Labor Review report focused on the issue for the country’s existing safety net programmes. The report was launched as Bangladesh Development Series by The World Bank at a seminar held yesterday in capital. Minister for Planning AHM Mustafa Kamal attended the seminar on the launch of review report as the chief guest. The report found out that Bangladesh has a large number of safety net programmes particularly focusing on equity, but lacks programmes for resilience and opportunities through social insurance. Well-designed social insurance can provide mechanisms to collectively hedge against various risks, the report suggested. Discussants at the seminar said insurance scheme is necessary to help individuals prepare for rainy days and also inclement weather. At the same time pension

World Bank releases a report on Social Protection and Labor Review in Dhaka yesterday scheme in the private sector should be introduced and even such scheme could be small in amount which the government and business owners can take up jointly. In his address, Mustafa Kamal said the government has put more effort on ensuring insurance scheme for labour. Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) has been asked to come up with social

insurance scheme. The review report also focused on several challenging issues and risks which require policy intervention. Firstly, poverty and vulnerability remain high due to income shocks and limited access to risk management for the poor. Secondly, job challenges among young people are high. The youth in between the ages of

COURTESY

15 and 24 make up about 30% of the working people entering the labour force and creating job pressure. Less participation of women in workforce is also considered a challenge towards improving labour market. The report says despite strong improvement in female literacy level, a high share of working women is engaged in non-paid family work. l

BSEC to publish gazette of venture capital norms soon n Kayes Sohel Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) will publish its official gazette of venture capital norms soon, which was unveiled more than a year ealier. “We are going to publish venture capital rules soon for allowing startups and small businesses to raise fund through venture capital,” said BSEC Chairman M Khairul Hossain yesterday. Khairul was speaking at a seminar on “Venture Capital for Startups” arranged on the sidelines of a three-day flagship annual event of the country’s ICT sector with the theme “Non-stop Bangladesh” in the city. “For listing small companies having low-paid capital, we are formulating the rules. This will help boost the stock market,” said the BSEC chief. On June last year, the capital market watchdog unveiled the guidelines called the “Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (Alternative Investment) Rules, 2015” to govern the venture

capital firms. The rules came into force immediately after publication in the official gazette. Over the past several years, venture capital firms that are relatively new in the country have been operating their businesses in absence of such rules. Under some excerpts from the slew of new norms, venture capital fund could be invested primarily in non-listed equity and equity-linked securities of startups with less than two years of operational history or green field companies or emerging early-stage undertakings mainly involved in new products, services, technologies or intellectual property rights based activities or new business models. For operational eligibility, a local venture capital firm needs to have a paid-up capital of at least Tk5 crore. For a fully-owned subsidiary foreign venture capital firm, it needs to have a paid-up capital of at least Tk15 crore for application of registration, and for a partially-owned subsidiary foreign firm,

the paid-up capital will be at least Tk10 crore. The applicant firm must have a minimum net worth of 75% of its total paid-up capital. About criteria on formation of an alternative investment fund, such fund size will be minimum Tk10 crore and subscription by the sponsor is not less than 10% of the fund provided that the sponsor will subscribe at least 20% of its total subscription to the fund before registration of the fund. India has more than 200 such types of companies after prom-

ulgation of rules and regulations in 1996. A large number of venture capital companies have been formed in Pakistan after proclaiming rules in 2001. In India, venture capital financing started in 1988 with the formation of Technology Development and Information Company of India Ltd. Grameen Fund is the pioneer of venture capital in the country. It launched its operation in mid1990s although the organisation is no more funding the private companies as venture capital. l

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

DCCI worried over India’s anti-dumping duty on Bangladesh jute n Kayes Sohel Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) has expressed its concern over the ‘unexpected treatment’ by Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties or DGAD under India’s commerce ministry. India’s anti-dumping authority has proposed 25-30 per cent duty on the jute imported from Bangladesh and Nepal based on the investigation outcome though there is no clear finding of injury caused by Bangladesh’s exported price and volume on Indian local finished producers, said DCCI in a statement yesterday. DCCI in its statement said: “It will have negative cascading impacts on parties involved in our local jute

supply chain process, export market and dampen glorious heritage of golden fiber of Bangladesh.” According to the statement, following the anti-dumping investigation into imports of jute goods from Bangladesh in 2015, the probe body of Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) is going to propose imposition of anti-dumping duty on jute items imported from Bangladesh against accusation of Indian Jute Mills Association of lowered price and injury to domestic industry. It said when Bangladesh is working hard to improve and maintain a justified cross-border bilateral trade relation with India, this sort of decision is likely to be a blow to their endeavour.

“In this regard, our commerce ministry, Tariff Commission and other government agencies concerned are requested to immediately take up the issue to review the entire technical process of anti-dumping investigation made,” said the DCCI. They also sought negotiation with the commerce ministry of India to reconsider this trade unfriendly decision to safeguard local jute industry in the greater interest of bilateral trade between Bangladesh and India. Following the anti-dumping investigation into imports of jute goods from Bangladesh in 2015, the probe body Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) is going to propose imposition of anti-dumping duty on jute

items imported from Bangladesh against accusation of Indian Jute Mills Association of lowered price and injury to domestic industry. Bangladesh usually exports jute and jute goods, yarn, twine, sacks and bags worth around $900 million to many global destinations of which is 20 per cent of Bangladesh’s export to Indian market. “Our 20 per cent jute export to India accounts for 8 per cent of entire Indian local market share,” said the DCCI. If this proposed anti-dumping duty comes under effect, it could result adverse impacts on Bangladesh’s local growers, producers, exporters and spur further trade imbalance of Bangladesh with India, said the statement. l

Blockchain platform to be open-source n Reuters A blockchain platform developed by a group that includes more than 70 of the world’s biggest financial institutions is making its code publicly available, in what could become the industry standard for the nascent technology. The Corda platform has been developed by a consortium brought together by New-York-based financial technology company R3. It represents the biggest shared effort among banks, insurers, fund managers and other players to work on using blockchain technology in the financial markets. Blockchain, which originated in the digital currency bitcoin, works as a web-based transaction-processing and settlement system. It creates a “golden record” of any given set of data that is automatically replicated for all parties in a secure network, eliminating any need for third-party verification. Banks reckon the technology could save them money by making their operations faster, more efficient and more transparent. They are racing to build products using the technology that will generate new revenue, with dozens of patent applications filed for blockchain-based products by Wall Street’s top lenders. “We want other banks and other parties to innovate with products that sit on top of the platform, but we don’t want everyone to create their own platform ... because we’ll end up with lots of islands that can’t talk to each other,” R3’s chief engineer, James Carlyle, told Reuters. l

Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu speaks at a seminar arranged by the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institue to mark World Standards Day 2016 at BSTI office in Dhaka yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Stocks nudge lower for second straight day n Kayes Sohel Stocks closed marginally lower for the second straight session yesterday, as investors continued to take modest profits. The market dipped as it opened in the morning, but recovered some points before ending negative in the final session. The benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange DSEX fell 10 points or 0.2% to settle at 4,702. In the last two sessions, it declined about 20 points. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, lost 2 points to 1,748. The DSE Shariah Index was down over 2 points to 1,111.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX shed 28 points to 8,791. Trading activities subdued as the DSE total turnover was Tk500 crore, down 10.6% over previous session. Fortune Shoes, in its first trading day, jumped more than 500% its offer price and was the most traded stock, accounting for about 10% of the total turnover. However, on sectoral basis, textile topped the turnover chart which was followed by power and banking sectors. The sectors made up nearly 10% of the day’s total trade value. Amid the major sector, textile performed pretty well rising

Business

1% with five stocks came into the top ten gainers’ list. Heavyweight banking sector remained flat after vibrant session in previous session. Telecommunications sector rose 0.6%, extending their rally for the second day. On the other hand, non-banking financial institutions, power, engineering and tannery sectors declined. Out of total 325 companies traded on the DSE, 110 moved up, 156 down while 59 remained unchanged. After Fortune Shoes, Doreen Power was the most traded share, followed by National Bank Limited, Singer Bangladesh and Paramount Textile. l

JTC meet in Nov to fix river transit, LC margin with Myanmar n Asif Showkat Kallol Bangladesh wants to boost bilateral trade relation with Myanmar through introducing transnational banking service between two neighbouring countries. The issues along with electricity and gas imports from Myanmar will be discussed at the next Bangladesh-Myanmar Joint Trade Commission meeting which is due on November 9 and 10 in Dhaka. The meeting will also fix the issues of river transit and letter of credit margin for bilateral trade between the two countries. At the meeting, the representatives of both countries will also talk about the launch of Bangladesh-Myanmar border trade, revitalising coastal vessels plying trade deal and investment opportunities in agriculture and fisheries sectors and signing of preferential trade agreement. A number of decisions like river transit and letter of credit margin are expected to be made at the meeting. Both parties agreed to work on removal of trade barriers between two countries at the last meeting of the Commission. Under the preferential trade agreement, Bangladeshi products like pharmaceuticals, MS rods, cement and television sets will get special advantage in bilateral trade. Bangladeshi shrimps, fishes, dried fishes, nuts and salt will get duty-free access to Myanmar. “It is easy to increase bilateral trade and investment between Bangladesh and Myanmar due to their geographical position,” said Senior Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamun. “We will discuss to solve the problems like trade barriers between two countries at the next Joint Trade Commission’s meeting.” l

Rahima Food’s share trading to be probed

n Tribune Business Desk

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has formed a body to probe into the recent unusual share trading of Rahima Food Corporation Ltd. “An enquiry committee has been formed to investigate into the company’s recent unusual trading in shares in the stock exchanges and other irregularities related to the company,” said the regulator in a filing with the Dhaka Stock Exchange. Shares of Rahima Food were traded at Tk51 on October 4 last, which increased by over 70% to Tk87.30 as of yesterday on the DSE. l

Business

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

ECB holds rates, seen charting course to more easing in December n Reuters The European Central Bank kept interest rates and policy guidance unchanged yesterday but may lay the groundwork for more easing to come in December as it tries to sustain a long-awaited rebound in consumer prices. Holding interest rates deep in negative territory and maintaining bond purchases at 80 billion euros per month, ECB President Mario Draghi is likely to emphasize later at a news conference the continued need for monetary stimulus, reinforcing expectations for an extension of the ECB’s asset buys beyond its scheduled end next March. The ECB has provided unprecedented stimulus for years with sub-zero rates, free loans to banks and over a trillion euros in bond purchases, all in the hope of reviving growth and lifting inflation back to its target of just below 2% after more than three years of misses. In a widely expected decision yesterday, Draghi kept the deposit rate at minus 0.4% and maintained the ECB’s guidance for rates

to stay at their current or lower levels for an extended period. Attention now turns to the news conference at 1230 GMT (0830 EDT), with markets looking for fresh hints about its expected move in December. The trick for Draghi will be to keep the door firmly open to more stimulus without any hint of commitment that could rattle markets and lead to a repeat of turbulence set off last year, when the ECB raised expectations too high and did not fully deliver on them. Action is far from urgent, however. The euro zone economy is chugging along, inflation is at a two-year high, national budget proposals suggest a bit more fiscal support, and the early impact on euro zone economies of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union has been muted. All these suggest that the 19-country bloc is on the path predicted by the ECB in September. But Draghi and fellow board members have gone to pains in recent weeks to emphasize that this outlook is predicated on “very substantial” monetary support, a hint taken as confirmation

that an extension is coming. Indeed, ECB chief economist Peter Praet has warned that a premature withdrawal of stimulus would stall and reverse the upswing, a further sign any tapering is well into the future. “Present loose (financial) conditions also reflect expectations of additional ECB action, this suggests that the ECB will have to do more just to preserve the current degree of accommodation,” UniCredit economist Marco Valli said prior to the rate decision. “Therefore, anything less than quantitative easing extension at 80bn euros per month risks tightening financial conditions via higher yields, a stronger currency and, possibly, lower risk appetite.” The ECB’s 1.74tn euro quantitative easing (QE) scheme is now set to expire in March but the bank has always said that it would run until it saw a sustained recovery in inflation. Analysts polled by Reuters unanimously expect unchanged rates with the vast majority predicting a three to six month extension to asset buys in December. l

