24 Oct, 2016

SECOND EDITION

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

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Kartik 9, 1423, Muharram 22, 1438

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 176

What did we learn? n Abu Sayeed Asiful Islam The re-election of Sheikh Hasina to the presidency of the Awami League and the election of Obaidul Quader as the general secretary of the party are not entirely surprising.

Hasina has led the Awami League since 1981, taking the helm of the party during a period of political uncertainty just six years after her family was brutally gunned down in a coup by mutinous army officers.

The Dhaka Tribune has earlier written that her re-election and the election of Obaidul would be likely outcomes of the party council.

The results give clear indication about the concerns of the party as it gears up for an election year in 2019.

Sheikh Hasina

The obvious takeaway from Hasina’s return to the top post in the Awami League for the eighth consecutive term is that continuity counts.

The importance of her leadership acumen and the historic connection between her family and the party are no small matter to the party’s brand.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy has been the focus of attention with councillors and commentators alike speculating that he may slowly be inducted into the corridors of power.

Indeed, although Joy did not end up with a top leadership role despite widespread speculation that he would, his brief appearance

Obaidul Quader

Hasina re-elected AL president, Quader new GS Abu Bakar n Mohammad Siddique All the rumours and speculations that dominated the air centring the new leadership of the ruling Awami League evaporated yesterday afternoon after the 20th national council unanimously re-elected party chief Sheikh Hasina as its president, and Presidium member and Minister Obaidul Quader as new general secretary.

Thousands of party supporters and councillors hailed the two top leaders after the election though they were optimistic in the morning about Hasina’s son and ICT Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy’s induction into the party for

the first time in an important post.

The council ended with the party chief’s concluding speech where Hasina praised outgoing general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam for his contribution to the party as her second-in-command for two terms since 2009.

She also welcomed her new deputy and party spokesperson, Obaidul Quader, who was made a Presidium member in the last council held in 2012. Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul previously served as a joint general secretary of the party.

With this, Hasina has been made chief of the party for the eighth time since 1981  PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

in the council conclave witnessed councillors chanting his name.

This widespread enthusiasm of the councillors for Joy demonstrate not just approval for the man but also for the legacy he represents.

For his part, Joy downplayed the clamorous outpouring of support and cited his still transcontinental lifestyle as precluding him from full participation in the day-to-day administration of the party co-founded by his grandfather.

Nevertheless, Hasina openly raised the question of succession during the two-day party council that ended yesterday, calling for the emergence of a new generation of leaders to take the party forward.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

Is Ashraf next president of Bangladesh? n Abu Hayat Mahmud The grassroots members of the Awami League are curious whether Syed Ashraful Islam is next in line for the presidency of Bangladesh after he was replaced by Obaidul Quader as the general secretary of the ruling party.

The two-time former general secretary was succeeded by Quader as the latter was elected, for the first time, by the councillors of the Awami League at the party’s 20th national council, which ended yesterday.

Several councillors said they had reliable information that Ashraf would be the next president of the country soon Ashraf, son of Syed Nazrul Islam who served as the acting president of Bangladesh in absence of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman during the Liberation War in 1971, has been made a presidium member of the party.

Awami League councillors and delegates, who came from around the country to attend the council, expressed satisfaction with the new central committee of the party.

However, speaking with the Dhaka Tribune, they wondered whether Ashraf would succeed Abdul Hamid as the president.

A councillor from Kishorganj, asking not to be named, said he heard that Sheikh Hasina would be re-elected as the party president, Quader would be elected as the general secretary and Ashraf would be made the next president of the country.

“It is 99% certain that Ashraf will be the next president of Bangladesh,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

Shubhash Chandra Joy Dhar, president of Awami League’s Kotalipara upazila unit in Gopalganj, said he had also learnt from a reliable source that Ashraf would be the next president of the country.

Several other councillors and delegates also claimed the same.

The incumbent president, Abdul Hamid, became the acting president of the country on March 14, 2013 when then president Zillur Rahman fell ill and later died.

Hamid was elected the 22nd president of Bangladesh on April 22, 2013.

The closing day of the council also saw Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina re-elected as the president of the Awami League for eighth consecutive time.

Around 6,500 councillors attended the council to elect the party’s new leadership for the next three years. l

Former AL General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam embraces Obaidul Quader just after the latter’s name was announced as the new general secretary of Awami League at the 20th National Council of the party yesterday

Former AL General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam embraces Obaidul Quader just after the latter’s name was announced as the new general secretary of Awami League at the 20th National Council of the party yesterday FOCUS BANGLA

BNP, JaPa, Jasod congratulate Hasina, Quader n Manik Miazee

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has congratulated Sheikh Hasina, who has been unanimously re-elected as president at the 20th Council of Awami Legue (AL), and Obaidul Quader, the newly elected general secretary of the party.

Fakhrul made the gesture at a programme in city’s Segun Bagicha area minutes after Sheikh Hasina and Quader were elected president and general secretary of the party on Sunday noon.

He said: “BNP expects the newly elected leaders of AL bring back democracy and human rights to the country. AL is holding its council, making new record in lighting Dhaka using public electricity. But

leaders of the party did not say anything over how the country’s people would get back their right to vote. BNP expected that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina speak about dialogue with the opposition and how to come to terms with the opposition, but unfortunately, she said nothing about this. As a result, political crisis in the country continues to be uncertain. And this uncertainty might increase more.”

JaPa President HM Ershad in a press statement has also congratulated Hasina and Quader. In the statement, Ershad said: “We expect the new leaders will work to strengthen the country’s democracy.”

Contacted, welcoming the newly-elected leaders of the ruling party, JaPa Secretary General Ruhul Amin Howlader told the Dhaka

Tribune: “We welcome to re-elected president of AL Sheikh Hasina and newly elected general secretary Obaidul Quader. Now AL is a more mature political party comparing to previous time and the nation has more expectation to them for gain political goal.

“The nation will go to achieve develop country under led by AL, for that they should take positive decision for country” he said.

Meanwhile, in a press statement Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Jasod) president and secretary general Shirin Akther also welcomed Sheikh Hasina and Obaidul Quader.

She said, “We hope, the newly elected AL executive committee will work for making a more effective 14-party alliance and combating militant activities.” l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

What did we learn?

On Sunday, party councillors heard the prime minister say she hoped to see the helm of the party pass to the younger generation during her lifetime, indicating that a major theme for the party would be securing a consensually agreed upon succession.

That new blood was not injected into the party this time around may be interpreted by some as indicating a dearth of suitable younger leaders for the job.

But it may also indicate that prudence pays.

Young, untested leaders often fail to live up to expectations, and afterwards pulling in older hands to fix the results of inexperience has been often a case of too little, too late. Just look at Britain’s Labour Party.

The nomination of Obaidul Quader by the very man he re-

placed – Syed Ashraful Islam, another scion of an old Awami League family – impressively demonstrated party discipline and harmony.

There was no evident rancour in the transfer of power.

Importantly, Obaidul’s taking up of the reins of administrator-in-chief of the party suggests that Hasina is serious about grooming the younger generation of the party.

Why? For one, Obaidul Quader’s connection with the party grassroots is well-known and well-respected. If there is a leader that is in a position of advantage to steer this generational transition, it is he.

For another, unlike the reserved and some might say media-shy nature of Ashraful’s political style, Obaidul is as media-friendly as would be needed to reach out to

the ‘wired generation’.

If there have ever been suggestions that Ashraful’s administrative skills were ever found wanting, there has never been any doubt that he had proven to be utterly

By 2019, it will have been a decade since AL has contested an election against a formidable adversary steady in the midst of severe adversity. One political commentator, asking not to be named, described him as “The Rock of Gibraltar” during the army-backed caretaker interregnum of 2007.

Political parties always seem to

be weathering some crisis or another – and where Ashraful was the man to face the uncertainty of that eventful year, Obaidul seems to have been picked to face the strain of revamping the party for election mode.

Indeed, at the council, Sheikh Hasina warned her party of the dangers of failing to prepare to win the coming general elections.

By the time the Awami League contests the 2019 elections, it will have been a decade since it has contested an election against a formidable adversary. And ten years is an eternity in politics.

It remains to be seen whether the party’s traditional electoral adversary, the BNP, which boycotted the last general election, will prove to be anything near formidable when the polls season returns. l

Hasina re-elected when she was elected in absentia.

In the last couple of days she urged the councillors to find a new leader, but in return faced proposals that asked her to remain the party chief for a lifetime.

The council also approved some changes in the party charter – increasing the number of members in the Presidium from 15 to 19; joint secretaries from three to four; organising secretaries from seven to eight; Central Working Committee from 73 to 81; and National Committee from 170 to 180.

Moreover, Mymensingh has been added as an organisational division while the council for the first time also approved the formation of a permanent 19-member nomination board for selecting candidates for local government elections.

After the election and partial announcement of the central commit-

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

Eminent citizens welcome Hasina Malik and n Shadma Jebun Nesa Alo Eminent citizens of the country have welcomed the re-election of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as the president of Bangladesh Awami League in the 20th national council of the party, which concluded yesterday.

“There is no alternative to Sheikh Hasina at the moment for the Awami League. Nobody but Hasina would be accepted to the party because new leadership still has not grown to carry the party forward,” said Prof Rounaq Jahan, distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue and former adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Rounaq recalled that Hasina took the helm of the Awami League in 1981 when the party was facing a leadership crisis.

She described Hasina’s desire to find a successor during her lifetime as “good thinking… that will enable her to cultivate new leadership who can carry the Awami League.”

This is Hasina’s eighth consecutive term as the president of the Awami League.

“It is true that there is no one except Hasina that can keep the party united and that is why the party leadership relies solely on her.

“Although Hasina has spoken about possible retirement at this council, it is not likely to be welcomed by the party until future leaders are groomed to take over. It is difficult to speculate how long it will be before Hasina actually does decide she is ready to retire from politics,” Rounaq added.

Citizens for Good Governance

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is also the chief of the ruling party Awami League in a friendly moment with the immediate past general sectary Ashraful Islam yesterday BSS (SHUJAN) Secretary Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar said re-electing Hasina as the party president was a wise decision.

“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has initiated many projects for the economic development of the country. At this stage, it is wise to keep her as the party president,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

Nur Khan, acting executing director of Ain o Salish Kendra, also said there was no alternative to Hasina for the post of president in the Awami League.

“It is not about political dynasty, it is about the crisis of leadership,”

AL president, Quader new GS tee, Hasina said that the remaining 60 posts would be decided after consultation with the general secretary and the Presidium members.

The names of 23 members of the 83-strong central committee were announced by the party president. Apart from Hasina, Obaidul and Ashraf, the 16 other members of the Presidium are Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Matia Chowdhury, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Mohammad Nasim, Kazi Zafarulla, Sahara Khatun, Mosharraf Hossain, Nurul Islam Nahid, Abdur Razzak, Faruk Khan, Abdul Mannan Khan, Ramesh Chandra Sen and Pijush Bhattacharya.

Hasina also announced the names of four joint secretaries, keeping the previous three – Mahbubul Alam Hanif, Dipu Moni and Jahangir Kabir Nanak in their positions and adding Faridpur lawmaker Abdur Rahman. HN Ashequr Rahman will retain to the post of treasurer.