CORPORATE NEWS

Standard Bank Limited has recently opened its 106th branch at Shohid Abul Kashem Road, Badurtola in Chuadanga, said a press release. The bank’s chairperson, Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed inaugurated the branch as chief guest

State minister for posts and telecommunication, Tarana Halim has recently inaugurated a customer care centre of Teletalk Bangladesh Limited in banana, said a press release

Indonesia unexpectedly cuts key interest rate n AFP, Jakarta

Indonesia’s central bank yesterday unexpectedly cut its key interest rate for the sixth time this year in a bid to boost slowing growth in Southeast Asia’s top economy. Bank Indonesia reduced the rate by 25 basis points to 4.75%, despite many economists having forecast there

would no change. It was the second consecutive month that policymakers have trimmed rates as they scramble to boost the G20 economy, which has been losing steam in recent years due to slowing demand for its commodity exports. The bank said it had decided on the move as it

believes third-quarter economic growth will not be as strong as expected. The growth data is due to be released next month. A statement said the bank “believes that monetary easing will strengthen the effort to drive domestic demand... and further push momentum for economic growth”. l

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Walton has recently opened an exclusive distributor showroom named PK Enterprise at Tekerhar in Madaripur, said a press release. The company’s brand ambassador, Ilias Kanchan inaugurated the showroom

CEO and MD of Sonali Bank Limited, Obayed Ullah Al Masud has recently attended a view exchanging meeting with the bank’s officials, said a press release

Business

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

Inflation is next nerve-jangler for investors n Reuters After undershooting inflation targets for years, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and some of his global peers are now talking about tolerating overshoots. The volte-face will necessitate nimble investor footwork. While bonds would be obvious losers, the winners will depend on whether inflation is of the good or bad variety. The former occurs when rising wages mean consumers are willing to pay more for the same

goods. The less desirable sort materialises when an external shock forces suppliers to charge more, regardless of demand, as during the 1970s oil price shock. Unilever’s dispute with UK retailer Tesco last week over the price of its consumer products, including yeast-based spread Marmite, gave an early taste of the latter kind. For fixed-income investors, there’s not much difference between the two. Inflation, of whatever variety, erodes the real value of returns. Aside from infla-

tion-linked bonds, most kinds of debt fall in value when inflation accelerates. But matters are less clear cut when it comes to other asset classes. For example, consumer discretionary stocks are better placed to benefit when inflation is rising, because households are splashing out and the economy is growing faster. Less so when outside forces boost inflation. This could be the case in Britain, where a sharp fall in sterling is making imports more expensive.

Investment strategies that traditionally benefit during times of higher inflation may also founder if rate-setters react more slowly to rising inflation than in the past. For instance, the relative performance of real assets, such as property, has traditionally moved in sync with US policy rates since the 1950s, Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts say. But this relationship may be weaker if there’s a longer lag than usual between rising inflation and monetary tightening. Both US and UK headline infla-

tion picked up, data showed on Oct 18. Carney says he is willing to allow inflation to run “a bit” higher than his 2% target in order to help employment and growth. And investors think Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen might be inclined to do the same after she said on Oct 14 that running a “high pressure economy” may be one way to reverse crisis-era scarring that was at risk of becoming permanent. If so, money managers may find it as tricky to navigate inflation risks as they did the threat of deflation. l

Feature

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

Will Brexit affect Bangladesh? A lecture by SANEM

n Farina Noireet

n Tuesday, this week, the South Asian Network on Economic Modelling (SANEM) organised the latest in their Lecture Series, titled “What does BREXIT mean for Bangladesh and other Developing Countries?” at their premises in Gulshan 2. The main speakers at the lecture were Dr Selim Raihan, Professor of the Department of Economics at the Univesity of Dhaka and the Executive Director of SANEM, and Dr Mohammad A Razzaque, Advisor and Head of the International Trade & Regional Cooperation Section at Commonwealth Secretariat. Dr Raihan's area of focus has been researches on international trade, labour market dynamics, poverty, economic growth and political economy analysis of growth and development, while Dr Razzaque's expertise includes empirical analysis of trade performance, exchange rate behaviour, export competitiveness, regional trade arrangements and economic growth and poverty. In the wake of BREXIT, which is the UK's intention to withdraw from the politico-economic union, that is the European Union (EU), there will be significant economic and political changes not only on the EU economy but also in the world. With the UK voting to no longer be a part of the EU, developing nations such as Bangladesh, which were till date, enjoying quota free access in trading with European nations may now face adverse effects. In the lecture, Dr Raihan

mentioned that Bangladesh might encounter a fall in exports of around US$330 million and a fall in its real GDP by 0.1% due to the loss in preferences in the UK market. There will also be negative effects on exports from the Pacific, CARICOM (Caribbean Community), other LDCs and SubSaharan African countries, not in different magnitudes. He described BREXIT as, “an unprecedented situation in the face of the effective partnership that is the EU, which, until now has been an ideal union of regional nations, one which other countries around the world strive to achieve.” He further explained the possible post-BREXIT background situation by stating, “Until now, UK's trade deals with other nations around the globe have been under the regulations of the EU umbrella, but following BREXIT, the UK will have to make their own separate trade regulations with countries they trade with. This imposing of additional trade regulations by the UK may pose to have negative economic

things financially challenging for developing nations.” Dr Razzaque elaborated on the historical contexts and the channels through which BREXIT

value of the British Pound having gone down a significant amount in the wake of BREXIT, this will have an adverse effect on a magnitude of areas – from the income earned

With the UK voting to no longer be a part of the EU, developing nations such as Bangladesh, which were till date, enjoying quota free access in trading with European nations may now face adverse effects

effects on some nations. Interested foreign investors may have to pay additional taxes to access the UK market, hence making

might have negative effects on UK's partner countries and the potential implications of such channels. He explained: “With the

by locals and expats living in the UK. UK is also a major provider of foreign aid and the depreciation of the British Pound will invariably have a negative impact on the countries the aid goes to as they will be receiving less than they used to before.” Dr Raihan brought the interactive lecture session to a close by ending it off on a positive note: “Since BREXIT, as a whole, is a setback, Bangladesh and other developing countries may see this either as an opportunity or a challenge, depending on how economic relationships pan out in the future. However, one silver lining for Bangladesh may be in making effective use of all the trading opportunities that will open up in the wake of trade cut-offs between UK and the EU.” The lecture was organised as

a part of SANEM Lecture Series, which is aimed to share and disseminate academic researches on current economic issue. Started in 2007, SANEM is a non-profit research organisation and a network of economists and policy makers in South Asia with a special emphasis on economic modelling. SANEM aims to promote the production, exchange and dissemination of basic research knowledge in the areas of international trade, macro economy, poverty, labour market, environment, political economy and economic modelling. It seeks to produce objective, high quality, country and South Asian region specific policy and thematic research. SANEM contributes in governments’ policy-making by providing research support both at individual and organisational capacities. SANEM maintains research collaboration with global, regional and local think-tanks, research and development organisations, universities and individual researchers. SANEM promotes young researchers from Economics, Business and Social Sciences to undertake independent research works on contemporary issues and also arranges regular training programs on economic modelling and contemporary economic issues for both Bangladeshi and other South Asian participants. l

Feature

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

Curtains fall on Fall Meet up 2016

n Features Desk Fall is always dazzling. A lot of us admire this time of the year when everything bursts with a final sort of beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale. And this year, to add colour to this winsome season in Dhaka, Fall Meet-Up 2016 was organized by MIB Spirit – Made in Bangladesh, Ajo – fast casual and relax dining, SM Products and Headoffice Communication from October 13 to October 15 at the MIB- Spirit Studio, Dhaka. This season, the celebrations were loud and big with 15 local exhibitor brands showcasing their awe-striking collections and over 6000 visitors embracing this spirit. Be it the exclusive paintings by Amar Bangladesh, the dazzling bags of Rene Bangladesh, the one-of-a-kind bookmarks by Ruth, the sweetest honey by Sundarbans Bee Busy and the ‘wow’ caricatures by Cartoon People or the exceptional designs

by Made with Love, the soughtafter notebooks by SM Products, the striking Closet of Tatiana, the remarkable sketchbooks by Boka Baksho, the jute-printed saris by Sweet Potato, the striking designs of Paint Me Yellow by Sabah Khan and the mesmerizing dreamcatchers by Stellar, every flavour of the Fall Meet-Up ignited the occasion. MIB Spirit - Made in Bangladesh which is a lifestyle brand that has specialised in crafting bag and currently focuses on a range of products which include accessories that ignites the true feeling of national pride & patriotism; MIB Spirit - Made in Bangladesh has portrayed the products at the Fall Meet-up which has exhibited the authentic root of made in Bangladesh. Dedicated to the local wisdom and environment of Bangladesh, all products introduced by the brand are green, locally sourced, stylish and yet of top-notch quality. Ajo was available at the

event for dine-ins and takeaways, and has served a few popular items from the prior menu and some new ones. If you had come to Fall Meet-up 2016, you would have been left spell-bound by the incomparable charm of each of the goods that carried no foreign thread. Starting from the shawls from Rangamati by Closet of Tatiana and the cotton saris by Sweet Potato to the wooden rings by Boka Baksho and exclusive embroidery by Paint Me Yellow by Sabah Khan, every product sang a song of the Bangladeshi culture. Every good carried the smell of the mysterious resources enriching the heart of Bangladesh. If you paid a visit, you must now be feeling proud of the minds blooming in this country, bringing to you such incredible creations. How cool is the brand which ensures that the finest Bangladeshi products, upon receiving orders from Australia, are internationally shipped to spread the Bengali culture throughout the world and tries to use Bangladeshi delivery companies for this purpose! This spirit was embraced by Sweet Potato. It is true that we can find inspiration from a lot of places, but certainly, the Fall Meetup was one of the best places in that list. There are many such occasions when we feel disappointed about not being able to produce something exceptional to make ourselves stand out in the crowd. We often blame our upbringing or lack of opportunities in our lives for stopping us from realising our