A total of 6,570 councillors took part in the council session held at the Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh yesterday.

Earlier, a good number of eminent citizens and representatives of different parties, and

he explained. “Since democracy is not practised in the political parties from grassroots to central level, there is no capable leaders to lead the parties. So Awami League cannot see any other leader taking the helm of party,” he said.

Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, Hasina was the obvious choice for the top post of the ruling party – the oldest political party in the country. “There is no better candidate for the party than Sheikh Hasina,” he said.

Referring to the election of Obaidul Quader as the party’s gen-

some 60 foreign delegates attended the inaugural session of the Awami League’s council at the historic Suhrawardy Udyan Saturday.

Earlier, the council session began after the party chief and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reached the IEB venue shortly after 10am.

In her opening speech, Hasina told the councillors to elect new leadership of the party and urged party supporters to take preparations for the next general elections in a way that the BNP-Jamaat combine cannot assume office.

The councillors spoke in favour of Hasina’s holding the post for lifetime and also demanded that Joy, the prime minister’s ICT adviser, be given an important post. In response, Hasina said that Joy was already in an important position.

On the first day of the council, Syed Ashraf asked Joy to take responsibility of the party.

The proposal was supported by most of the councillors. But Joy told media yesterday that he would love to work for the party as well as the country, but did not want to hold a position since he travels between his two homes in Bangladesh and USA. l

eral secretary, Iftekhar said the party leadership was indeed changing to bring in the new generation of leaders, which was also good for the party.

Quader has been elected as the general secretary of the Awami League for the first time, replacing Syed Ashraful Islam.

Human rights activist Khushi Kabir said change in the party leadership would not make a difference if the leader is capable and accepted by the party.

“Sheikh Hasina has been the president of the Awami League since 1981, when she was elected

president for the first time. She was young then and there were many leaders in the party with more experience. So it is not a matter of being young or old, it is about being accepted and capable to lead the party,” she told the Dhaka Tribune.

Asked about the election of Quader as general secretary, Khushi said: “He [Quader] has been involved with politics since he was a student.

So it may be a collective decision.”

Hasina and Quader were unanimously elected by the councillors of the Awami League as there were no other candidates for the top two posts in the party. l

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

Takeaways from the council n Adil Mahmood and Niloy Alam Hasina re-elected president, Quader new general secretary It came as a surprise to virtually no one that Sheikh Hasina would be re-elected as the president of the party. Rumours that Road, Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader was going to be the new general secretary began making the rounds on Sunday morning.

Demand for Joy

Councillors who spoke on the second day were vocal about their desire to see the third-generation scion of the Bangabandhu family – Sajeeb Wazed Joy – be given a post within the party. Despite the clamorous demand from the assemblage, Joy left as he came. But given the reception, his induction into the party in the future is only a matter of time.

No traffic jams whatsoever

In the wake of a week that saw hellish congestion during the Chinese president’s and World Bank president’s visits, Dhaka residents stayed indoors fearing the massive turnout for the council. The result: streets were eerily empty.

Surprisingly, no BUET applicants complained about missing their admission exams.

Flattery has its limits

Praise turned to flattery turned to sycophancy at the council on the second day. Sheikh Hasina sternly reprimanded councillors for consuming more than their allotted time to praise the party president and her son.

AL acknowledges Bhashani, Suhrawardy’s contributions

Sheikh Hasina acknowledged the role of Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and Huseyn Shaheed

Suhrawardy in founding and leading the Awami League. This recognition allows the party to associate two stoic leaders from the past with itself.

Awami League has friends abroad

A multitude of foreign dignitaries including leaders from BJP and Congress in India, and MPs from Austria and Russia attended the council. It goes to show that the ALwami League has forged excellent relationships with countries near and far including China, Bhutan, Nepal and almost all major trade partners.

BNP is a party with self-respect

Despite saying on Friday that BNP would attend the council, the party did not. General Secretary Mirza Fakhrul Ahmed denounced the council citing the lack of dialogue with the opposition and a looming political crisis.

Platform for youth interaction

The Awami League’s research wing, the Centre for Research and Information, organised an initiative that let young leaders and activists engage central leaders and policymakers of the party. The initiative held true to the declaration that the council would be a blend of the old and new.

Plans to make Bangladesh poverty-free

Sheikh Hasina also announced plans to erect free housing for the homeless and the destitute. Although a far-fetched scheme, it may lead to solutions that will eliminate poverty or at the very least, reduce it.

Plans to act as a hub between East and West

She announced that Bangladesh would be a conduit between the two hemispheres. This could mean that Bangladesh has improved its

foreign relations to the extent that it can use its geostrategic location for diplomatic purposes.

Congratulations all around

While not attending, the BNP and Jatiya Party congratulated Sheikh Hasina and Obaidul Quader on their election as party president and general secretary respectively.

Veterans to steer the boat

The party president announced the names of 16 presidium members, four joint secretaries, and the new treasurer. The names were all triedand-true veterans of Awami League with decades of experience.

Hasina on passing the torch

Party President Sheikh Hasina mentioned multiple times that she wanted a new leader. While she continues to lead the party onwards, she emphasised that she would find a successor during her lifetime. l

PM: Don’t be such sycophants

n Adil Sakhawat

Three minutes were allotted for each councillor to speak on the second day of the council yesterday but almost all of them spent their time praising party president Sheikh Hasina instead of voicing their opinions on the election of the top party positions.

Lakshmipur district Awami League General Secretary Nur Uddin Chowdhury took it a little too far, prompting Hasina to interrupt him in a stern voice.

“Don’t be such sycophants,” she told him and the other councillors.

While speaking at the conclave session, the councillors demanded that Sheikh Hasina remain party president for life. They also hoped Sajeeb Wazed Joy would be prominently placed in the new committee as a successor of Bangabandhu.

Panchagarh district Awami League General Secretary Anwar Sahadat Somrat told Hasina: “We have full confidence in you and wish that you will award such a committee on which we can rely. We do not want any traitors in the committee.”

Nesar Ahmed, president of the Moulavi Bazar Awami League, urged Hasina to announce an acceptable leadership that would help the party in going forward.

“We want to see you as the party president as long as you are alive,” said the Rajshahi and Madaripur general secretaries.

Thakurgaon district General Secretary Saad Koreshi said: “Whom you believe faithful and to whom you think the party will remain safe, please hand over the leadership to him.” l

Councillors of Awami League in a long queue to enter the Engineers’ Institute, Dhaka yesterday to take part in the 20th council of the party

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Rizvi: It was right not to attend AL council n Manik Miazee

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi yesterday said that at a time when AL is torturing all its opposition including BNP’s leaders and activists he cannot ignore that fact and attend the AL council.

Rizvi said:“AL is torturing its opposition and sending them to jail, a gentleman cannot go to their council,” at the BNP party central office, yesterday afternoon.

Rizvi added that it was the right decision not to attend the council saying: “If there was an actual democratic process and environment than BNP would have attend-

ed the council.”

He further said that people with a backbone needs to stand up against this undemocratic environment and this is why the BNP did not attend the 20th AL National Council.

The joint secretary defined his stance, saying: “We are a self respecting political party dedicated to the democratic process which is why we must protest the eradication of democracy by the ruling party by not attending their council.”

He further asked how the AL council could afford such a large scale program accusing them of extortion in paying for it.

On Wednesday at the Dhaka Re-

porters Unity, BNP Vice-Chairman Abdullah Al Noman spoke on the same issue, saying: “We do not know from where they are getting the crores of taka to spend on their council,” which he accused was acquired through “plundering and looting.”

He also said: “For the last few years the ruling party has been clamping down on the opposition party in following the democratic process although AL has a long tradition of fighting for democracy.”

He further alleged that the present government is ruling the country like as an undeclared one-party ruler.

“AL had repeatedly killed the country’s democracy,” he also

claimed.

On Tuesday BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir had welcomed the upcoming 20th council of Awami League and expressed hope: “The AL council would take the initiative to bring back democracy in the country,” while talking to reporters at BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office.

However, both Fakhrul and Noman expressed the hope that Awami League’s council would be observed peacefully and that it would be a pathway to bringing back democracy to the country.

BNP was invited to the 20th Awami League National Council on Thursday. l

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Joy not interested in party post now n Tribune Desk Awami League President Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy has said that holding a party post while living abroad is not right.

“It would not be appropriate to hold a post while living abroad,” Joy told reporters at the historic Suhrawardy Udyan yesterday afternoon, before the 20th national council of the ruling party re-elected Hasina as the party chief and Obaidul Quader the new general secretary.

“I want to work for the party, the country,” said Joy, who advises Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on ICT issues.

He participated in the council as a councillor from the Rangpur district unit of the Awami League. A US citizen, Joy does not hold any post in the party’s central committee.

On the first day of the council, outgoing general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam urged Joy to take responsibility of the party. His proposal was also supported by grassroots leaders.

After Hasina’s re-election, Ashraf yesterday proposed the name of Obaidul Quader as the general secretary of the Awami League for the next three years.

Many councillors chanted slogans in favour of Joy demanding that he be given an important post in the party. Moreover, some newspapers ran reports for the last few days which suggest that a number of central leaders want him to join the party ranks. l

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s son and also her ICT Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy exchange greetings with councilors at the 20th National Council of Awami League in the Institute of Engineers Bangladesh, Dhaka BSS

Hasina: Next AL grassroots happy with new committee polls must be n Abu Hayat Mahmud unquestionably fair Abu Bakar n Mohammad Siddique Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina claimed that she will organise an unquestionably fair election.

“The next national election will be held in 2019 and I do not want to hold a questionable one,’’ the premier said this in the second session of Awami League’s 20th national council yesterday.

During her speech the president of AL urged party activists and supporters to run party activities to ensure victory in the upcoming election in 2019.

The newly elected president of AL also called party leaders and activists to work together to strengthen the party. l

announcement of Quader’s name proposed by former two-time GS and Public Administration Minister Syed Ashraful Islam.

“I’m happy about the new committee. There is no alternative to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as the president of AL. Moreover, Sajeeb Wazed Joy is not prepared yet to lead the party,” said Sajal Das, a councilor from Habiganj. He said Obaidul Quader is also fit as the spokesperson of the party as nobody seems to oppose the new committee.

Md Alauddin, a councilor from Khulna, said they had got the hint that Obaidul Quader was going to be elected as the next GS of AL. “Ashraful Islam and Obaidul Quader both are same to me. So, I’m congratulating the party’s new GS,” he added.

A group of delegates also echoed Alauddin’s saying they also are happy over the new committee.

Earlier, during the addressing sessions all the councilors request-

The councilors and delegates to the 20th triennial national council of the Awami League (AL) expressed satisfaction and happiness on the new committee of the party formed on Sunday evening.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was re-elected president of AL for the 8th consecutive time at the closing day of the council while Obaidul Quader, incumbent Roads and Transportation minister, was elected as the new general secretary, succeeding Syed Ashraful Islam who held the post for last two times.

After the announcement of Hasina’s name as president all the councilors and delegates burst out into joy. They also expressed happiness after announcement of Quader’s name as GS. Nobody among the councilors expressed dissatisfaction over the new committee. The councilors welcomed with roaring claps the

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ed Sheikh Hasina to hold the leadership of the ruling AL until her physical condition allows.

They also requested Hasina to get her son Sajib Wazeed Joy ready to hold the leadership of the party by the next council.

Addressing Hasina, Dhaka District Awami League President Benazir Ahmed said: “We have 100% confidence on you. That’s why most of the councilors requested

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you to stay as the party president.”

He said now Sheikh Hasina is not only the leader of AL, but also of the whole Bangali nation.

Around 6500 councilors took part in the council to elect the party’s new leadership for the next three years.

While hundreds of delegates and other party men were present inside and outside the venue, Institute of Engineers Bangladesh. l

Sylhet

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

KUSHTIA MEDICAL COLLEGE

Construction remains stopped for five months Khoda Sobuj, n Kudrote Kushtia Contractor has stopped construction works of Kushtia Medical College for five months after the completion of 90% of its work.

Works of the medical college are scheduled to be finished within June this year, but the contractor stopped its works in the name of extra costs.

Contractor said contractor was compelled to stop the construction works, as the cost of the project has

increased 20% than the actual.

Ashraful Haque, project director of Kushtia Medical College, said: “We have already sent an application to Ministry of Planning by requesting to increase the allotment, but it will take time to pass the order.”

College sources said Kushtia Medical College had started its journey in 2011 with 50 students. Now there are total 250 students in the college. According to Public Works Department (PWD) sources, construction works of the medical college started in 2013 in Lahenipara

area of the town. At the first phase of works, contractor started works of academic building and two dormitories where the estimated cost of the two buildings is Tk29.81 crore and Tk15 crore respectively.

An official of PWB said to the Dhaka Tribune that the construction works of the buildings have been completed about 90%.

Shabmir Hossain, contractor of the project, said: “We were compelled to stop the construction works, as the cost of the project increased remarkbly.” l

Chunnu for 8-hour working day for domestic help n Abdullah Al Dulal, Rajshahi State Minister for Labour and Employment Md Mujibul Haque Chunnu has demanded eight-hour working day for the domestic helps of Bangladesh. He came up with the statement yesterday while addressing a seminar on child rights in a hotel, Rajshahi.

Comparing a domestic help with a government service holder, the junior minister said domestic helps should be given equal rights.

He said: “If a government employee has right of eight-hour working day, a domestic worker must have that right..

“I think repression on domestic helps has decreased significant-

ly during the tenure our time,” he also said.

“Now domestic helps who had no legal coverage against torture earlier enjoy some kind of legal protection.

A policy has been outlined recently to remove the torture on them. A strict law will be passed soon in this regard,” the minister said.

He claimed the government has ensured all facilities for domestic helps.

The minister criticised NGOs those do not work for welfare of the poor people.

Among others, the discussion was addressed by Joint Secretary Khandokar Mostan Hossain, Syed Ahmed and Deputy Commissioner Kazi Ashraf Uddin. l

Students of Rajshahi University bring out a procession on the campus yesterday, demanding punishment of the killers of Motaleb Hossain Lipu, who was found dead near his dormitory on Thursday morning AZAHAR UDDIN

Badrul expelled from SUST over attack on Khadiza n Serjul Islam, Sylhet

The authorities of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology have expelled Badrul Alam, a Bangladesh Chhatra League leader and student of the university who brutally hacked Khadiza Akter Nargis, a student of Sylhet Government Women’s College earlier this month.

The decision was taken yesterday at the Syndicate meeting presided over by Vice-Chancellor Prof Aminul Haq Bhuiyan.

The disciplinary committee had requested the Syndicate to expel him, said Dr Kabir, a Syndicate member.

Earlier, the SUST authorities suspended Badrul from the university following a meeting of the university proctorial body.

The proctorial body also formed a three-member com-

mittee led by acting proctor Rashed Talukder to investigate the attack.

BCL claims Badrul not a member

The Chhatra League wing at SUST claimed that Badrul had no affiliation with the organisation.

“Badrul is currently employed at Alhaz Ayazur Rahman High School, and according to the organisation’s charter, job holders cannot remain members of this organisation,” said a press statement issued by Chhatra League.

However, sources said Badrul was currently the vice-president of SUST unit.

“Chhatra League is not liable for any individual’s action, especially by someone who is not a member. We have looked into the incident and found that he is a job holder. Anyone who is married or working has his or her

Chhatra League membership automatically cancelled.”

Khadiza, a second year Bachelor’s student of Sylhet Government Mohila College, was brutally stabbed by Badrul on October 3 when she was returning home from her college after appearing for an examination.

At first, she was rushed to Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital and then to the Square Hospital in Dhaka, as her condition deteriorated.

Meanwhile, protests are taking place every day in Sylhet and elsewhere in the country demanding harsh punishment for the perpetrator.

Demanding justice, Masuk Mia, the Saudi expatriate father of Khadiza, told the Dhaka Tribune that he was grateful for the support of the media and the people of the country during this difficult time. l

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GMG workers stage demo over assault of female worker Islam Akand, n Raihanul Gazipur

Workers of Horizon Composite Ltd observed work abstention and staged demonstration over the assault of a female worker in Boherarchala area, Gazipur yesterday morning.

Factory sources said the garment authority sacked two swing operators without prior notice on Saturday. Assistant General Manager of the factory Abul Kalam slapped Hasina Akter, a staff of Horizon Composite Ltd, as she asked the AGM about reason of sack of two other workers.

Then, workers of the factory took to the street demanding removal of the AGM. Later, the workers withdrew their blockade after getting assurance from garment authority. l

Taking a ride on the roof of a train, aspirant students of Chittagong University return home after appearing in intake test yesterday

SEVEN MONTHS INTO TONU KILLING

Family losing hope of getting justice Molla, n Mohiuddin Comilla Family members of Sohagi Jahan Tonu, a student of Comilla Victoria College, was killed after rape inside Comilla cantonment, are assuming that they would not get justice over the murder.

They said six months have already passed since Tonu was killed by unidentified assailants, but the law enforcers are yet to arrest any of the killers and submit charge sheet, much to create frustration among the justice seekers.

Yaar Hossain, father of Tonu, was frustrated seeing no progress in the case. ‘’I feel empty, as I lost my daughter. I feel the pain of losing child. A few days ago, some officials of the Criminal Investigation Department met me. They told me that they were carrying out the investigation. I do not know when investigation of the case will end,” he told the Dhaka Tribune. ‘’I have become sick after the demise of my

daughter. The investigators are yet to match DNP samples which was found on the dress of Tonu with the suspects. We want exemplary punishment of the killers so that no girl faces this kind of consequence.’’

Dhaka Tribune tried to talk to the investigation officer of the case, Sub-Inspector of Comilla CID Jalal Uddin Ahmed, several times but failed, as the official did not pick up his phone.

The CID and other investigation agencies have so far grilled over 100 people.

On the night of March 20, the body of Tonu, also a theatre activist, was recovered from a bush near her house inside Mainamati Cantonment.

Her father Yaar Hossain filed a case with Kotwali model police station the same day.

Doctors have already conducted two autopsies on her body. The first report released on April 4 drew uproar, as it said that no sign of murder or rape

was found on Tonu’s body.

The second report was released on June 12 and it also sparked controversy, as the report found evidence of sexual intercourse on her body.

On May 10, parents of the victim named Army Sergeant Jahid, his wife and soldier Jahid for killing their daughter. They also alleged that the law enforcers were trying to save the killers.

On April 1, the Criminal Investigation Department was entrusted with the investigation of the case. Special Superintendent of Police Abdul Kahar Akand is coordinating the probe.

During the investigation, the Inter-service Public Relations (ISPR) of the army issued several statements saying they were assisting in the probe.

The ISPR also claimed that Tonu’s family members had raised baseless and inconsistent allegations at different times and on different issues which may stain the image of the Bangladesh Army. l

RMG worker gang-raped, 2 arrested

n Tanveer Hossain, Narayanganj Police have arrested two youths over the gang-rape of a RMG worker on Thursday night at Mundirpur village of Sonargaon in Narayanganj.

The duo are Selim, 35, son of Tota Mia, and Azizul, 36, son of Ali Rahman, of the same village.

Shah Md Monzur Kader, officerin-charge of Sonargaon police, said: “The victim and his brother-in-law went to their relative’s house at Mundirpur village on Thursday afternoon.

“Seven to eight youths led by Selim abducted her around midnight as she went outside the house to go to the toilet and took her to a nearby orchard.”

Her brother-in-law chased the attackers but was caught and tied to a tree. “Then she was gangraped throughout the night in front of her brother-in-law,” the OC told the Dhaka Tribune.

The rapists tried to suppress the incident by managing arbitrator Anwar and Manju as the locals learnt about it Friday morning.

The duo were supposed to hold a hearing around 3pm yesterday. But getting no justice, the victim went to the police station and filed a case against eight people including Selim, Azizul, Dalim and Alam.

Several teams of the police conducted raids in Mundirpur area around 5:30pm and arrested prime accused Selim and Azizul.

The victim was sent to Narayanganj General Hospital for tests. l

RABIN CHOWDHURY

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SOUTH ASIA

Pakistan warns of action over Indus Water Treaty Pakistan on Saturday warned of appropriate action if India violates the Indus Water Treaty and said it is closely monitoring the situation, amid reports that New Delhi may revisit the key water sharing accord.

Pakistan was keeping a close eye on the situation, Radio Pakistan reported. Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said, “India is making desperate attempts to divert attention from the atrocities and human right violations being committed in Kashmir”. TOI

INDIA

7,000 people arrested during Kashmir unrest More than 7,000 people were arrested by police during the ongoing unrest in the Kashmir Valley that started here on July 9, but 5,500 of them were let off on promise of good behaviour, a top police source has said. Of around 1,500 people still in police custody who have not been booked for serious offences. HT

CHINA

China replaces members of regional legislature over fraud

Nearly 450 people have been elected to a Chinese provincial legislature one month after allegations of electoral fraud led to the removal of most of the legislature’s members.

State media reported Saturday that elections this week added 447 deputies to the Liaoning Provincial People’s Congress. The provincial congress now has 594 deputies. AFP

ASIA PACIFIC

1 killed, 7 hurt in Japan suicide blast A retired soldier was killed and at least 7 people injured by twin blasts at a Japanese park on Sunday in what may have been a bizarre suicide, police and reports said. A festival was under way at the park when the 72-year-old former member of Japan’s Self Defence Forces apparently set off an explosive device that killed him and left three people injured including 2 seriously. AFP

MIDDLE EAST

Iraqi parliament votes to ban alcohol Iraq’s parliament on Saturday voted to ban the sale, import and production of alcohol, in a surprise move likely to anger some minorities but also to please influential religious parties.

Proponents of the ban argue that it is justified by the constitution, which prohibits any law contradicting Islam. AFP

Opium crops spread in Afghanistan as Taliban gains ground n Reuters, Vienna The cultivation of opium poppy in Afghanistan, the world’s main source of heroin, has risen to its third-highest level in more than 20 years, the United Nations confirmed on Sunday, as the Taliban insurgency gains ground.

In the key findings of its annual Afghanistan opium survey, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said the total area of land devoted to poppy cultivation had risen 10% in 2016 to 201,000 hectares.