goals. In this Fall Meet-up, you could meet Amar Bangladesh, consisting of three local painters, who can neither speak nor hear what you say but can easily communicate with the brush that speaks what runs in their minds. It is their passion to draw what they want to express that outshone their disabilities and welcomed such interested visitors in their stalls. There was also the brand Ruth, whose owner had recently begun her work designing bookmarks and stickers, born of a passion to play with the pen or pencil. One of the biggest attractions was the Cartoon People team, whose portrait caricatures stole the crowd. The enthusiasm and patience with which they drew interested patrons mesmerised everyone. Such young people, with their warmest smiles and endearing hopes, were bound have won your hearts in the Fall Meet-up One of the best parts of the Fall Meet-up 2016 was the warm atmosphere of the MIB Spirit studio. Though a not very huge place, the tenderness of the crowd could cajole your soul to call it one of the most refreshing places ever without a shadow of doubt. The gorgeous lighting, the green surroundings, the soothing air carrying thousands of stories, the amiable nature of the exhibitors, the excitement of the visitors and the wonderful display of the true beauty of Bangladesh could melt you undoubtedly. It was an ideal hub for you to hang out with your friends, click pictures of yourself and the surroundings, check the different stalls, grab your

goodies and make memories. The picturesque background attracted many photographers as well. The special products of Fall Meet-up 2016 were featured at the Facebook Live sessions directly from the exhibition by RJ Kazria Kayes and fashion blogger Dr. Niloy Farhana of Vogue & Vagabond; Beyond. Furthermore, Biskut Factory, Beat Baksho, TheJhakanakaProject, B’s Closett, The Fashionoholic and lifestyle bloggers, Bardots and Newton also attended live streaming sessions with the event’s exhibits at the Fall Meet-up 2016. To top it all off, this time Radio Shadhin 92.4 FM came live at the Fall Meet-Up for a music performance during the closing ceremony of the event. The concert took place from 8pm to 9:30pm on October 15, 2016 after the conclusion of the exhibition. If you were part of the crowd, you would have swayed in the beauty of Bengali classics performed by Rushnaf and Beat Baksho. The concert gave even more life to the event. Though exhausted, many exhibitors and visitors did not forget to tap their feet in the tune of these music sessions and to cheer the performers for bringing such a beautiful end to this marvelous event. To those who missed the Meet-up this time, there isn’t any reason to be disheartened because in the next season, things are going to be even bigger, even louder and even warmer. To add an end note, this event was, Made with Love, Made with Affection, Made with Utter Dexterity, and Made in Bangladesh (adapted from the quote of MIB Spirit). l

Feature

FRI DAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

Gear up for the first national cinema quiz contest Enliven Youth Platform organises CineQ 2016

n Feature Desk Inspiration, determination, and belief were the catalysts and sources of power to kick off the first national cinema based quiz contest named CineQ 2016, with the collective efforts of the members of the Enliven Youth Platform. CineQ 2016 was just a programme idea before September 9, and the enthusiastic and passionate youngsters soon began to make their plans to give visibility to their concept, creating cineQ within just five days. Within three days of launching the event page on Facebook with a preamble speech after confirming the venue and date, people engagement increased exponentially to hit half a million. According to the specialists, visual learning is twice as effective as verbal learning, if not more. As

it is required to watch the given movies thoroughly for the quiz contest to trump cineQ 2016, a participant will certainly learn a lot of issues and will get the gists of the movies. Since cinema is one of the primary sources of knowing cultural trends and norms, the programme is aimed at ensuring students gain in-depth knowledge about national and international culture. This exposure can contribute to eradicating superstition and conservative ideals, encourage students to think out of the box, and provide a cultural education through entertainment. Enliven Cinema Club (ECC) is a concern of Enliven Bangladesh, which has received permission from the Ministry of Information and has already started to organise the ‘Young Filmmakers for Development Sector’, an initiative funded by SNV Bangladesh in 2015. ECC is presenting cineQ 2016 for the first time with Enliven Youth Platform (EYP), as one of their signature programmes. Enliven Cinema Club, from its commencement, has been involved with CARE Bangladesh, UNDP, Swiss contact, SNV and EMK Center for different initiatives, and are proudly moving forward with its large volunteer groups. The quiz competition has been designed for school, college and university students where they will be separated into Group A, B & C respectively. The teams needs

to be formed with two or three members from any institution but from the same group. The movie list comprises of world classic movies, award winning movies, liberation war based movies and movies with strong messages. The main objective of the cineQ 2016 programme is to focus on the

shine as movie freaks. All those movies when we should’ve studied finally pay off !” - these kinds of messages are already popping up on social media. Though the last date of registration was October 18, due to plenty of requests, the date has been extended to October 24, 2016.

According to the specialists, visual learning is twice as effective as verbal learning, if not more. As it is required to watch the given movies thoroughly for the quiz contest to trump cineQ 2016

positive sides of the movies, so that young minds can learn and understand the depth of the film movement to nurture the very best of knowledge, inspiration and information. Hundreds of teams have already registered at cineQ till now. Registered teams are giving their reviews on cineQ 2016 on a daily basis with mentionable excitement. “It’s our chance to

A huge number of enthusiastic youth from all over the country will be congregating for the day-long programme with an exciting two round cinema quiz battle, short film screening, traditional bioscope show, spot quizzing, a photo session zone and prize giving ceremony. A lot of exciting gifts and prizes will be awarded; for instance, prizemoney and crest for the champion

and finalists, t-shirts, books and mugs for the spot quiz winners and online quiz winners, and certificates for all participants. The special contribution of a 32inch LED TV by Sohana Electrics, quiz partner of the event, will be awarded for the most outstanding performance of the day. Appreciation is still pouring in from different people, along with positive encouragement, valuable proposals and promising support, including the contribution of AHOBAN Youth Charity Foundation as strategic partner. Their campus ambassadors have made it possible to take the programme to another level in only three days, with their extensive in-campus promotion and viral social media campaign. A number of renowned clubs like the BUET Film Society, and MIST Literature and Cultural Club are working as outreach partners. Meraki, a prominent food restaurant, is contributing as gift partner and presenting food coupons worth 5000 taka to the winning team of each group. Dhaka Tribune, the media partner of the event, are also giving their support. Online and offline registration is open for all interested participants with 2-3 members’ teams. Ticketchai.com is working as the reservation partner to make the registration process more convenient. For further queries, visit the facebook page http://bit. ly/CineQ2016 or register at bit.ly/ ApplyCineQ2016 l

Biz Info

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

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Concord Entertainment presents Foy’s Lake complex The brand new Foy’s Lake Resort is a unique getaway where you can stay in luxurious accommodation while enjoying the natural beauty of Foy’s Lake and the entertainment of its two theme parks - Foy’s Lake Amusement World and Sea World. The whole complex is located in Pahartoli, Chittagong, on approximately 320 acres of land. Whether taking your kids on holiday, enjoying a corporate retreat or a romantic break, a stay at the resort is an unforgettable experience. Facilities include air-conditioned rooms, colour cable TV, restaurant, credit card facilities, en suite bathrooms, room service, car parking and convenience store. Recreational facilities, other than the theme parks, include BBQ nights, cultural programmes, boat rides, and concerts and shows by leading artists. The Amusement World allows you to have fun as well as enjoy the serenity and peacefulness of Foy’s Lake, and the Sea World is full of splash pools, water coaster rides, and all the usual features you would expect from a world class water theme park. The rides include Wave Pools, Slide World, Family Pool, Tube Slides, Multi-Slide, Waterfall, Doom Slide, Play Zone and Dance Zone. There are separate changing rooms and toilets for ladies and gents, lockers for valuables, local and international food, as well as Foy’s Lake Resort and shops. l

| grant |

| milestone |

WTU offers President Scholarship 2016 to BUFT

Six Seasons celebrates its third anniversary

Recently, 11 students from the various departments of BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology (BUFT) received the President Scholarship 2016 in Masters programmes at Wuhan Textile University (WTU), China, under an education collaboration agreement between BUFT and WTU.

The students selected for the scholarship are Md Moshiur Rahman, Md Rasel Mia, Md Raihan Sikder, Saifur Rahman, Rajon Ahmed and Mustary Akter Jhumu from the Department of Apparel Manufacture and Technology (AMT), Md Abu Yousuf and Ramjan Ali from the Department

of Knitwear Manufacture and Technology (KMT) and Tamanna Hayder, Tausif Al Mehran and Tanzila Tabassum from the Department of Fashion Design and Technology (FDT). The scholarships cover all living and educational expenses. l

Six Seasons Hotel, the luxury boutique hotel in Gulshan 2, celebrated its third anniversary on October 18, 2016. Many respected corporations, banking and media partners, and foreign dignitaries were present at the anniversary programme. The management of Six Seasons Hotel thanked all the attendees for their continuous support to ensure Six Seasons remains the number one ranked hotel in Dhaka, and promised to provide an even better guest

experience in the coming years. Kazi Aaquib Shams, Six Season’s director, said, “We are not the biggest hotel, but we are the quietest, most-ideally located hotel with the tastiest food, most luxurious rooms, innovative concepts and by far the best service in the industry. Our innovation, ethics, product and service quality is what keeps us at the very top”. The program continued with a grand buffet dinner and highly enjoyable live music. l

20 Editorial

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

TODAY

Trump may not accept election results Hillary had the last laugh. She was poised, and radiated confidence that comes from thorough preparation PAGE 21

Technology can bring us together Landlocked countries need to use the nearest cable landing station of neighbouring countries. This provides a big scope for regional collaboration

BIGSTOCK

PAGE 22

The future is digital The question about who wants Rampal The police attack on the procession walking to hand over a memorandum to the Indian High Commission was more remindful of panic than concern over law and order 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.

etter internet connections, better cyber security, better digital education -- that is what Bangladesh needs to move forward into the 21st century. And Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina understands the importance of

digital. To that end, the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s initiative to set up a world standard forensics lab, a cyber security agency, and a digital security council deserves praise. One of the most basic outcomes of improved internet infrastructure will be accelerated economic growth. With the widening spread of the internet across the country, we have witnessed the rise of mobile banking improve financial inclusion by providing mobile banking services to even the remotest areas of Bangladesh. By building on this infrastructure, and opening up our digital borders, the nation stands to reap the benefits of online payment systems such as PayPal, which has already expressed interest in Bangladesh as a potential market, and will allow citizens to earn money from overseas companies from their own homes, not to mention easing the process of remittance flowing into the country. But better cyber-security is imperative. As made evident by the Bangladesh Bank heist earlier this year, lax cyber security can cost the nation dearly. The PM deserves kudos for taking serious steps to bring digital security up to world standard. It is projected that by 2025, 60% of Bangladeshâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population will have access to broadband connectivity, and with better government policies on the internet, better digital education across schools, and the setting up of high-tech parks, the vision of a truly digital Bangladesh is appearing realistic. We live in an age where it takes milliseconds for information to travel from one corner of the world to another, thanks to the internet. For Bangladesh to truly integrate with the developed world and become a player in the global economy, digital is the only way.

For Bangladesh to truly integrate with the developed world and become a player in the global economy, digital is the only way

Opinion

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

Trump may not accept election results Clinton is now 3-0 in the debates LETTER FROM AMERICA

n Fakhruddin Ahmed

nly winners and losers are the denizens of the world of Donald Trump. Rightly or wrongly, Trump proclaims himself as the ultimate winner, and has utter disdain for the “losers” of the world. Here is the irony: If Trump were honest, he would characterise the majority of his supporters -- blue collar whites struggling economically -- as “losers.” One never sees Trump visiting the modest households of his financially-strapped white supporters. They have to travel hundreds of miles to Trump rallies to listen to their hero, who has not articulated any plan to alleviate their suffering.