“The survey shows a worrying reversal in efforts to combat the persistent problem of illicit drugs and their impact on development, health and security,” UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov said in a statement.

The government’s loosening grip on security in many areas contributed to a collapse in poppy eradication efforts, a method championed by the United States after it led an invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 when the country was under Taliban rule.

“Eradication has dropped precipitously to 355 hectares — a fall of some 91%,” Fedotov said.

The report said cultivation was also spreading to new areas, as the number of poppy-free provinces fell to 13 from 14 out of a total of 34.

The report confirmed a statement by Fedotov earlier this month that the area under cultivation in 2016 had exceeded 200,000 hectares, putting it in the top three years since the UNODC began providing estimates in 1994.

Fedotov’s statement on October 4 was made at a conference in Brussels at which world powers raised $15bn to fund Afghanistan over the next four years.

Taliban successes on the battlefield have exposed the defensive limits of Afghanistan’s Nato-trained armed forces, which are supposed to number 350,000 personnel but which have been heavily depleted by casualties and desertion.

“Strong increases (in cultivation) were observed in the northern region and in Badghis prov-

AFGHAN OPIUM PRODUCTION UN monitors noted a 10 percent jump in production over the last year

200

Thousands of hectares

TAJIKISTAN

1999

+100% +921% +152%

150

Cultivation

UZB. TURK.

+184%

100 50 0 1994 71

91

8

+373% +409%

KABUL Area cultivated

2007

193

+ 25,000 hectares

+112%

10,001 - 25,000 1,000 - 10,001 < 1,000

IRAN

100 km

224

Poppy free

PAKISTAN

% change 2015-2016

2016

201

Source: UNODC

ince where the security situation has deteriorated since 2015,” the UNODC said. The western region, which includes Badghis, has the second-biggest area under cultivation after the southern region.

The key findings released on Sunday said there had also been a 30% increase in the estimated yield from poppy fields this year, bringing potential production to the seventh-highest on record, 43

percent more than in 2015.

The UNODC added, however, that its yield estimate was less reliable than that of the area under cultivation.

“There are some limitations in these estimates since the yield survey was not implemented in all main cultivating provinces for security reasons,” it said. “For the provinces not covered, the regional average was used.” l

Turkish help in Mosul offensive angers Iraq n Tribune International Desk

Iraqi and Kurdish forces have launched a new offensive on a town near Mosul as part of a massive operation aimed at retaking the country’s second largest city from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (IS).

As the noose gets tightened around the terrorists’ largest occupied Iraqi city, the presence of Turkish troops assisting in the battle has angered many in Iraq.

The Iraqis say they never gave Turkish troops permission to enter the country and has called on them to withdraw. Turkey has refused the demand, insisting that it play a role in retaking Mosul from IS. US Defence Secretary Ash Carter has visited both countries in recent days, and arrived in the Kurdish regional capital Irbil on Sunday, where he was expected to discuss the issue with Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani.

After meeting with Turkey’s leaders, Carter had announced an “agreement in principle” for Turkey to have a role in the operation.

But Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi appeared to bat that idea down when he met with Carter on Saturday, insisting that Mosul was

peshmerga, said they launched a dawn offensive Sunday on two fronts to the northeast of Mosul, near the town of Bashiqa.

The battle to retake Mosul

A displaced young Iraqi boy holds a pigeon at refugee camp on October 22 in the town of Qayyarah, south of Mosul AFP an “Iraqi battle.”

“I know that the Turks want to participate, we tell them thank you, this is something the Iraqis will handle and the Iraqis will liberate Mosul and the rest of the territories,” he said.

Turkish forces have made several previous ground forays into Iraq in recent years, raising tensions between the neighbours. Until the Mosul operation, Turkey primarily had been sending ground troops into the country to go after Kurdish rebels Ankara calls terrorists.

The forces taking part in the Mosul offensive include Iraqi troops, the peshmerga, Sunni tribal fighters and state-sanctioned Shiite militias. Many fear the operation could heighten tensions between Iraq’s different communities, which are allied against ISIS but divided over a host of other issues, including the fate of territories near mostly Sunni Mosul that are claimed by the largely autonomous Kurdish region and the central government.

The Kurdish forces, known as

Major General Haider Fadhil, of Iraq’s special forces, said they had also launched an assault on Bashiqa, surrounding it and seizing parts of the town. He said the Kurds had captured two villages near Bashiqa and a small Shiite shrine in the area.

Over the last week, Iraqi and Kurdish forces have been battling IS in a belt of mostly uninhabited towns and villages around Mosul, contending with roadside bombs, snipers and suicide truck bombs.

The Mosul offensive involves more than 25,000 Iraqi ground forces as well as US-led coalition aircraft and advisers. It is expected to take weeks, if not months, to drive IS from Mosul, which is home to more than a million civilians.

Bashiqa is close to a military base of the same name where some 500 Turkish troops are training Sunni and Kurdish fighters for the Mosul offensive. l

Source: REUTERS, CBS

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

EU reality dims British demand on full membership n Reuters, Brussels Britain will “continue to play a full role until we leave”, Prime Minister Theresa May told fellow leaders at her first EU summit; but for many Britons in Brussels that is a forlorn hope.

Formally, yes, the heads of European Union institutions say Britain and its citizens will keep seats at council tables and in Parliament or go on with EU civil service careers in the two to three years left before it quits the 28-nation bloc.

In reality, say British lawmakers and officials in Brussels - some of whom were offered trauma counselling by employers after the Brexit referendum four months ago to the day - they are already being sidelined, and expect further isolation.

Although May cautioned fellow leaders not to bind Britain by decisions taken without her, as at last month’s summit of 27 in Bratislava, they insist the EU must move on and are annoyed, for example,

by London trying to thwart more EU defence cooperation.

The leader of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-right bloc in the European Parliament took to the BBC’s flagship news show during last week’s summit to warn Britons that such awkward tactics risk poisoning May’s efforts to cut the kind of divorce

Preparing for the future

British Prime Minister Theresa May, left, is welcomed by EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker before their meeting at the EU Commission headquarter in Brussels on October 21 AFP deal she wants, keeping trade ties while curbing immigration.

“That is creating a lot of anger,” Manfred Weber said of British opposition to new plans for EU defence cooperation that London says might hamper Nato. “Please don’t block it because that would have a lot of impact on the Brexit negotiations.”

Acknowledging Britain retains veto powers and votes in the EU for now, Weber said: “It’s a question of behaviour, whether you respect each other, not a question of rights.”

‘Why are you still here?’

Most British MEPs, including most of May’s Conservatives, opposed Brexit. There has been anger at those who did not; EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker

demanded of UKIP leader Nigel Farage in the chamber in June: “Why are you still here?”

A German MEP, speaking anonymously since parties have yet to take positions on December’s jobs round, sees a rout of British influence: “The mid-term changes may reflect the new balance of powers, with UK MEPs probably being removed from positions.”

But despite some pressure from fellow MEPs to exclude the British now, lawyers advise that the 73 Britons in the 751-seat chamber must stay - and be able to vote, even on laws that may not affect Britain, or indeed those such as the form of the final divorce that affect it very particularly. Few expect the British to take part in the 2019 EU elections, however.

Britons are keeping especially active in discussions on issues where there will continue to be close cooperation post-Brexit, such as foreign and defence policy - as May herself did during summit talks on Syria, Russia and migration.

May’s predecessor David Cameron even appointed a new British member to Juncker’s European Commission to replace an ally who, like Cameron, resigned after the Brexit vote; Julian King is now running security policy for the EU executive.

British civil servants in Brussels have been assured by Juncker that for now their jobs are safe.

But as non-EU citizens they will need special dispensations to work for the Union and many are considering their options.

One EU job not so far open to them, and unlikely to be, is that of Brexit negotiator. Former French foreign minister Michel Barnier, the man Juncker has appointed to run the talks, and his German deputy have not appointed any Britons to their team.

People familiar with the new operation say security will be tight, including to prevent leaks to London, and Barnier has told colleagues he would like negotiations to be held in French - though he denied on Friday being set on the idea. l

Spain political impasse nears end as Socialists lift veto n AFP, Madrid

SPAIN’S DEADLOCKED PARLIAMENT The parliament since the June 26 elections

176

25 32

85

Unidos Podemos Far-left coalition (Podemos-IU)

69

40

90

350

123

seats Podemos and allies Radical left

PSOE Socialists

Izquierda Unida (IU) Ecologists-communists

Ciudadanos Centre-right

Source: Interior ministry

Rajoy -- who lost one in September -- could submit himself to another one next week, with some confidence of victory.

Divisions persist

137

n

71

2

ber 20, 2015 ele cem e c D 26

Still, divisions persist within the Socialists.

“We are coming to the feder-

USA

Clinton jumps to doubledigit lead over Trump Hillary Clinton has soared to a 12-point lead over Donald Trump in the race for the White House, according to a new poll released Sunday, with the real estate magnate’s support tanking among key voter groups. The Republican presidential nominee has seen dismal poll numbers since a string of women came forward earlier this month to accuse him of sexual assault or inappropriate behaviour in the past. AFP

THE AMERICAS

Venezuelans march for referendum Thousands of Venezuelans marched in Caracas on Saturday to demand respect for the Constitution and to reject the temporary suspension of the process to trigger a recall referendum against President Nicolas Maduro.

Initially called by the radical wing of the opposition, the protest was supported by all the opposition coalition Democratic Unity Round-table (MUD). REUTERS

UK

Calais ‘jungle’ children arrive in UK The first group of children from the French Jungle migrant camp with no connection to UK have arrived in the country, the Home Office said Sunday, ahead of the camp’s planned demolition. They were among around 70 young people who were taken to London from the camp in the north-eastern French port town of Calais, the closest point to UK on continental Europe. AFP

EUROPE

EU sets Monday deadline for Belgium to back deal The EU has given Belgium until late on Monday to overcome opposition to a free trade deal with Canada from its French-speaking region or a summit to sign the pact that could boost both economies is off.

EU trade negotiators are rushing to assuage the Walloon government’s concerns before the Monday deadline set by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to decide whether to fly to Brussels. REUTERS

Absolute majority

tio

Spain’s embattled Socialists on Sunday voted to lift a long-standing veto that has prevented the conservatives from forming a minority government, in what should finally end a ten-month political impasse.

The conservative Popular Party (PP) of acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy won elections in December 2015 and again in June this year but without enough seats to rule alone.

The PP therefore needs the main opposition Socialists to either support its government or abstain in a parliamentary confidence vote.

On Sunday, the policy-setting federal committee of the deeply-divided Socialists (PSOE) voted 139 to 96 for abstaining, the grouping announced on its Twitter feed.

The vote capped a high-risk meeting that followed weeks of in-fighting within the PSOE, Spain’s second largest party.

The grouping has been weak-

ened by dismal election results and internal strategy disagreements amid Spain’s efforts to form a government after the two inconclusive general elections.

The divisions came to a head earlier this month when high-ranking Socialists amenable to a conservative government -- so as to avoid a third election -forced party leader Pedro Sanchez to resign.

Sanchez had long opposed Rajoy, who came to power in 2011 and whose four-year term was marked by a series of corruption scandals.

With Sanchez out of the way and the party run by an interim executive, many of the delegates at Sunday’s meeting supported an abstention.

“Most Spaniards, more than 65%, don’t want to go back to the ballot box and it’s the same among Socialist voters,” said lawmaker Ignacio Urquizu.

Now that the Socialists have decided to abstain from another parliamentary confidence vote,

DT

World

Popular Party Right Regional parties/ independents

al committee to support the ‘No’ against Rajoy and the PP,” Idoia Mendia, head of the Basque socialists, whose position is shared by their Catalan colleagues, said as he arrived at the party’s headquarters. Outside around 15 people braved the rain to voice their opposition to Rajoy. l

AFRICA

Al-Shabaab retakes Somali town Fighters from the al-Qaeda-linked alShabaab group said Sunday they had retaken control of a town in central Somalia after hundreds of Ethiopian troops serving with the African Union’s AMISOM force withdrew. It was the third time this month that the Islamist group moved into a town in the region after the departure of Ethiopian forces. AFP

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ANALYSIS

Why the WikiLeaks emails haven’t sunk Clinton 15 DAYS REMAIN

n Tribune International Desk WikiLeaks has brought shades of Cold War subterfuge to the US presidential campaign, publishing documents that in any other election might have tarnished Hillary Clinton.

But not this time. Not while the Democratic candidate’s Republican opponent, Donald Trump, continues to dominate the news cycle.

Some revelations are embarrassing, like the 84 slogans Clinton’s campaign rejected before settling on “I’m With Her” and “Stronger Together.” Some proposals: “No Quit,” “Next Begins With You” and “Unleash Opportunity.”

But there’s much more Trump could mine for attacks. The emails — believed to have been stolen by Russian hackers — might have been a sharper political weapon had Trump not made himself the dominant news story with conspiracy theories about a “rigged” election and accusations of sexual impropriety or sexual assault against him from a series of women.

“The thing with Trump is he’s just a walking controversy,” says Geoff Skelley, a political analyst with the University of Virginia’s Centre for Politics. “[WikiLeaks] is getting covered, but those aren’t the stories people are clicking on.

They’re clicking on stories that say Donald Trump makes lewd comments; Donald Trump walks into Miss Teen USA’s dressing room; Donald Trump makes unsolicited approaches on women.”

None of the correspondence directly involves Clinton, and much

LEAKED CLINTON EMAILS Some 20,000 pages of emails, purportedly hacked from the servers of the Democratic National Committee in July, as well as from the personal Gmail account of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, are said to reveal, among other things: Ü Transcripts from Clinton’s paid speeches. Ü An off-colour joke about conservative Catholics from a top campaign official. Ü Contempt within the Democratic National Committee for Bernie Sanders. Ü A leaked debate question from a March town hall debate. Ü Clinton’s press secretary com-

municating with the Justice Department regarding her private email server.

of the daily trickle of WikiLeaks material appears to be pretty innocuous. Anyone looking for a fuller roundup is encouraged to dive into WikiLeaks themselves, but here’s a sprinkling of what the emails contain:

TRUMP AND CLINTON ON THE ISSUES G L O B A L I S A T I O N Donald Trump: Scrap NAFTA – trade deal with Canada and Mexico – to stop jobs moving overseas. Impose 45% tariff on imports from China to protect U.S. industry. Hire experts, not “political hacks,” to negotiate trade deals.

Oppose 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Hillary Clinton: As secretary of state Clinton touted TPP as “gold standard… covering 40% of the world’s total trade” – now opposes proposed trade deal because it does not provide enough protection for U.S. workers on wages, jobs and America’s national security

Wall Street speeches and ‘open borders’

Clinton has long refused to release transcripts from a series of lucrative talks she gave to bankers and other special interest groups between 2013 and 2015. It now seems clear why.

In a closed-door speech to the National Multi-Housing Council, she describes the need for politicians to hold “both a public and a private position” on policy.

In remarks from a 2013 speech to a Brazilian banking crowd, she said: “My dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders.” As WikiLeaks did release the full transcript of her speech, it’s not clear if she is talking about movement of goods or people, though Clinton has claimed she was talking energy policy. It would be a far cry from how she frames her “secure our borders” stance on immigration.

Cracks about Catholics

It began with an email chain referring to News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch and Wall Street Journal managing editor Robert Thomson raising their children Catholic.

John Halpin, a senior fellow at the Centre for American Progress, jokes that the pair “must be attracted to the systematic thought and severely backwards gender relations” of the faith.

Podesta does not reply, but Clinton campaign communications director Jennifer Palmieri writes that many conservatives appear to choose Catholicism as “the most socially acceptable politically conservative religion.”

Palmieri, who is herself Catholic, adds: “Their rich friends wouldn’t understand if they became evangelicals.” She has since said she does not recognize the email correspondence.

Burning Bernie

Emails from the Democratic National Committee’s servers showed apparent favouritism of Clinton over Sanders, her rival in the primaries, and what appeared to be efforts to undermine Sanders’s presidential campaign, despite the committee’s supposedly neutral stance.

Former DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned after the emails surfaced, including one in which she refers to Sanders’s campaign manager Jeff Weaver as a “damn liar” and another in which she accuses Sanders of having “no understanding” of the Democratic

I M M I G R A T I O N Clinton: Expand refugee programme from accepting 10,000 to about 65,000 Syrian refugees annually. Vet backgrounds of immigrants and refugees. Create pathway to citizenship for some 11 million immigrants living in country illegally Trump: Signature issue is to combat illegal immigration and reduce legal migration. Stance includes wall between U.S. and Mexico, complete ban on foreign Muslims entering U.S. and ideological tests for would-be immigrants

H E A L T H C A R E Trump: Repeal Affordable Care Act (ACA) – better known as Obamacare. Renegotiate runaway costs of healthcare provision.

Appoint Supreme Court justices to challenge Roe v. Wade – landmark 1973 decision that legalised abortion in U.S. Clinton: Expand Obamacare by creating government-run health plan, known as “public option,” to compete with private insurers that offer ACA policies. Defend planned parenthood and Roe v. Wade

I S L A M I C S T A T E Clinton: Will not send U.S. ground troops to Syria or Iraq – in addition to some 5,500 already there – instead intensify air strikes. Backs no-fly zone and safe zones on ground to protect civilians. Drive so-called Islamic State out of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria Trump: Repeatedly says “bomb the hell” out of IS. Suggests he has secret plan to defeat IS but does not want to reveal it. Generals will have 30 days to submit plan for defeating Islamic State

I N F R A S T R U C T U R E Both candidates have pledged to invest in infrastructure as a way to kickstart economic growth, taking advantage of historically low interest rates Trump: “Trillion-dollar rebuilding programme” to patch up roads, airports, bridges, water systems and power grid I M M I G R A T I O N Clinton: Send $275 billion infrastructure plan to Congress during her first 100 days in office. Use revenue from tax overhauls to pay for new projects, create $25 billion infrastructure bank to attract private funds

G U N C O N T R O L Clinton: Supports gun control legislation, including increased background checks on gun purchases.

Called for ban on assault weapons after Orlando massacre in June

T A X E S , M I N I M U M W A G E Trump: Reduce number of income brackets from seven to three, with rates of 22%, 25% and 33% – down from 40%. Lower corporate tax from 35% to 15%. Abolish estate tax, also known as “death tax.”

Raise federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10, but let states set minimum Clinton: Tax rate of 30% for individuals earning $1 million or more, and impose 4% surcharge on taxpayers making more than $5m per year. Tighten business-tax rules to stop companies moving profits abroad. Increase death tax rates on estates to as much as 65%. Raise federal minimum wage to $12

Trump: Opposes limits on gun ownership, wants gun-free zones in schools AR-15 assault rifle and elsewhere eliminated.

Opposes banning assault weapons – believes mass shootings can be prevented if more people carry guns

Sources: Presidential TV debates, Brookings, Wall Street Journal, Campaign web sites

Party, as an Independent running for the leadership.

DNC officials also discussed ways to exploit Sanders’s possible vulnerability on faith questions by getting him to discuss whether he believes in God. Sanders has since endorsed Clinton.

Discussion of a court date

Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon wrote in an email that he had received information from the Department of Justice about an upcoming court hearing to discuss the schedule for the release of emails from Clinton’s private email server.

The Trump campaign jumped on that email as evidence of collusion between the Justice Department and Clinton’s campaign about an FBI probe into her mishandling of emails as secretary of state. But, in fact, the Fallon email predated the

Pictures: Associated Press, Getty Images

FBI investigation by two months.

In any case, what the email discussed was public information, available on the federal court’s website, as it was only about the scheduling for a legal proceeding.

A questionable question

Another email in the Podesta Gmail hacks carries the subject line “From time to time I get the questions in advance.” In it, interim DNC chair Donna Brazile shares a question about the death penalty with Palmieri the day before Clinton’s March 13 CNN Town Hall debate against Sanders.

Brazile, a CNN commentator at the time, denies she ever sent any draft question, but the episode has been difficult to shake while Trump continues pushing a narrative about election collusion.

Podesta’s way with words

In an email about the San Bernardi-

© GRAPHIC NEWS

no shooter, Podesta laments that the gunman was later identified by MSNBC reporter Christopher Hayes as having the Muslim-sounding name Syed Farook.

Podesta’s response on December 2, 2015: “Better if a guy named Sayeed Farouk was reporting that a guy named Christopher Hayes was a shooter.”

Another email mocks Sanders as a “doofus.” Asked this week by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer whether he did, in fact, make the comment, Podesta said he had “great respect” and “affection” for Sanders, though he disagreed with Sanders’s opposition to the Paris climate change deal.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Blitzer responded. l

[This is an excerpt of CBC article, which can be found at http://bit.ly/2euYI0K]

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

Iran’s Rouhani: US election offers only bad or worse choice

n Reuters, Dubai Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday the choice offered to voters in the US presidential election was between “bad and worse” and that harsh exchanges in the debates pointed to a lack of morality in America, Tehran’s arch adversary.

“America claims it has more

than 200 years of democracy, and they have had 50 presidential elections, but there is no morality in that country,” Rouhani said in a speech, carried live by state television.

“You saw the presidential debates, how they talk..., how they accuse and mock (each other),” Rouhani told a crowd gathered at a stadium during his visit to the central city of Arak.