A rigged election?

With 20 days to go before the November 8 election, and the polls predicting Trump’s defeat (Nate Silver puts the chance of a Clinton victory at 87%), Trump is now warning his supporters that the elections will be “rigged.” An election loss will demolish the persona of a “winner” Trump has cultivated so carefully over a lifetime. A loss at the hands of a woman, Hillary Clinton, will be unacceptably humiliating for a misogynist like Trump. If he can convince his supporters that the election has been “rigged,” he is off the hook. Even if Hillary Clinton wins, Trump can claim that he had not actually lost -- the election was stolen from him. He can still wear the mantle of a “winner.” The third and last presidential debate on October 19 in Las Vegas was overshadowed by Trump’s assertion that he may not accept the results of the presidential election scheduled for November 8 if he loses. This is unprecedented in the 240-year history of the United States. Historically, every loser of a presidential election had conferred legitimacy on the winner by conceding the election, and wishing the president-elect all the best. This has been the case even when the election results were in doubt.

There was a clear winner For example, in 2000, Al Gore won half a million more popular votes nationwide than George W Bush. However, when the Supreme Court stopped the recount of votes cast in Florida, which could have resulted in a Gore victory, Al Gore conceded the election to Bush in an act of patriotism. Trump’s refusal to vouch that he will concede the election if he loses, strikes at the foundation of America’s democracy. If he follows through with his threat, it will weaken American democracy. As the world is world painfully aware, it was the weakness in Western European democracy in the 1930s that gave rise to fascism. Without offering any shred of evidence, Trump contends that there is widespread voter fraud in cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, and St Louis. Translation: Inner city blacks in Philadelphia, Chicago, and St Louis are stealing the election from the white folks. A study has found that there were only 31 cases of voter-fraud out of a billion votes cast between 2000 and 2014. The problem is exactly the opposite. Instead of becoming a more inclusive party, for the last 30 years, the Republicans have attempted to make it harder for African-

REUTERS

Americans and Latinos to vote, by enacting legislations that require voter IDs. Trump is not really talking about voter fraud; he is saying that the election will be “rigged.” What he means is that the states and the federal government will conspire to disenfranchise the American voters, and illegally decide that Hillary Clinton is the winner. Interestingly, two-thirds of the states, including the key battleground states of Ohio and Florida are under Republican control. The secretary of state for Ohio, a Trump supporter, has chastised Trump for impugning the integrity of the election process, as has Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. After Trump’s debate comment, several more senators and high-ranking Republicans have condemned Trump’s comment.

Better prepared, but just as bad

Sniffing as heavily as in the previous two debates, Trump was, nevertheless, much better prepared for the third. He seemed to hold his own in the first 20 minutes as he stuck to his talking points on immigration and trade. When the moderator asked specific questions on foreign policy and national debt, Trump’s

Hillary had the last laugh. She was poised, and radiated confidence that comes from thorough preparation

answers became more and more nebulous. He would try and answer a question for about 10 seconds, then become incoherent and rehash grounds he had covered before. As Clinton criticised Trump and the Republicans for not only condoning, but also encouraging, Russians to hack into her and the Democratic Party’s emails as they attempt to influence America’s election and elect Putin-friendly Trump as president, Trump refused to condemn Putin or the Russians. Trump denied the allegations of sexual assault levelled against him by 11 women, adding that they were all looking for their 15 minutes of fame, and that Hillary Clinton had put them up to it. Once again, Trump denied that he had supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq, although proof exists that he did, and repeatedly called Hillary a liar. Trump used

the slang “bad hombres” (bad fellows) to describe illegal Mexican immigrants. At one point, Trump said that Clinton should not be allowed to run for president because of the crimes she had committed. Amid gasps from the audience, Trump interrupted Clinton and called her “such a nasty woman.” Clinton and Trump did not shake hands before or after the debate. Hillary had the last laugh. She was poised, and radiated confidence that comes from thorough preparation. She smiled a lot, and had a thorough answer for every question. A CNN/ORC poll of debate watchers declared Clinton the winner by 52% to 39% for Trump. Hillary is now 3-0 in the 3 debates, and well on her way to a resounding victory on November 8. l Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed is a Rhodes Scholar.

Opinion

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

Technology can bring us together Nothing cuts across geographical boundaries quite so well

A better-connected world

BIGSTOCK

Landlocked countries need to use the nearest cable landing station of neighbouring countries. This provides a big scope for regional collaboration

n Azfar Adib

hile the future of Saarc has become a topic of discussion, Dhaka has recently hosted two events: South Asian Telecommunication Regulatory Council Meeting, and the South Asia Economic Summit. The first one, the 17th Meeting of the South Asian Telecommunication Regulatory Council (SATRC), is an official convention of the telecom regulators in the Saarc region. This time, a delegation from Iran joined it as well. Since its formation in 1997, SATRC has been actively addressing telecommunicationrelated regulatory issues and challenges of common concern to its members in collaboration with broader regional bodies like APT (Asia-Pacific Telecommunity). The second event, 9th South Asia Economic Summit (SAES IX), was organised by five regional think tanks: CPD (Bangladesh), RIS (India), SAWTEE (Nepal), SPDI (Pakistan), and IPS (Sri Lanka). With the theme of “Reimagining South Asia in 2030,” this program aimed to provide a boost to the

ongoing efforts for strengthening regional cooperation among South Asian countries. Although the subject and modality of these two events are different, a common message seems to be carried by both: In the current global context, there is no alternative of continuing and utilising regional co-operation from relevant perspectives. Saarc currently has six APEX and 18 recognised bodies. While the supreme summit may remain stuck due to state-level issues, these bodies, along with other forums, can play a key role to continue the regional collaboration in respective arena. Particularly, there are certain aspects where joint approach is inevitable. ICT is one of them. For example, if we go to Banglabandha Zero Point at Tetulia in Panchagarh, which is the northernmost point of Bangladesh, we shall see a board mentioning “End of Bangladesh Border.” However, if we just take out our cell phones and search for available networks, we may find network coverage of several telecom operators from both India and Bangladesh.

Such is the strength and beauty of communication technology -- it can easily cross geographical boundaries. In this arena, there are numerous wings of collaboration. Let us consider internet connectivity. On a broad level, there are two possible mechanisms for a country to get connected to the ocean of the internet -- through satellite, or through cable. Due to cost, coverage, and capacity issues, use of satellite-based internet connectivity (such as VSAT) is quite limited. It is generally used for segmented purposes, in very remote or isolated locations where terrestrial connectivity is not possible, or as an emergency backup for the main connectivity. So, the majority of internet traffic between countries or continents pass over cables; to be more specific, through a vast network of undersea cables known as a submarine cable network. Cable landing stations in certain coastal cities act as the connectivity hub for this submarine cable network. Currently in the South Asian

region, cable landing locations are located in Cox’s Bazar, Colombo, Karachi, Mumbai, Chennai along with Cochin, Tuticorin, and Digha in India. These landing stations pass the internet traffic of the respective country along with other countries. The concept is quite similar to sea ports which can serve as the export-import centres for multiple countries. Particularly, landlocked countries (such as Nepal, Bhutan, and Afghanistan) need to use the nearest cable landing station of neighbouring countries. This provides a big scope for regional collaboration. Recently, Bangladesh has decided to export bandwidth to neighbouring countries. Bandwidth export to the Indian state of Tripura was launched on March 23, 2016 through a video conference by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. Initially, a monthly revenue of $100,000 is being generated for exporting 10Gbps of bandwidth to Tripura, which may gradually expand up to 40Gbps. Other Indian states in the northeast also have bandwidth requirements. The same thing applies for Bhutan (where bandwidth export is planned to start soon) and after Bhutan, Bangladesh may seek to export bandwidth to Nepal as well. As a second submarine cable landing station is being deployed in Kuakata, and exploration has been going on for back-up internet connectivity through Myanmar, huge potential lies for Bangladesh

in this arena. Currently, the second path of our internet connectivity is through India (towards the landing stations in Mumbai and Chennai) via International Terrestrial Cable (ITC). Let us look at another possible aspect of alliance. When anyone from Bangladesh travels to neighbouring countries such as India, Pakistan, Nepal, or viceversa, there is less probability that they will use a roaming SIM for communication due to extremely high roaming tariffs. Traditionally, roaming tariffs have been significantly high in most parts of the world due to certain factors, including complex connectivity path of roaming traffic, and revenue sharing modality between multiple parties (home operator, visited operator, and middle carrier). Still, the level of roaming tariff (percentage increase of hundred or thousand times with comparison to usual local tariff ) is not justified in most cases. This issue can be best addressed through regional alignment. Roaming regulations of EU can be the best example in this regard. It strictly enforces the maximum roaming charges allowable across the EU countries, and targets to completely abolish end-user roaming charges by June 2017. Obviously, Saarc cannot be comparable with EU which is one of the strongest regional forums, having a very strong and consolidated framework. Still, some collaborative approach can be sought among the South Asian countries to regulate the roaming tariffs while ensuring the interest of both users and operators. While lack of formal alignment or procedural obligation may remain as bottleneck for regional co-operation in various sectors, ICT is one arena where collaboration may proceed through the drive of mass people, irrespective of such dependencies. Just as an example, the demand for broadcasting Bangladeshi TV channels in India has been a longlasting issue. However, even if a particular Bangladeshi channel is not being broadcast in India, anyone there can now watch it through live online streaming. So the best possible outcome can be ensured if the countries utilise such progressive flow through a collaborative approach for the betterment of this region. l Azfar Adib is a telecom professional and internet service analyst.

Opinion

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

The question about who wants Rampal How will the government handle the opposition to Rampal?

n Afsan Chowdhury “Does India have the will power to say no to Hasina? I doubt it. The strategic community (majority of them) is eternally grateful to Hasina for taking action against the North East insurgents. Unless the Bangladesh government pulls out, India will not pull out. This is what I understood from my interaction here. As a government that would face election, Hasina should say no. Anyway, it has become chicken and egg theory” -- Smruti Pattanaik, Indian defence analyst

mruti Pattanaik, an Indian defense analyst with first-hand experience of Bangladesh was responding to several queries about Indian involvement on Rampal, and even a few questions which were suggesting that Rampal was an act of hostile aggression by India. This was on Facebook, and though that digital space is remarkably full of off-the-cuff remarks, this point raised has drawn attention. It is because we are used to blaming India at every step, not realising that we are also participating in many of the contentious projects. Rampal appears to have become an issue for all parties concerned. And if any country is to be blamed, it should be both. Indians are not feeling very happy about all the blaming it is getting because, for them, the cost-benefit is not just economic, but strategic and security related as well. India can have many other similar projects elsewhere, and even if Rampal is very convenient for them, it is not the only option. It’s not even a mega project that will radically adjust India’s energy needs, so it’s one of the many it can choose. But India’s main interest is increasingly that of security, and Bangladesh has been a key player in achieving that. As Pattanaik suggests, Bangladesh has delivered a significant security package by eliminating sanctuary to India’s rebellious North East insurgents, and the benefit is enormous in every way to her. So, India would hardly want to step into an unpopular space in Bangladesh. And promoting a few billion dollars worth of an energy project makes little sense if in return the Indian brand in Bangladesh is weakened and consequently the security blanket is disturbed. India also has a large number of its citizens involved in many

sectors, and if India becomes vulnerable here due to the existence of a power plant, the socio-economic cost of departing Indians from Bangladesh due to heightened insecurity will be much greater compared to Rampal gains. India certainly wants to do business here, but India will never want a population that is hostile to it making security equations vulnerable.