Rouhani said a head of state had asked him during his visit to the United Nations in September about who he preferred between Republican candidate Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

“I said should I prefer bad over worse or worse over bad?,” said Rouhani, a pragmatist politician and cleric who may run for reelection in Iran’s presidential polls in May 2017. l

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

TOP STORIES BGAPMEA likely to launch testing lab Bangladesh Garments Accessories and Packaging Manufacturers Association (BGAPMEA) is likely to launch a testing laboratory to improve product quality by providing timely and reliable testing facilities from next month. PAGE 13

Survey companies hit the streets to fill India’s data gaps Sachin Bhadrasen Jaiswar goes from door to door in a middle class neighbourhood outside Mumbai measuring India’s economic pulse, one of hundreds of survey takers working for private firms aiming to fill a gap - the lack of reliable data. PAGE 15

Capital market snapshot: Sunday DSE Broad Index

4,693.0

0.0% ▲

Index

1,117.5

0.5% ▲

30 Index

1,754.2

0.3% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk

5,673.9

13.3% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol

193.1

9.4% ▲

CSE All Share Index 14,418.9 30 Index Selected Index

12,935.2

0.1% ▲ -0.1% ▼

8,768.2

0.1% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk

382.1

-2.2% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

16.1

13.2% ▲

First Finance feels the pinch for corrupt directors Corruption riddles non-bank financial institutions. For loan irregularities in FIs, directors often call the shot. In its final series, DhakaTribune brings to light how the top brass grabbed their depositors money some large loans were given to Rahman were also in collusion to cision on paying back Tk40 crore, n Jebun Nesa Alo Al-Modina Enterprise, Aftab Encommit the misdeeds. said a senior executive of the cenThe country’s non-bank financial institutions bear the brunt of financial irregularities including embezzlement in which FIs directors and high-ups are involved, the central bank investigative team has found.

The names of corrupt big fish in financial institutions (FIs) surface at a time when the country’s state-owned banks including BASIC Bank are still reeling from financial crisis due to loan fraud.

The Bangladesh Bank investigation revealed that AQM Faruk Ahmed Chowdhury, former chairman of First Finance, embezzled over Tk40 crore from his corporation, and got involved in various irregularities including loan forgery and commission earnings against forged loans from his financial institution.

In February this year, Bangladesh Bank asked Frist Finance to recover the embezzled amount from its chairman and served show cause notice to then CEO as to why he will not be fined Tk10 lakh or given a three-year prison term or both.

Recently, Faruk filed a case against the Bangladesh Bank de-

tral bank.

Later in May this year Faruk resigned from the post of chairman and his brother AQM Faisal Ahmed Chowdhury took the helm being appointed as chairman.

Bangladesh Bank took punitive actions against Moin. The actions include either a fine of Tk10 lakh or a three-year jail sentence or both Prior to his joining, Faisal was serving the First Finance as vice-chairman and found to be an accomplice in the corruption.

Faisal is also the sponsor director of Alphabet Associates Limited and Alphabet Systems Limited owned by his brother Faruk Ahmed Chowdhury.

Several top officials including Chief Financial Officer MA Matin and Company Secretary Ashfaqur

Though the accused chairman and CEO have been removed, Faruk Ahmed is still calling the shot by appointing his own men to directorial posts.

The board of First Finance included two new directors namely Ataul Haque and Kazi Saoda Afrin serving Alphabet Associates Limited as representatives of the 274th board meeting held in August this year.

On August 23, Bangladesh Bank (BB) gave a show cause notice to the incumbent chairman, Faisal, asking how and why those two directors were appointed as representatives of a company owned by its former chairman Faruk Ahmed Chowdhury.

An investigation conducted by BB showed that Faruk Ahmed received remuneration despite not attending the board meeting, misappropriated Tk65 lakh from sold land that was mortgaged against default loan, received money against false advertisement, violating rule.

Moreover, Faisal was given a home loan of Tk70 lakh, overruling the board decision against which there was no repayment.

The probe team also found that

terprise, Munshi Traders, Dolfin Car centre, Mabco Group, Mohammad Siddiqur Rahman, Hafijul Islam and Runa Trading Corporation from Agrabad, Corporate, Gulshan and Board Bazar branch.

All loans were issued against forged documents and turned default eventually. In some cases, innocent officers who proposed for loans from branches concerned were punished by the then board to hide the real culprits, cited the investigation report.

Despite being the head of Procurement Department of First Finance, Chowdhury Moin Ahmed Mujib supplied goods to the First Finace at high price from his own institution named Business Link and Business Communication Services.

Moin’s supplier institituon was shown only in paper after his wife’s name, thus making a huge amount of money, making fake bills.

Bangladesh Bank took punitive actions against Moin. The actions include either a fine of Tk10 lakh or a three-year jail sentence or both.

Later Moin was terminated from the institution, following the recommendation of investigation report. l

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Business

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

BGAPMEA likely to launch testing lab for improving product quality n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi Bangladesh Garments Accessories and Packaging Manufacturers Association (BGAPMEA) is likely to launch a testing laboratory to improve product quality by providing timely and reliable testing facilities from next month.

The testing laboratory is going to set up under Integrated Support to Poverty and Inequality Reduction through Enterprise Development (INSPIRED) project funded by the European Union (EU) and Ministry of Industries.

The lab is aimed at providing internally acceptable testing facilities for various types of products manufacturers by the industrial units under BGAPMEA. The testing facilities include touch-screen bursting strength tester, moisture meter, box compression strength

tester, drop tester, crush tester and full set of accessories, cobb absorbency tester and sample cutter and rub testes.

“As we have been working with the help of EU and Industry Ministry since 2013 to develop a testing lab for the accessories manufactures, we are finally going to launch the lab in November,” said BGAPMEA President Abdul Kader Khan while talking to the Dhaka Tribune.

The lab will contribute to improve quality of products through providing timely and reliable testing facilities, strengthening the industrial capacity of Bangladesh RMG accessories sector, said Khan.

“It will provide testing facilities that is internationally acceptable.”

Khan said: “Testing of products is one of the buyers’ requirements and it would help the sector people to meet their demands with

quality assurance.”

“As our next focus would be on skilled manpower, the BGAPMEA is now working on establishing a training institute,’’ he said.

Khan said if the government provides policy and financial support for this purpose, we will be able to export worth over US$12 billion against the overall export target of $50 billion by 2021.

There are about 1,400 manufacturers of accessories in the country that have employed over 3 lakh people.

According to latest data, the contribution of garment accessories and packaging to apparel export rose by 9.28% to $6.12 billion in the last fiscal year. In the last fiscal year, deemed export earnings of garment accessories and packaging stood at $6.12 billion, which is 9.28% higher compared to $5.6 billion in the fiscal year 2014-15. l

Fall in active Stocks end flat in mobile phone see-saw trade numbers flat green zone after a highly n Ishtiaq Husain n Kayes Sohel volatile trading session.

The number of active mobile phone SIM cards in Bangladesh has reduced by 9.2m and internet subscribers by 1.7m in August from July figures, according to regulator’s data.

The number started to drop after the introduction of biometric SIM registration in December 2015.

A total of 10m SIM cards not registered under biometric system had been cancelled after 31 May this year.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) released the figures yesterday. In July 2015 the total number picked to 133.7m, the highest ever in the country.

A subscriber using a mobile SIM card for the past 90 days is considered an active subscriber.

Grameenphone lost 1.8m mobile internet subscribers in August while Banglalink lost 3.2m. After losing subscribers, Grameenphone’s active connections stood at 54.5m while Banglalink’s number dropped to 28.9m. l

Stocks closed flat in see-saw trade yesterday, bouncing off the day’s lows helped by small cap issues.

The market moved between negative and positive frequently within a limited range throughout the entire session as investors were active of both sides of the fence.

The benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange DSEX witnessed a fractional rise of 0.6 points to settle at 4,693.

The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, rose nearly 6 points to 1,754. The DSE Shariah Index gained over 5 points to 1,117.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX was up only over 4 points to 8,768.

However, strong buying and selling spree helped increase trading activities as the DSE turnover stood at Tk567 crore, up more than 13% over the previous session.

Engineering sector continued to dominate the trading, accounting for 18% of the total turnover. Lanka Bangla Securities said the market closed in

It said the market reflected investors’ reactions to the declared earning performances.

Bank and non-banking financial institutions sectors saw profit booking, ending a modest rise over the previous sessions.

The market breadth, however, remained negative as out of 326 issues traded, 130 securities gained, 161 declined and 35 remained unchanged.

Telecommunications sector continued to end positive as it climbed over 1%.

Among small cap sector, cement sector remained favourite among the investors gaining over 2%, followed by engineering 1% and power 0.6%.

Power sector generated the highest turnover, accounting for about 20% of the total trade value on the DSE. A massive growth in first quarter earnings of Doreen Power encouraged the investors most.

As a result, the company led the turnover chart, capturing more than 9% of the total turnover. l

BRB Cables observes its 38th founding anniversary on the factory premises in Kustia yesterday. BRB Group Chairman Mozibar Rahman was seen among the industry staff cut the cake to celebrate the occasion

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14

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

Advertisement

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15

Business

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

Survey companies hit the streets to fill India’s data gaps n Reuters Sachin Bhadrasen Jaiswar goes from door to door in a middle class neighbourhood outside Mumbai measuring India’s economic pulse, one of hundreds of survey takers working for private firms aiming to fill a gap - the lack of reliable data.

There has long been deep scepticism about the accuracy of economic indicators in India, a country of 1.2 billion people of whom 90% are estimated to be part of the grey economy.

Independent economists question the government’s assessment of everything from industrial output to unemployment, but the main data “black hole” is consumer indicators including retail sales, and that is where people like 29-year-old Jaiswar come in.

On a recent visit to an apartment, he spent an hour asking questions ranging from how much the family there spent on vegetables to whether they expected their financial situation to improve, tapping the answers into a special app on his iPhone.

“We are building the most advanced survey execution machinery in the world,” said Mahesh Vyas, chief executive officer at Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), for whom Jaiswar works.

“The government machinery will take a long time to reach the levels we have reached already.”

CMIE employs 350 survey takers on long-term contracts, and they cover 158,000 households across the country, with each one interviewed three times a year.

Rival Kantar, a market research

firm tracking consumer behaviour, says it surveys more than 80,000 Indian households a month for their retail demand survey, and taps a database of 5,000 survey takers to conduct interviews when required for clients including big corporations and even the government.

The accuracy of their findings is also questioned by experts, but the business can be lucrative in a country where foreign and domestic investors, attracted by rapid economic expansion, are hungry for information and trends.

Pooling data

Madan Sabnavis, chief economist of CARE Ratings, said he frequently incorporated data provided by private companies into his forecasts, including unemployment, retail indicators and corporate investments.

“They may not always be reliable as the numbers are based on surveys, but in the absence of any other information we do look at it.

I need to get some idea of what’s happening, and at least they give you that,” he said. l

ECF collects toys for underpriviledged children n Tribune Desk

Toys-R-Yours (TRY) project, an initiative organized by Ex-Cadets Forum (ECF) – a global platform of ex-cadets from all the cadet colleges, have recently collected used toys and story books individuals and organisations to provide them to the underprivileged children.

Individuals and representatives from different schools and corporate organisations have handed over the materials to TRY project so that they can be given to the children of various underprivileged schools in Bangaldesh.

The biggest toy collection event was held on Monday at The Mughal Kitchen in Gulshan 1 in Dhaka, said a press release from organisers.

People of different classes responded to the call from TRY and brought old unused toys and books from their homes and donated those for underprivileged children.

Celebrities like Tahsan, band Shironamhin, Sulaiman Shukhon, Arif R Hossain, Miftah Zaman came to the event to donate and encourage others to donate. The toy

donors handed over the toys to their favorite celebrities, took selfies with them. Top officials from different corporate also attended the event.

The event collected over 1000 toys and more than 500 books on spot in the event, which will go to different underprivileged schools in coming days. This year, the project is targeting to reach 10000 underprivileged children with toys and story books.