Rampal: More gratitude than gain?

But can India refuse, as Smruti Pattanaik asks, given what Sheikh Hasina has helped India to gain, a rebel-diminished North East? Rampal is not a big deal for India, it’s a deal, but to Bangladesh, it’s a big fish. But while even six months back, Rampal was just a small lefty movement, it has become the most significant political project now. It’s not only a possible threat to the Sundarbans, it’s becoming one to India-Bangla relations even more. Can mainstream politics overcome the public perception that has now

If nothing else, protesters can make the government uneasy

The police attack on the procession walking to hand over a memorandum to the Indian High Commission was more remindful of panic than concern over law and order

gained a firm footing here that the project will not be an undiluted advantage for Bangladesh? The Rampal project was never a publicly visible project which was being built somewhere far away. But the dedicated resistance of the activists, rightly or wrongly, has turned it into a much bigger problem for the government. The authorities at first completely ignored the opposition to the project, then tried to counter it through technical discussions and the loyal media support it. Next, it trashed the Rampal opponents as pro-Jamaat, and finally did the old lathi charge/ tear gas routine on its procession. None, one is afraid, has worked very well for the government till date. It not only underestimated the stamina of the Rampal activists, but also saw them as just another opponent like the BNP.

Rampal is not Farakka

But BNP is a ragged party of geriatrics with declining public support and full of traditional posturing and bluster while the Oil and Gas Committee has much more public goodwill, though not

necessarily active support. But in the public political space, the activists look like a bunch of politicians we almost never see in Bangladesh, let alone expect. They are into a cause and not a party, not into power and moneymaking but development issues. Frankly, they also have no political structure, and even if the entire Left were to come together, they wouldn’t be able to make much of a difference. But faith in the activists is increasing at a pace never thought possible before, because they are considered clean and patriotic by many. The police attack on the procession walking to hand over a memorandum to the Indian High Commission was more remindful of panic than concern over law and order. After all, the activists have no clout to call a hartal even, but it’s making the powers that be rather uneasy just by their presence. Rampal is also not Farakka, because the barrage was constructed in India arbitrarily without any consideration for Bangladesh’s water rights. Rampal, on the other hand, is an

environmentally controversial project which is happening inside Bangladesh as a joint activity. If Farakka victimised Bangladesh and created permanent antiIndian feelings, how worthy can it be for India? Public perception increasingly sees it negatively rather than discuss the pro and contra arguments.

Rampal has gone beyond logic into the emotional space

In Bangladesh, political accountability practices are much less but in India it is much higher, where the consequences of supporting Rampal could become an issue if it leads to other issues like loss of security. While few in India know about Rampal, more people know about it than ever before here in Bangladesh. It’s not a media issue in India, but it’s the biggest one in Bangladesh. Many support Rampal, and for good reasons. Many also are against it, though they may know less about the project. The point is, the argumentative space is largely over now and it’s a matter of collective emotions and it’s growing. That is

MEHEDI HASAN

why it’s something bigger than a controversial coal plant; it’s about public perception of what is right and wrong. And that is about politics, not development. Hasina’s politicians, too rusty at national politics due to lack of practice, has not even had a chance to defend the cause, and the bureaucrats and technocrats, who are in charge of politics, never a very trusted community in town, has not effectively sold the case to the public. The government has been pushed by a ragtag band of volunteer activists never thought possible and it has made the political equations far more difficult. The government’s prestige, will, and clout have all been put into the Rampal basket and to retreat or even reconsider Rampal would be considered a defeat and this government has not had one in the last decade or so. It has no intention of being pushed into a corner and it won’t. But that has put more than a coal project into the spot; its politics that is being affected although the opposition is non-existent. From a space of total confidence where it had no thought of any opposition, the mood has shifted to battling a tiny opponent. How the government handles itself and tries to build public opinion will be worth watching. l Afsan Chowdhury is a journalist and researcher.

24 Sport

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

Miraz’s mentor says it’s just the start

TOP STORIES

Uddin n Mazhar from Chittagong

Moeen: Hardest 60 I’ve ever made The England batters perhaps assumed that the pitch will be a good one to bat on, at least for the first two days, but the Bangladesh spinners, led by debutant Mehedi Hasan Miraz’s five-for, made life difficult for the visitors. PAGE 25

Zalmi grab Shakib, retake Tamim Pakistan Super League T20 franchise Peshawar Zalmi roped in ace Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan and retook opening batsman Tamim Iqbal during the players’ draft in Dubai on Wednesday. PAGE 26

Mourinho issues Rashford warning Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho does not want Marcus Rashford to be selected for next year’s European Under-21 Championships if the Manchester United striker is a regular in the senior England squad. PAGE 27

Messi ruins Guardiola return Lionel Messi spoiled Pep Guardiola’s homecoming by scoring a hat-trick in Barcelona’s 4-0 win over 10-man Manchester City in the Champions League, while Bayern Munich shook off their recent patchy form to defeat PSV Eindhoven 4-1. PAGE 28

Bangladesh spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz is all smiles following the end of the opening day’s play of the first Test against England at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

‘Never dreamed of such debut’ Uddin n Mazhar from Chittagong

Ever since he started playing in the age-level groups, Mehedi Hasan Miraz had that X-factor in him whenever he walked into any ground. After several promising displays, Miraz’s crowning moment came in the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year when he was named the player of the tournament, prompting many to label him the next Shakib al Hasan for his sheer talent. It was no surprise therefore for anyone who followed him closely over the years to see him in action yesterday when he picked up five wickets on Test debut against a formidable England side. Miraz was booming with confidence, a rare sight indeed for a teenager. The 18-year old became the youngest ever Bangladeshi to bag five wickets on debut, bettering Sohag Gazi’s record, ending the opening day’s play with brilliant bowling figures of 5/64 from his 33 overs. It was all surreal for Miraz, who informed that he never dreamed of taking five wickets in his Test bow. “I never thought that I would get five wickets in my debut match. And I didn’t even think that it would be this outstanding. I thought I would rather have an average performance where I would take one or two wickets and score 30-odd runs. But when things go well, it actually goes pretty well

which was the case for me,” a jubilant Miraz told the media. “Even our coach (Chandika Hathursingha) said to me that I should not think of taking five or six wickets and try to bowl on the right spot. And things went pretty well for me. All thanks to almighty Allah,” he said. According to Miraz, he was bowling outside the wicket initially but skipper Mushfiqur Rahim told him to bowl in the line of the wicket, which would in turn create more chances for him to pick up wickets. He clean bowled another English debutant Ben Duckett to get his first wicket in international cricket but Miraz said his fifth dismissal, that of Jonny Bairstow, was among his favourites. “My fifth wicket of the day where I bowled Bairstow was my favourite one. The ball skidded on to hit the stumps. The batsman was unable to understand the delivery and interestingly, even I didn’t understand what hap-

pened at that time,” said Miraz, sporting a smile. The Khulna cricketer informed that he had the experience of bowling with the new ball from his age-level days. The youngster bowled a whopping 33 overs during the opening day’s play. Miraz stated that he used to bowl long spells with Bangladesh left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak for Khulna in the National Cricket League, which helped him tremendously. He also gave credit to the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s age-level coach Sohel Islam, who mentored the youngster during his age-level days. “One thing I would like to mention is that I would like to thank Sohel sir who was our assistant coach in the U-19 level. He guided me from the U-15 days. He discussed with me continuously how to improve my bowling. I also tried to contact him [yesterday] as I am feeling really good. I believe he will also do the same,” he added. l

Mehedi Hasan Miraz, at 18 years and 361 days, became the youngest bowler to take five wickets on Test debut for Bangladesh. Previously, the record belonged to Sohag Gazi, who at 21 years and 100 days, picked up 6/76 against the West Indies in 2012. Mehedi is also the fourth youngest bowler in the history of five-day cricket to take five wickets on debut. PLAYERS

AGES

FIGURES

OPPOSITION

YEARS

Pat Cummins

18 yrs, 193 days

6/79

South Africa

2011

Shahid Afridi

18 yrs, 235 days

5/52

Australia

1998

Shahid Nazir

18 yrs, 318 days

5/53

Zimbabwe

1996

Mehedi Hasan

18 yrs, 361 days

5/64

England

2016

It would have been any mentor’s dream to see his student shine in his first international appearance for his country. And one could hardly ask for a better start than Mehedi Hasan Miraz, who made his international bow against England yesterday. Miraz became the youngest Bangladeshi to take five wickets on debut and also the fourth youngest bowler in the history of Test cricket to achieve the feat as he picked up 5/64 from his 33 overs against England to take the home side to the driving seat during the first day’s play. Sohel Islam, who is currently the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s head coach of the Under-17 age-level group, guided Miraz right from the early stages of his career. Miraz learned many bowling tricks from Sohel from his U-15 days. He was also the assistant coach of the U-19 team which was led admirably by Miraz. Sohel believes it’s just the start of a new life for Miraz. He also urged his disciple to keep his feet on the ground, forget whatever he has achieved on the first day and look to continue what he has been doing over the years. “Obviously I am very happy for him and my message to him will be to remain focused on his game and don’t let anything else come between his performance. It’s just the start of his career and whatever he has already achieved is surely the reward of his hard work,” Sohel told Dhaka Tribune over phone yesterday. According to Sohel, the biggest strength of Miraz’s bowling is his accuracy that was clearly evident right from the age-level group. “I think his biggest strength is his accuracy as he can bowl in the right line right from the start of his spell. He also has the experience of bowling with the new ball from the age-level period and it was no exception in his international debut,” he added. l

Sport

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

SCORECARD ENGLAND FIRST INNINGS A. Cook b Shakib B. Duckett b Mehedi J. Root c Sabbir b Mehedi G. Ballance lbw b Mehedi M. Ali c Rahim b Mehedi B. Stokes b Shakib J. Bairstow b Mehedi C. Woakes not out A. Rashid not out Extras (b14, lb4, w2)

R 4 14 40 1 68 18 52 36 5 20

Total (seven wickets, 92 overs)

258

B 26 35 49 7 170 34 126 77 28

Fall of wickets 1-18 (Duckett), 2-18 (Cook), 3-21 (Ballance), 4-83 (Root), 5-106 (Stokes), 6-194 (Moeen) , 7-237 ( Bairstow) Bowling Shafiul 9-1-33-0, Mehedi 33-6-64-5, Kamrul 8-0-41-0 (w2), Shakib 19-646-2, Taijul 17-8-28-0, Sabbir 3-0-11-0, Mahmudullah 2-0-17-0, Mominul 1-1-0-0

IN NUMBERS

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim and the close-in fielders appeal unsuccessfully for the dismissal of England’s Moeen Ali during the opening day’s play of the first Test at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Moeen: Hardest 60 I’ve ever made Uddin n Mazhar from Chittagong

Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal and Shakib al Hasan take a breather in the drinks cart yesterday MI MANIK

The England batters perhaps assumed that the pitch at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in the port city will be a good one to bat on, at least for the first two days, but the Bangladesh spinners, especially debutant Mehedi Hasan Miraz’s five-for, made life difficult for the visitors. At the end of the first day, England were 258/7 with left-handed batsman Moeen Ali top-scoring with a patient 170-ball 68. It was Moeen who showed the most fight among the England batsmen. The visitors found it difficult to cope with the conditions and the spin-friendly wicket and according to Moeen, it was his toughest half-century yet in Test cricket. The southpaw also praised the Bangladesh bowlers for putting in a disciplined performance. “It was very tough. [Yesterday] was the hardest 60 I’ve ever made. They bowled well. They bowled very accu-

rately. And it’s not just about surviving, it’s about scoring runs. It’s tough. They set good fields,” Moeen told the media yesterday.

It was very tough. [Yesterday] was the hardest 60 I’ve ever made. They bowled well. They bowled very accurately “They were dirty runs [yesterday]. It was a massive mental challenge, especially with the reviews. I kept missing the ball and they hit my pad. I couldn’t figure out why. It was a good mental challenge,” he said. It was a rather eventful 219-minute stay at the crease as he survived five reviews, including three in an over. “We are normally pretty tight, but we didn’t speak for

a session. It was a tough pitch to umpire, but what can I say? The guy gave me out three times! I knew I had a hit the first one or gloved it, there was definitely something there. [Joe] Root saved me on the other two,” he said. The 29-year old went on to heap praise on debutant Miraz, informing that he bowled quite accurately, which in turn paid rich dividends for the home side. “I thought they might open with a spinner but I didn’t think it was going to spin as much. You saw the new ball, it spun straightaway. He (Miraz) bowled very accurately with the new ball. Definitely he is a good prospect for Bangladesh,” he said. Moeen is of the opinion that they are still in a good position and that their initial target would be to post close to 300 runs, or above, in the first innings. He added that the pitch has a lot to offer for the spinners and expressed hope that he, along with Gareth Batty and Adil Rashid, will play vital roles. l

Bangladesh players to take a fivewicket haul on their Test debut, including Mehedi Hasan. Incidentally, four of those have been in the last five years. No team has had more than three five-wicket hauls by debutants in this period. Across all formats, Bangladesh bowlers have taken seven five-fors in debut in last five years, again the most for any team, by a distance.

Younger Bangladesh bowler to take five-wicket hauls in Tests, than Mehedi who was 18 years, 361 days. Enamul Haque Jr had taken three fivefors at a younger age than Mehedi’s in 2005. Overall, Mehedi is the fourthyoungest bowler to take a five-wicket haul on Test debut.

Number of players to score 1000plus runs in a year in Tests batting at No. 6 or lower. Jonny Bairstow became the first to achieve this in this year. The previous most runs by any player at No. 6 or below was 984 by VVS Laxman in 2002. He was also the first player to go past 1000 Test runs this year.

Partnerships of 50 or more runs between Bairstow and Moeen Ali in Tests this year for the sixth-wicket most by any pair for wickets six or lower in a year. Four pairs had five such stands including Andrew Flintoff and Geraint Jones for England in 2004.

Runs added by England’s first three wickets, is their lowest in the first innings of any Test in Asia. Their previous lowest was 22 runs in Galle in 2007-08.

142

Tests missed by Gareth Batty between his last Test and this come-back Test - most by any player. Batty’s last Test was more than 11 years ago, also against Bangladesh, in June 2005.

133

Previous most Tests played by an England player, by Alec Stewart. Alastair Cook appeared in his 134th Test in this match to become the most capped England player.

Sport

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

PAKISTAN SUPER LEAGUE

Peshawar grab Shakib, retake Tamim n Tribune Report PSL T20 franchise Peshawar Zalmi roped in ace Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan and retook opening batsman Tamim Iqbal during the players’ draft in Dubai on Wednesday. Shakib will feature in the Pakistan Super League for the second time after playing for Karachi Kings in the inaugural edition while Tamim will participate in his second consecutive season in the same colours. Tamim had a prolific campaign last time around, scoring 267 runs in six matches to emerge as the team’s highest run scorer. Peshawar will be captained by the West Indies’ Darren Sammy, in place of previous captain Shahid Afridi, while well-established internationals like Chris Jordan,

Shaun Tait, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan and Brad Hodge will also turn out for Peshawar. Local players Mohammad Hafeez, Afridi and Kamran Akmal shore up the Peshawar side. Veteran Pakistan cricketer Younis Khan, who went unsold in the draft, will mentor the side. Alongside Peshawar, Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Islamabad United and Quetta Gladiators will take part in the second edition of the tournament, scheduled to be held from February-March next year. Islamabad were crowned champions of the inaugural 2016 PSL season, defeating Quetta in the final on February 23.

New players

Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales (Eng-

land), Haris Sohail, Irfan Khan, Khushdil Shah, Sohaib Maqsood and Iftikhar Ahmed (Pakistan), Mohammad Shahzad (Afghanistan) and Shakib al Hasan (Bangladesh)

Retained players

Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Junaid Khan, Imran Khan, Hasan Ali and Mohammad Asghar (Pakistan), Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh), Darren Sammy (West Indies) and Chris Jordan (England)

Released

Aamer Yamin, Musadiq Ahmed, Shahid Yousuf, Taj Wali, Israrullah and Abdur Rehman (Pakistan), Shaun Tait, Brad Hodge and Jim Allenby (Australia), Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan (England) l

Australia quick Starc fit and ready to take on South Africa n Reuters, Sydney Australia’s pace spearhead Mitchell Starc is confident he will be fit to take on South Africa in next month’s first Test after declaring himself available for a domestic Sheffield Shield match yesterday. Starc sustained a nasty gash on his left leg in a freak training accident last month and has been sidelined since, casting doubt over his participation in the three-Test home series against the Proteas. His compatriots were sweating over his fitness after Australia

slumped to an unprecedented 5-0 one-day series defeat in South Africa, but yesterday Starc told 30-odd journalists assembled outside Sydney Cricket Ground he was “ready to go”. “It’s going well,” the 26-year-old said. “It’s not restricted at the moment. “The first session I had about two weeks ago, it was a bit tight, but since then it’s been fine and I’ve been bowling off the long run. “Unfortunately these things happen in life and in cricket but hopefully I can get up to Brisbane

and get some bowling under the belt, then move on to Perth.” Starc will travel with the New South Wales team to Brisbane on Monday for a four-day match against Queensland, where he will play alongside fellow Test paceman Josh Hazlewood. The pace duo were always going to be rested from the ODI series even before Starc injured his leg and the left-armer was confident he could now play through six Tests against South Africa and Pakistan over the Australian summer. Starc also thought that with

Australia’s first-choice pace attack back on board, the South African batsmen would find it far harder to score runs than they did against an inexperienced bowling unit in the ODI series. “I think the South Africans obviously played really well in that series and they’ve been talking it up coming over here to Australia,” he said. “It’s two very different teams and Josh and I are looking forward to being there in Perth. Hopefully I’m there, I’ll be making myself available for selection.”

Starc, who sustained the injury when he landed on the metal base of a set of wickets during fielding practice, agreed with Australia captain Steve Smith’s description of the wound as “gruesome”. “I couldn’t actually look at it,” he said. “I didn’t actually see it until after surgery. It wasn’t the prettiest thing, and it’s still not the prettiest thing. “It’s all going well, it’s still not closed up but that won’t stop me playing.” The first Test against South Africa begins at the WACA on Nov. 3.l

Williamson, Southee star in final-over win n Agencies

Barcelona’s Luis Suarez, his daughter Delfina and son Benjamin, pose with his 2016 European Golden Shoe trophy, which is awarded to the top goalscorer in Europe’s domestic leagues, during an awards ceremony in Barcelona yesterday REUTERS

India wouldn’t have expected a target of 243 to trouble them. But it did. Their top order tends to finish games off. Not this time. That left MS Dhoni and a set of batsmen not accustomed to finishing an innings. New Zealand exploited that to pull off a six-run victory and level the series. It was a chaotic scrap to the finish, which brought a noisy crowd at the Feroz Shah Kotla to their feet in the final stages. India were 172 for 6 - and the man dismissed was the Indian captain, who was also their best option against an equation of 71 runs in 63 balls. Then a goofy over from Martin Guptill - four wides, 10 balls, and two wickets - brought Hardik Pandya front and centre for the second match in a row.

In Dharamsala, he offered a glimpse at his utility as a new-ball bowler. In Delhi, he suggested he has promise as a man who could come in late and stay sensible under pressure. He wrestled an equation of 48 off 36 balls down to 10 off six.

2ND ODI NEW ZEALAND 242/9 (Williamson 118, Bumrah 3/35, Mishra 3/60) beat INDIA 236 (Jadhav 41, Dhoni 39, Southee 3/52) by six runs In that time New Zealand’s disciplines were taking a beating. It was the final overs of the innings, but they didn’t even look for the yorker. Most of their success yesterday was the result of the fast bowlers hitting back of a length on a pitch that was slow.l

Sport

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

QUICK BYTES ‘Mentally tough’ Modric to retire at Real Madrid Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric wants to play out the rest of his career with the Spanish giants after signing a new contract until 2020. Modric, 31, has become a fundamental part of the Real side, winning two Champions League titles, since his arrival from Tottenham Hotspur in 2012. “My wish is to retire at Real Madrid and with this renewal I am closer to that goal,” Modric said on Wednesday. “I want to thank the club and the president for having so much confidence in me. I am going to continue giving everything I have, working hard and I hope to have more success in front of me.” –AFP

Pardew backs Southgate as manager Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew is open to the England coach’s job but believes interim manager Gareth Southgate could be the answer to the national team’s current managerial crisis. Southgate has two more games in charge to convince the FA that he is the right man for the job following England’s home win over minnows Malta and a draw against Slovenia in the World Cup qualifiers this month. During his 18year managerial career, Pardew has come up against some of the most successful managers in club football. –REUTERS

Mourinho issues Rashford with England Under-21 warning n AFP, Manchester Jose Mourinho does not want Marcus Rashford to be selected for next year’s European Under-21 Championships if the Manchester United striker is a regular in the senior England squad. The United manager was responding to stories that England’s governing Football Association were keen to include Premier League stars, such as Rashford, in their Under-21 squad for the tournament in Poland in June. Mourinho has no problem with Rashford, who turns 19 on the last day of this month, being a part of that squad - but only if he has not established himself in the senior set-up. “We are in mid-October, the Championships will be in the summer,” United manager Mourinho said Wednesday. “I think we have to wait and see what happens until then. Because if the player becomes a regular in the ‘A’ national team, if you want to call it that, then to say it is important for his development (to be) with the Under-21s, makes no sense.” Gareth Southgate has been promoted from his post as England Under-21 boss to be the manager of the senior England team on an interim basis, with the FA still to announce if the former England defender will succeed Sam Allardyce on a perma-