Perfetti Van Melle, payPoint, surjoPay and IPDC sponsored TRY project in 2016. N9ine Sports and Marketing Consultancy was the Food Sponsor while Mughol Kitchen was the Venue Partner and ABC Radio was the Radio Partner for the TRY Grand Collection Event.

Initiated in 2015, ToysR-Yours (TRY) project already supported over 7000 underprivileged with toys and story books by establishing libraries.

So far in 2016, children in 16 schools received toys and children in 12 schools received library support covering over 5000 children in very remote areas like Pirojpur, Bandarban, Kisoreganj, Cox’s Bazar. l

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Health

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

Super foods n Reaz Fiem

O

ne of the biggest challenges we face when taking up the decision to workout and stay fit is figuring out what types of food to eat. We look it up in the Internet and ask around for suggestions, but it’s actually much easier than we think. The first thing we need to understand is which foods are more nutritious and on the same note low in calories. If this can be figured out then we have cracked the code! We can now work on our meals better, and actively think about the recipes.

So let’s check out some of the super foods, which are highly effective in keeping us in shape, are outright nutritious, and most importantly, easily available.

Egg whites: We all know

protein is the base on which a diet should be built. Egg whites are a cheap source of complete protein. In this part of the

world, a common breakfast in most households is omelet and roti. And unless you have a heart condition, and have been advised to avoid yolks, your omelet will most likely be made up of a whole egg. Whole eggs are fantastic – they are rich in protein and good cholesterol.

The problem with the yolk, however, is that it contains all the fats and that too, in high density, which makes a whole egg calorie dense in comparison to its size. Therefore, when looking staying fit, simply avoid the yolk and keep the white only; even if you make an omelet of five egg whites, it won’t be adding much to your diet in terms of calories. And when using the much-loved traditional condiments such as onions, tomatoes and coriander, you won’t be losing out on flavour either.

Lean chicken and beef: The

leaner the better. Yes, if we buy lean chicken and beef we can

significantly reduce our calorie intake. Meat is also another prime example of high protein food. And since even the lean variety will have a bit of fat in it, you wont need to add extra oil when cooking, in keeping with your healthy regime.

Lentils and beans: A food that is packed with fibrous carbohydrate, starchy carbohydrate, plant proteins and other vitamins and minerals.

But what is the best thing about lentils and beans? It fills you up easily! More importantly, on their own they are not very calorie dense. So adding lentils or beans in your diet can do wonders. So start being imaginative in the kitchen with some lentils and beans recipes.

Fish: My absolute favourite source of protein and healthy fat is fish. As Bangladeshis, fish is readily available to us and is a big part of our daily diet. Fish is less calorie dense

Photo: Bigstock

while it provides us with the right amount of protein. Most importantly, fish is a great source of is healthy fat which is really important for proper functioning of our system.

Potatoes: The spud usually gets a bad reputation as a provider of carb, but it actually also contains a host of vitamins and minerals and is one of the most satiating foods in the world. Eat a side of potatoes with your fish, egg white omelet or lean meat as a carbohydrate source and you will feel full. Of course, in keeping with the healthy eating regime, you’ll have to avoid the more traditional favourite such as fries, crisps of buttery mash. But having them boiled or baked and seasoned with salt and pepper is a great way to eating potatoes in a healthy way.

Fruits: Fruits are one of the

best diet friendly foods you will find around you. Eat your fruits for several reasons. Number

one they are a fast food, they contains a plethora of vitamins and minerals, they have fibre, which slows down sugar release, they are a good source of carbohydrate, they can be added to various other health food, lastly they fill you up and keeps sugar cravings away. So fruits should be your go to trans fat free dessert whenever you feel the urge to have something sweet after a meal.

Now that you know what to eat (and avoid), its time to get creative in the kitchen, because eating healthy does not mean compromising on flavour.

Cooking and eating healthy has never been easier than now, with the treasure trove of recipes the internet has to offer.l

Reaz Mahmud Fiem is a fitness enthusiast who wishes to help people stay healthy

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Feature

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

Peacempire takes off

n Rakibul Hasan

O

n October 1, Peacempire successfully launched its social action project in the largest school of Narayanganj, Murapara Model Pilot High School, bringing together nearly 1,375 students in a road show, just after collecting petition signatures of 603 people and completing a workshop of 109 attendees there. Later on October 8, they also organised the second event, which included a drama performance, drawing a crowd of 579 local audiences, over 340 students in a rally, 499 petition signatures and about 107 participants in a workshop at an Islamic seminary called “Baraloo Paragaon Batenia Dakhil Madrasa” in the district.

Peacempire is among the top 20 global advocacy solutions for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). Sponsored

by Women Deliver and Johnson and Johnson, it advances through three major activities, which include workshops, campaigns and building coalition on sexual and reproductive health and rights advocacy to reduce the rate of early forced marriage and violence against women by 30%, involving young people, aged 12 to 25 in the underprivileged areas of Rupganj subdistrict, Bangladesh. The project also forms a coalition bringing together SRHR experts, traditional leaders, political quarters, administrative bodies and victims in monthly social campaigns. Thus it equips young advocates with capacity to effectively respond to child marriage and gender violence through citizen journalism and digital media facilities, ie,

common cellphone hotline, social media outlets etc, to ensure legal interventions and public engagements in the area.

The workshops

The workshop has four core sessions – ice-breaking, focus session, brainstorming, essay competitions and survey. From grades 7 to 10, top 20 students are selected on the merit list from different sections of a school, which sum up to a little over 100 students in total for a duration of two hours. Experts address the focus session titled “Understanding the Local Context of Child Marriage and Gender Violence”. On September 1 this year, Debashis Bhattacharjee from Youth School for Social Entrepreneurs, conducted the focus session at Murapara Model Pilot High School and later on September 8, Rafiqul Alam Khan from South Asian Youth Society presided over another focus session at Baraloo Paragaon Batenia Dakhil Madrasa. During the workshop, two facilitators cooperated with attendees to help brainstorm on “Causes, Effects and Preventions of Child Marriage and Gender Violence”.

Participants wrote their opinions on colourful sticky-pads to be glued with artboard papers on the walls. On both the days, a total of six essays received mementos under the categories of two winners, two first runners up and two second runners up.

Finally, undertaking surveys marked the end of the workshop activities. In this session, students filled up attendance sheets and chose their roles out of four given priorities of “Popular Opponents”— reporters,

educators, advocates and campaigners.

The campaigns

The campaigns included both infield and online activism. Offline

activism included a rally and a roadshow, two hand-imprint ceremonies, 10 street interviews, 1103 petition signatures, a drama production, mimes, etc. On the other hand, digital activism is underway to establish common cellphone hotline, social media outlets, producing documentaries/ short films, blogging, storytelling, reporting and creating apps to be available in the Peacempire website soon.

Other activities

Finally, there’s the coalition and club formation activities. The multi-actoral coalition included five SRHR experts/practitioners,

11 religious leaders, six traditional leaders, three policy makers, 15 local media workers/journalists, political quarters, administrative bodies and victims. Since some of the religious/traditional leaders propagate early marriage, justify violence against women and discourage contraceptives, the project educates and engages religious quarters in SRHR practices. The popular teachings advocate early marriage of girls to protect their virginity/purity from adultery, an absolute misinterpretation of religion.

Therefore, as a religious solution to religious challenge, the project aims at finding a positive religious explanation in the light of holy scriptures. On the other hand, the club consists of “Popular Opponents” of all four categories.

With regular follow-ups, the club members will be further trained up to write, blog and help make video documentaries for the website and other social media channels.

Thus the project will directly benefit 2022 people, while indirectly outreaching more than 17402 beneficiaries and 50000 virtual beneficiaries in 34 villages and beyond. The unique outcome

of the project is drawing a popular end to the culture of indifference and violence against girls and women in the area. This project finds enduring solutions through the establishment of permanent website and social media channels, which will continue beyond the project time-line.l

The writer is a Women Deliver fellow, USA. He can be reached at rhasan@ wdyoungleaders.org

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18

Feature

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

Double Cube:

Made in Bangladesh, featured worldwide by Apple to be a game publisher as well, helping other homegrown games find their feet in the international market. GameOver Studio also has the first blog in Bangladesh on game development.

The process

n Tarek Musanna If you’ve been anywhere near Apple’s App Store in the last few days, you’ll have noticed something called “Double Cube” creeping up the charts. Made in Bangladesh, this indie game has been featured now for the second week running in “New Games We Love” in 80 Countries, which is rare; even more so for a game developer from Bangladesh.

runner game,” where you control two cube-shaped blocks. The difficulty level appears to be much easier than the majority of other double runners currently on the App Store. Using simple “touch to jump” controls, you jump over

Double Cube has so far been featured in 119 out of the 155 regions of the App Store,” said Zamilur Rashid.

The last time a Bangladeshi company was featured in the App Store was back in 2009-10. The game “Tap Tap Ants,” by Rise Up Labs was the first homegrown game to be globally featured.

Double Cube is doing very well in the top charts right now, placing itself in the top 5 positions in Strategy games in countries like Australia and Canada consistently, and is even ahead of Clash of Clans in some regions!

But how do they work? There are four leads overseeing each of the four operations arms - game design, game art, game development, and game marketing. All the leads have multiple talents under them. The process starts with brainstorming ideas and concepts, and fleshing them out using good ol’ pen and paper. These then go to the artists and get filtered. When the artists are done, the developers get to work on them. Finally, one or two ideas stand. The developers work up an initial version of the game and hands it over to a 30-person beta testing group. Based on the reactions and feedback of beta testers, more changes are incorporated.

After all that, the game is sent to publishers, who give their opinions. After more polishing, and with a good helping of blood, sweat and tears, the game gets published on various platforms and marketplaces. For Double

They are scheduled to release four more games in the next six months.

The creator

Talking about his switch from economics to game development, Zamil shared his experiences from the first few Hackathons he was involved with as a mentor.

There were various game ideas, including ones looking to bring about behavioral change, but when Zamil set out to find the people capable of making them, he was disappointed.

“Game development is very different from traditional software development. Games are multi-dimensional. You need a perfect mesh of Coding, Art, Aesthetics and Human Psychology. The core difference between a game developer and a software developer is patience and perseverance. Most of the time, software development involves fixed requirements and as long as your code runs properly and does the job, it is fine. For a game this is

The company

GameOver Studio has become the only second deshi company to be featured by Apple.

Let’s hear it from Zamilur Rashid himself, the founder of GameOver Studio.

The game

Double Cube is an impeccably designed 1980s style 3D “double

laser beams, hollow gaps and more, as two blocks speedily dash along a neon path. It looks like it appeared straight out of the Tron universe!

The concept for Double Cube came from multitasking. As the player controls two cubes in space, one jumps upwards and another jumps rightwards to avoid various obstacles. The gameplay takes about two seconds to grasp but is addictively challenging, and with amazing visuals, it keeps the players’ eyes and fingers glued to the screen.

“It seems that it’s not just me who thinks this game is great.

This is the first game published (and the 7th game made) by GameOver Studio. The studio has an intriguing story on its own.

Fresh out of university with an Economics degree, the founder, Zamilur Rashid (Zamil), returned to Bangladesh from the UK in 2012 and started his career as a consultant for development sector organisations.