DAY’S WATCH CRICKET

7:20PM Indian Super League Mumbai v Goa

TEN 1

GAZI TV, BTV, STAR SPORTS 2 10:00AM England Tour of Bangladesh 1st Test, Day 2

TEN 3 12:00PM West Indies Tour of Pakistan 2nd Test, Day 1

FOOTBALL SONY SIX 12:40AM Spanish La Liga Osasuna v Real Betis

SONY ESPN 10:45PM FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Final

STAR SPORTS 1

2:50PM A-League 2016/17 Melbourne City v Perth Glory 12:45AM Sky Bet EFL Burton Albion v Birmingham City

TEN 3 12:35AM French Ligue 1 2016/17 Monaco v Montpellier Herault

KABADDI STAR SPORTS 2 Kabaddi World Cup 2016 7:20PM Semi Final 1: South Korea v Iran 9:40PM Semi Final 2: Thailand v India

HOCKEY

STAR SPORTS 4 Asian Hockey Champions 4:00PM Pakistan v Korea 6:30PM Malaysia v China

nent basis after the veteran coach was forced out after just one game following indiscreet comments made to undercover reporters. “If he’s an Under-21 player in the national team, then he is an Under-21 player and there is no discussion about that,” said Mourinho of Rashford. “But if he becomes a regular choice for Gareth Southgate in the first team, then we have to speak because we don’t want him going.” Rashford has five England caps to his name, four of them as a substitute in competitive internationals. Mourinho was speaking as he put the finishing touches to plans for the Europa League group game

with Fenerbahce at Old Trafford yesterday. The game could be the opportunity for Wayne Rooney and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to feature in the starting side as Mourinho juggles his squad ahead of Sunday’s trip to Chelsea. Rooney has not started the last four United games and has also seen his place in the England runon XI disappear under new manager Southgate. “Wayne is working well, he is one of those responsible for the atmosphere for the players,” insisted Mourinho. “He is positive, he is a good example. We count on him to start or be on the bench. He will be there (yesterday).” l

Germany climb, Belgium slip in FIFA rankings n AFP, Paris Germany have moved up to second behind Argentina as Belgium dropped out of the top three in the latest FIFA world rankings released yesterday. A pair of 2018 World Cup qualifier wins against Czech Republic and Northern Ireland lifted world champions Germany up one spot, with Brazil also up one to third. Former world number one side Belgium are on the drift, down two to fourth and out of the first three for the first time since March 2015. Spain, who beat Belgium in a friendly last month, are back in the top 10 while Euro 2016 sensations Wales slid one place to 11th. FIFA rankings 1. Argentina 2. Germany (+1) 3. Brazil (+1) 4. Belgium (-2) 5. Colombia (-1) 6. Chile 7. France (+1) 8. Portugal (-1) 9. Uruguay 10. Spain (+1) 11. Wales (-1) 12. England 13. Italy 14. Switzerland (2) 15. Poland (2) 16. Croatia (-2) 17. Mexico (-2) 18. Costa Rica 188. Bangladesh (-3) l

Sport

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

RESULTS GROUP A

6-0

Arsenal

Ludogorets

Sanchez 12, Walcott 42, Ozil 56, 83, 87, Oxlade-Chamberlain 46

3-0

PSG

Basel

Di Maria 40, Lucas 62, Cavani 90+3-P

GROUP B

2-3

Napoli

Besiktas

Mertens 30, Gabbiadini 69-P

Adriano 13, Aboubakar 38, 86

0-2

Dynamo Kiev

Benfica Salvio 9-P, Cervi 55

GROUP C

0-2

Celtic

M’gladbach Stindl 57, Hahn 77

4-0

Barcelona

Man City

Messi 17, 61, 69, Neymar 89

GROUP D

0-1

Rostov

Atletico Madrid Carrasco 62

Bayern Munich

4-1

PSV Eindhoven

Mueller 13, Kimmich 21, Lewandowski 60, Robben 84

Narsingh 41

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi shoots to score against Manchester City during their UEFA Champions League Group C match at Nou Camp on Wednesday

Messi ruins Guardiola’s Barcelona return, clinical Bayern thrash PSV to stop rot n AFP, Paris Lionel Messi spoiled Pep Guardiola’s homecoming by scoring a hattrick in Barcelona’s 4-0 win over 10-man Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday, while Bayern Munich shook off their recent patchy form to defeat PSV Eindhoven 4-1. Messi pounced on a Fernandinho slip to nudge Barca in front on 17 minutes, and the Argentine dou-

bled his tally on the hour following the dismissal of City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. The Chile international, who left the Camp Nou in August to replace Joe Hart at City, was sent off for a blatant handball outside the area having knocked his misplaced clearance straight to Luis Suarez. Messi swept in a third on 69 minutes to complete a second straight hat-trick in Europe, while Barca also finished the game a man down

after substitute Jeremy Mathieu picked up a second booking. Neymar missed a late penalty but atoned with Barca’s fourth soon after as the Spaniards made it three wins from three to take control of Group C, with second-place City five points adrift. “At that level it is hard, but until 10 against 11 it was open and we were competing against a team with a big personality,” Guardiola told BT Sport.

POINTS TABLE P W D L GD Pts

GROUP A Arsenal

3 2

1 0

Paris SG

3 2

1 0

Basel

3 0

1 2

-5

L Razgrad

3 0

1 2

-8

1 6

GROUP B Napoli

3 2

0 1

Besiktas

2 0

Benfica

Dynamo Kiev

3 0

1 2

-3

GROUP C Barcelona

3 3

0 0

Man City

M’gladbach

0 2

-3

Celtic

3 0

1 2

-9

GROUP D Atletico Madrid

3 3

0 0

Bayern Munich

3 2

0 1

PSV Eindhoven

3 0

1 2

-4

Rostov

3 0

1 2

-6

Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil celebrates scoring against Ludogorets during their UEFA Champions League Group A match at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday REUTERS

“But after the (red) card it was over. I spoke with (Bravo), he was disappointed but it’s part of the game.” Lars Stindl and Andre Hahn both capitalised on mistakes from Kolo Toure to gift Moenchengladbach their first points of the competition with a 2-0 win at Celtic. In Munich, Carlo Ancelotti’s Bayern dismissed concerns about their performance of late by ending a three-match winless run at home to PSV Eindhoven. Thomas Mueller grabbed a 13th-minute opener at the Allianz Arena before fellow Germany international Joshua Kimmich netted his seventh goal in all competitions this season. Luciano Narsingh gave PSV hope when he halved the deficit shortly before the break, but Poland striker Robert Lewandowski eased fears of another setback with Arjen Robben netting Bayern’s fourth. However, the Bundesliga giants still trail Atletico Madrid in Group D after Yannick Carrasco’s second-half strike steered last year’s finalists to another 1-0 victory away to Russian side Rostov. Mesut Ozil notched a second-half hat-trick as Arsenal thrashed Ludogorets Razgrad of Bulgaria 6-0, the German piling on the misery for the visitors after goals from Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain. “It will be difficult not to be satisfied, we scored a lot of goals and kept a clean sheet. We were fast and dangerous. We are confident

REUTERS

and we must stay focused in every single game,” said Gunners boss Arsene Wenger. Paris Saint-Germain also have seven points in Group A, but the French champions rode their luck in a 3-0 win over Basel. The Swiss outfit twice hit the woodwork at the Parc des Princes before Angel di Maria fired the hosts ahead just before half-time. Brazilian Lucas doubled PSG’s lead on 62 minutes, with Basel defender Marek Suchy then heading against the post, before Edinson Cavani netted his 17th goal for club and country this term courtesy of a stoppage-time penalty. Napoli’s hopes of becoming the first side through to the last 16 were dashed as Vincent Aboubakar struck twice in Italy to earn Besiktas an impressive 3-2 victory. Adriano put the Turkish champions ahead on 12 minutes in Naples, but Belgian winger Dries Mertens replied on the half hour. Aboubakar restored Besiktas’ lead before the interval only for Manolo Gabbiadini to cancel it out from the penalty spot, with Lorenzo Insigne having seen an earlier spot-kick kept out by Fabri. But Cameroon international Aboubakar struck again four minutes from the end to move Besiktas to within a point of leaders Napoli in Group B. Benfica also registered their first win thanks to an Eduardo Salvio penalty and a Franco Cervi goal in their 2-0 triumph away to Dynamo Kiev. l

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Cicatrix (4) 4 First man (4) 8 Floor covering (3) 9 Move with bounding steps (4) 10 Work hard (4) 11 Numeral (5) 12 Dexterous (4) 14 Fish eggs (3) 15 Dry, of champagne (3) 17 Flow back (3) 19 Tree (3) 21 Dash (4) 23 Mistake (5) 26 Visage (4) 27 Popular exercise (4) 28 Corded fabric (3) 29 Water pitcher (4) 30 Bring up (4)

DOWN 1 Surgical stitch (6) 2 Dry (4) 3 Sovereign (5) 4 Drink (3) 5 Birds (5) 6 Monkey (3) 7 Adults (3) 11 Metal (5) 13 Part of a theatre (5) 16 Profession (6) 18 Freight boat (5) 20 Thin biscuit (5) 22 Back of the neck (4) 23 Optic (3) 24 Argue (3) 25 Rowing implement (3)

Downtime

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 17 represents N so fill N every time the figure 17 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

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

Showtime

Habib Wahid’s new song to end poverty

n Showtime Desk To spread the message about alleviating poverty in the country, singer and musician Habib Wahid has sung a new song. An initiative of the World Bank, the song is made to celebrate the country’s progress and envisions a future of possibilities for prosper Bangladesh and the world. The song “Ei Bangla Ei Manush” came out as a music video, which is directed by Maruf Raihan, while Chirkutt’s Sharmin Sultana Sumi penned its lyrics.

The World Bank’s YouTube channel released the video on October 17. In a Facebook post the singer said, “I’m extremely happy and honoured to be a part of such an amazing and meaningful project! Thank you World Bank for believing in me. Thank you Sharmin Sultana Sumi for the wonderful heartfelt lyrics! Thanks to the amazing new talent Maruf Raihan and the entire team for making such an amazing video in such short notice! And the biggest thanks goes to all the powerful and hard working

people of Bangladesh because you are the ones who show us the real meaning of love, patience and hard work! You people will surely make poverty history.” Thanks to the resilience of its people and development innovations, Bangladesh has helped 20 million of its people rise out of poverty in less than two decades. The World Bank thinks initiative like “Ei Bangla Ei Manush” will inspire all to build together a prosper world. For online use: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=65dGbJpQVcU l

Chai-wala to Fashionwala

Mel C reveals reason she’s not part of the Spice Girls reunion

n Showtime Desk A “chaiwala” is starting a new career as a model after a photo of the dreamy-eyed chap went viral. Arshad Khan, 18, was manning a tea stall at the Itwar Bazaar market in Pakistan’s capital city, Islamabad, when an aspiring photographer Jiah Ali captured him working. Only four days after the image was posted on social media, Arshad has bagged himself a modelling contract with online retailer Fitin.pk. Two days after the image was posted online, Arshad told Samaa TV that women were visiting him at the stall: “About 30 to 50 girls came and met me, they took pictures with me.” It seems Fitin.pk hope his smoldering unkempt mane and stubble will attract some extra visitors to their site. The internet sensation has even been spotted wearing a full

n Showtime Desk suit with gelled back hair - the opposite of his laid-back look at the market. But the model is taking everything in stride. When the Samaa TV interviewer asked if he was open to acting in movies, Khan casually replied, “sure I will.” Now, Arshad can be seen posing in a collection of TV series-themed tops on Fitin. pk.com, a retailer run by university students. Social media users also saw

this young man’s potential, as his piercing stare has caused Arshad to trend on Twitter in several countries. Even a Facebook user posted, “Chai walla is no more chai walla, now he is fashion walla!” “He is now being compared to film stars like Fawad Khan. I think it was basically his natural beauty which people liked,” said the photographer who clicked his picture.l Source: Indian times

Spice Girls’ Melanie C recently has revealed why she won’t be part of next year’s all-femalemusical-group’s reunion. The singer says being a mother to seven-year-old daughter Scarlet is primarily why she’s chosen not to join Mel B, Emma Bunton and Geri Horner as they celebrate the band’s 20 year anniversary. The Sporty Spice told the Sun, “The thing I’ve learned is to say ‘No’ more because, by nature, I’m a people pleaser. I had to think about myself and the most important thing in my life, which is being a mother

to my little girl. I had to be present for her.” “We always said we had to be comfortable but lots of people were getting involved and I wasn’t comfortable with the direction that it was taking,” she added. Talking about her relationship with Mel B, she admitted things were tough with the “hot-headed” star, who unfollowed her on Twitter and called her a “b**ch” on The Late Late Show after Mel opted to not take part in the reunion. Mel also revealed that she’s got no plans for more kids just yet while she focuses on her “little monkey”. l

Aynabaji selected

for film festivals in Germany and India

nShowtime Desk Amitabh Reza Chowdhury’s debut feature Aynabaji is selected for the International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg (IFFMH). Soon after, the thriller starring Chanchal Chowdhury and Masuma Rahman Nabila in the lead will also be screened at the 47th International Film Festival India in Goa. Michael Kötz, IFFMH’s festival director, confirmed the news to the filmmaker saying that the festival’s selection committee is impressed after watching the film. The 65th International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg will take place from November 4 to 19,

while Aynabaji will be featured in its International Discovery section. A total of four screenings of Aynabaji will take place in the festival from November 12 to 15. The festival, established in 1952, held jointly by the cities of Mannheim and Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg, which presents art-house films of international newcomer directors. Amitabh Reza Chowdhuy is quite happy with the news of his film being selected for IFFMH who is likely to join the festival. After returning from IFFMH, Chowdhury will head to Goa to attend the 47th International Film Festival India, which will be held from November 20 to 28. l

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil- Releasing is “Mushkil” nShowtime Desk Bollywood director Karan Johar dropped a bombshell this past Wednesday with a two-minute video explaining why he will no longer work with actors from Pakistan. “Nothing else matters to me but my country,” Johar said in the video. “Going forward, I would like to say that of course I will not engage with talent from the neighboring country,” he added, referring to Pakistan. Johar has faced potential bans and threats of violence over his latest movie Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, which loosely translates as “Oh, Heart! It’s Difficult” because one of the actors is Pakistani. It is due to be released on October 28. Last week, Amey Khopkar, a leader of the nationalist Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) party, threatened to attack filmmakers like Johar. TV host Barkha Dutt tweeted she was “ashamed that we as a

society have bullied (Johar) into having to prove his patriotism. ‘Anti-national’ has become the label of the mob.” Many in Bollywood have been speaking against the mood to ban Pakistani artists. “Who a filmmaker casts and what a filmmaker does, shouldn’t be controlled and dictated by politics,” said Tanuj Garg, a film producer and managing partner at Ellipsis Entertainment. “A situation where a filmmaker is held to ransom is not desirable in a democracy,”

he added, pointing out that India already has a powerful film certification board which strictly vets releases. “Political groups trying to impose bans is a travesty of justice.” Pakistani journalist Rafay Mahmood told CNN the mood was “depressing and tragic.” Nitin Datar, president of the Cinema Owners and Exhibition Association of India, said a number of his group’s theatres would not be releasing the movie in the states of Maharasthra, Goa, Karnataka, and Gujarat. He pointed out that the movie’s release at the end of October coincides with the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali. “This is the Diwali period. If a riot takes place...the Diwali spirit will be spoiled,” Datar said. Tensions between India and Pakistan have soared in recent months with frequent skirmishes along their disputed border in Kashmir. A heightened sense of fear and jingoism has seeped into regular discourse, particularly in national TV news broadcasts. l

WHAT TO WATCH Cast: Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies HBO 6:39pm

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Star Movies 9:30pm When Hiccup and Toothless discover an ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the center of a battle to protect the peace.

Bilbo and Company are forced to engage in a war against an array of combatants and keep the Lonely Mountain from falling into the hands of a rising

Showtime

darkness. Cast: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage Crazy, Stupid, Love WB 2:18pm

A middle-aged husband’s life changes dramatically when his wife asks him for a divorce. He seeks to rediscover his manhood with the help of a newfound

friend, Jacob, learning to pick up girls at bars. Cast: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

Zee Studio 9:30pm A hapless young Viking who aspires to hunt dragons becomes

the unlikely friend of a young dragon himself, and learns there may be more to the creatures than he assumed. Cast: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016

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Debutant Miraz stars in eventful day Uddin from n Mazhar Chittagong Mehedi Hasan Miraz became the youngest Bangladeshi to pick up five wickets on debut as the opening day of the first Test match well and truly belonged to the home side with England posting 258/7 at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday. Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow fought hard for their fifties but they too fell soon after reaching their milestone. England will look to stretch their innings as far as possible when Chris Woakes (36*) and Adil Rashid (five not out) resumes the second day’s proceedings today. The home side named three debutants for the first time since 2008 while it was also the first time Bangladesh played with three debutants at home since the inaugural Test match in 2000 with Sabbir Rahman, Miraz and Kamrul Islam Rabbi receiving their Test caps early in the morning. Tigers skipper Mushfiqur Rahim might have lost the toss but it mattered little as the pitch had a lot to offer for the spinners, right from the opening exchanges. And it was young off-spinner Miraz who stole the show in his Test bow. He was handed the new ball in the second over of England’s innings and showed tremendous confidence. What’s more, he immediately got results. He picked up his maiden wicket in international cricket when

reeling on 21/3 within the first hour. However, Moeen, who enjoyed all the luck in the world, tried to rescue the tourists alongside Joe Root, adding 62 runs for the fourth wicket as they went to lunch on 81/3. Root though was eventually dismissed after the lunch break when Sabbir took a sharp catch at slip off

the bowling of Miraz, scoring 40 off 49 balls with five fours. But the talk of the day apart from Miraz was perhaps Moeen, who survived five reviews, including three in an over. Shakib duly picked up his second wicket of the day when he removed the dangerous Ben Stokes for 18 as England were once again struggling on 106/5. However, Moeen kept on going strong at the other end as he was joined by Bairstow. Together, the sixth wicket pair added 88 runs. Moeen was eventually caught behind to become the fourth victim of Miraz after scoring a well-made 68, featuring eight fours and a six. Like Moeen, Bairstow too got lucky as he was dropped on 13 at slip by Sabbir off left-arm spinner Taijul Islam in the 49th over. He went on to score his 11th Test fifty. He also became the second wicket-keeper to score 1,000 runs in a year after Zimbabwean Andy Flower, who managed 1024 runs in 2000. The Yorkshireman was eventually dismissed after scoring 52 with the help of eight fours as Miraz hit the timber with a sliding delivery to become the seventh Bangladeshi to bag five wickets on debut, and the youngest among them. The home side will look to wrap things up when the second day’s play resumes while England will try to post a decent total in their first innings in order to remain alive in the Test match. l

Justice SK Sinha gave a verdict where Citycell was allowed to continue its operation if it paid all its dues within three months. On August 17, the BTRC issued a notice to Citycell asking to explain within 30 days why its license for the operation should not be cancelled for its failure to pay dues. The telecom regulator also ordered the company to create an alternative arrangement for providing the service to its subscribers even after shutdown. On July 31, BTRC asked Citycell again to pay its all dues, including regulatory fee and fine worth Tk477 crore by August 16. Out of the total outstanding payment, two-thirds must be paid in a month while the rest of the amount must be paid within the

next two months. As per the judgment of the AD, Citycell had to pay Tk318 crore to the BTRC by October 19. But, it couldn’t do it. Besides, the AD had also given them (citycell) another one month for the remaining one third outstanding amount. “But, as the operator didn’t fulfill the first part of the judgment of AD, so there is no option for another part of the judgment,” said State Minister Tarana Halim. Bangladesh Telecom Limited received the license for telecom services in 1989. It is the only CDMA network operator in the country. It is currently owned by Singtel with 45% stake and the remaining 55% is owned by the Pacific Group and Far East Telecom. l

Bangladesh spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz bowls during the opening day’s play of the first Test against England at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK he clean bowled another debutant Ben Duckett (14) to start off proceedings. At the other end, visiting captain Alastair Cook was no doubt quite eager to make his record breaking match a memorable one after becoming the most-capped England Test player with 134 appearances.

But Shakib al Hasan gave the home side a huge relief as he shattered the timber with Cook departing for four when he tried to sweep a delivery that eventually went on to hit the stumps after deflecting off his body. Miraz then trapped Gary Ballance (one) in front; the visitors

BTRC shuts down Citycell Husain and n Ishtiaq Arifur Rahman Rabbi

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) yesterday shut down the country’s first mobile phone operator Citycell after conducting a raid on its offices and suspended its spectrum due to outstanding fees. Earlier, the spectrum allotted to mobile phone operator Citycell was suspended due to failure of paying dues, as ordered by the High Court. BTRC on August 17 issued a notice to Citycell asking to explain by 30 days why its licence for the operation would not be cancelled for its failure to pay dues. Meanwhile, the raid comes in the wake of BTRC suspending Citycell’s spectrum when it failed

to pay outstanding payments. BTRC officials entered the Citycell headquarters at 5pm yesterday. Banani police Inspector Wahiduzzaman confirmed the operation to Dhaka Tribune. But he could not provide any details. He said that the operation was being carried out to follow court orders.

No payments, no operations

State Minister for Posts and Telecommunication Tarana Halim said the regulator suspended Citycell’s operations as it had failed to pay government dues. She announced: “BTRC has shut down Citycell’s operations and suspended the spectrum since it failed to pay the dues.” “Citycell was supposed to pay the two third of the outstanding

amount within four weeks, but it failed to pay the money. That is why we took the decision to implement the judgment of the court,” she said. The announcement came at press conference held at Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) office while the drive was being carried out in Citycell offices. A BTRC official confirmed that the regulator suspended Citycell’s spectrum at 5pm yesterday.

Tk 477crore overdue in fines, fees

Citycell has owed to the government of Tk 477.51 crore since long as spectrum and license renewal fees and other charges. On August 29, a five-member bench of Appellate Division of the Supreme Court headed by Chief

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