Right off the bat, as an IT consultant, he noticed a large gap in the IT sector. He founded Rupam IT Limited soon after and worked on several development projects. However, Zamil always wanted to work on specific products and he saw this potential for developing games in Bangladesh.

A developer working under him shared the same passion for games and they started discussing the possibility. After raising funds and creating the entity, GameOver Studio now has 13 employers and 3 investors, focusing on games for iOS and tvOS. Not content with simply developing, the studio soon aims

Cube, Nanovation, an American company based out of Silicon Valley, acted as the publisher.

The marketing department starts working when the game is at the publishing or later stages. Zamil personally oversees game design and marketing.

GameOver Studio may be just a year old, but Zamilur Rashid already has big plans for the studio.

just the starting point. At times you have to throw away entire features that are worth a few weeks of work. At times you have to scrap complete games. For example, the Double Cube you know is the 3rd version of the game. And each version underwent at least 15-20 updates! It takes a lot of dedication to perfect a game.”

Zamil believes there are plenty of people in Bangladesh who share the love he has for games and game development. He believes in the potential of homegrown quality games, and with the likes of Double Cube on the market, the future seems quite bright. l

19

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

| discussion |

| awareness |

The British Council observes International Day of the Girl Child

BRACU observes “World Mental Health Day 2016”

With an aim to provide an opportunity to build networks with both the British Council and other non-governmental organisations working in the girl child space, to understand the work and challenges around girl child education in Bangladesh, and to discuss where the gender data gaps are, the British Council recently organised a panel discussion at British Council 5 Fuller Road office.

The theme of this year’s panel discussion was ‘Girls’ Progress = Goal’s Progress”. During the occasion, participants and speakers discussed how the collection of comprehensive, girlrelevant, girl-focused, and sexdisaggregated data is essential, especially in developing countries such as Bangladesh.

Collection of the data will enable girls to become more visible and be counted, will inform

programming and hold leaders to account.

Among others, the program was attended by Dr. Abul Hossain, Project Director, Violence Against Women and Children, Ministry of Woman and Child Affairs; Mahtabul Hakim, Coordinator, UN Women; Roshni Basu, Gender Specialist, UNICEF; and Mahmuda Rahman Khan, Senior Program Development Specialist, USAID. Other organizations who participated in the event include Plan International, Save the Children, BRAC, and Google.

‘The British Council’s work within the girl child space builds on over 20 years’ applied experience in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and wider Europe as well as this region. This work supports the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 4 (Quality Education) and 5

(Gender Equality). The British Council sees issues of equality and diversity as a crucial part of cultural relations. Gender equality, therefore, forms an important aspect of our work,’ said Jim Scarth, Deputy Director of British Council Bangladesh.

During the event, participants had the opportunity to view photographs and artwork from the British Council’s English and Digital for Girls’ Education (EDGE) project.

On December 19, 2011, The United Nations General Assembly declared 11 October as the International Day of the Girl Child to recognise girls’ rights and the unique challenges girl face around the world. This yearly initiative by the British Council is aimed at propelling the targets set by the UN in ensuring greater empowerment of women around the world l

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Biz Info

BRAC University organised a seminar at BRAC Centre Inn, Mohakhali, Dhaka on October 20 in observance of World Mental Health Day. Every year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) observes the day on October 10, with the overall objectives of raising awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilising efforts in support of mental health.

The theme of the day this year is “Dignity in Mental HealthPsychological and Mental Health First Aid for All”. The Counselling Unit of BRACU organised the seminar in collaboration with the Psychosocial Counselling Unit of BRAC Institute of Educational Development (BIED).

Professor Syed Saad Andaleeb, Ph.D, vice chancellor of BRAC University, inaugurated the seminar with an opening speech discussing the significance of

mental health well-being, the need of psychological first aid in disaster management and the role the counselling units of BRAC University play for the university and the society.

The keynote speaker of the seminar, Dr Mehtab Khanam, a professor of the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, University of Dhaka, shed light on the importance of mental healthcare throughout the lifespan of human beings and explained and moderated an interactive discussion on counselling following a video presentation of an actual counselling session.

There was a question and answer session along with presentations on various mental health services provided by the organisers in the university and community as well. l

| talk |

Aarong Dairy recently ended a three-day citywide campaign with a discussion session about the variety and quality of Aarong Dairy products. Director of Aarong Dairy Mohammad Anisur Rahman, Saifur Rahman and Suraiya Siddika from sales and marketing, as well as Aarong Dairy business leaders and senior officials were also present.

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20 Editorial

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

TODAY

Strengthen cybersecurity with Linux Given the prevalence of outdated use of Windows XP across government departments, the cyber-security agency needs to urgently undertake the task of replacing all pirated software with open-source equivalents PAGE 21

BIGSTOCK

Is an Indo-Pak war on the cards?

In an escalated situation, if India undertakes too strong an action against Pakistan for future deterrence, the Pakistani reaction would be anybody’s guess PAGE 22

When people went back to the cinema When producers talk about bringing back the educated middle class to the cinema, they should emphasise that following a ‘done to deate’ style is hardly a way to revive the film industry 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.

Tap into ICT potential

A

ccording to experts, by 2021, Bangladesh has the potential to earn as much as $5 billion through its ICT sector.

This is indeed great news.

With a burgeoning ICT sector, it is important that the government takes advantage of this untapped market and doesn’t let this opportunity go to waste.

The country has already fallen behind by not jumping on the submarine cable network wagon earlier. This is compounded by the fact that a lack of incentive and policy regarding the ICT sector has persisted until recently.

We cannot let that happen again.

Recent events, such as Digital World 2016, have showcased how much Bangladesh can gain through developing ICT and ICT-related industries. As one of its more rapidly emerging sectors, it is important that there are systems set in place to allow for the sector to flourish.

As a result, the commerce minister’s promise that the sector would be getting cash incentives, is encouraging.

This is especially important since, right now, Bangladesh is not at a level where it can compete on a global scale. This can be done by allowing local ICT firms to develop software, instead of purchasing them from abroad.

In some countries, government agencies have adopted open-source software, particularly in offices and on servers which need to maintain strong data security.

In light of the recent fraud at Bangladesh Bank, it is obvious that many arms of the government need better data security.

This is the right time for a policy to promote the use of open source software in government agencies. Using open source software will also save the government millions of dollars every year in software license fees.

Another focus should be developing skilled manpower at home. It is imperative for the ICT sectors’ continuing advancement.

Under Sheikh Hasina’s leadership, the government has already come a long way in developing the dreams of a Digital Bangladesh. This is another important step towards fully realising that dream.

Bangladesh is not at a level where it can compete on a global scale. This can be done by allowing local ICT firms to develop software, instead of purchasing them from abroad

DT

21

Opinion

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

Strengthen cyber-security with Linux Using open source software is a viable and proven method of combatting cyber-crime

n Zeeshan Hasan

I

t’s encouraging to read that the government understands the seriousness of the loss of $81 million dollars via the hacking of Bangladesh Bank, and that a cyber-security agency is going to be formed to prevent further disasters. Currently, information security in each government department is up to the internal IT staff of that department.

It is not surprising that the internal IT staff of various government departments have no idea of information security, as they have never been selected for that knowledge or trained in it. Rectifying this situation and urgently correcting many obvious information security-related problems within government offices at reasonable cost should be the job of the cyber-security agency.

Until recently, the sole responsibility of IT staff in government departments was maintaining PCs and network hardware, and purging viruses from out-of-date and often unlicensed/pirated copies of Microsoft Windows. The use of unlicensed/pirated/outdated operating systems in government offices is a huge security risk, and may have contributed to the Bangladesh Bank hacking.

Government departments should never run unlicensed/ pirated copies of MS Windows or any other software. Unlicensed copies of MS Windows are generally installed from old installation CDs of out-of-date versions such as Windows XP, which no longer gets security updates from Microsoft and so is impossible to protect from hacking.

However, there is no government body tasked with supervising the work of all the various IT staff of different government departments and stopping these high-risk practices.

Identifying risky IT practices, retraining staff, and auditing security improvement should be the task of a government cybersecurity body.

Given the prevalence of unlicensed/outdated, and consequently, easily hackable use of Windows XP across government departments, the cyber-security agency needs to urgently undertake the task of replacing all the unlicensed/pirated software either with licenced copies of Windows or with free/open source

Pirated software are full of backdoors through which cyber-criminals can enter equivalents like Ubuntu Linux (www.ubuntu.com), Red Hat Linux (www.redhat.com), or Suse Linux (www.suse.com).

Buying Microsoft Windows will typically cost the government around $100 per computer -- if MS Office is purchased as well, the cost will come to around $400 per computer. For, perhaps, 50,000 government computers, the total cost would be around $20m (almost Tk160cr).

This is a significant expense, one that can be saved by using Linux on all government computers.

Linux comes with the free/ open source LibreOffice, which is compatible with MS Office files, Thunderbird email, which is similar to MS Outlook Express, and Mozilla Firefox web browser.

These can easily be used for all common office tasks.

Migrating tens of thousands of government computers to Linux and LibreOffice may seem like a daunting task, but these free/open source software are so easy to use that it is in fact quite simple.

Kazi Farms Group, and its associated media companies Deepto TV and Dhaka Tribune, as well as its CSR-supported university Central Women’s

BIGSTOCK

Given the easily hackable use of Windows XP across government departments, the cyber-security agency needs to urgently undertake the task of replacing all the unlicensed/pirated software either with licenced copies of Windows or with free/open source equivalents

University, have already replaced MS Windows/Office with Linux/LibreOffice on over 1000 computers.

Practically every proprietary software anyone might ever need now has a free/open source equivalent.

Proprietary software companies often deride free/open source software as being insecure, but a 2014 study by the UK government’s security branch found that Ubuntu Linux was in fact the most secure of the 10 operating systems that they evaluated for government use (http://www.zdnet.com/article/).

Recognising this, in 2007, the French national police migrated

their 90,000 computers to Ubuntu Linux. In 2015, the Italian Ministry of Defense announced that they would install LibreOffice on 150,000 computers, and it was also to be installed in 500,000 computers in various French government departments the same year.

Other governments around the world (including Germany, Spain, Russia, China, and India) have recognised the security and costsavings of Linux/LibreOffice and have migrated from MS Windows/ MS Office to varying degrees.

The Bangladesh government should also join this group of countries who are successfully asserting their digital independence from Microsoft

and other multi-national software vendors.

The logic of migrating all government computers from outdated and unlicensed MS Windows/Office to Linux/ LibreOffice is perfectly clear from both an IT-security and cost-reduction point of view; but hitherto there has been no government department with the job of looking at these issues.

That should be the first task of the proposed national cyber-security agency. l Zeeshan Hasan is a director of Kazi Media, the company behind Deepto TV. He is also the managing director of Sysnova.

DT

22

Long-Form

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

Is an Indo-Pak war on the cards?

The agitation between the two countries is giving rise to uncertainty. This is the first part of a two-part long-form suggesting, the strategic viability just isn’t there.

Moreover, Pakistan has borders with Iran and Afghanistan in the west and north-west, and, importantly, China in the north, with which it has even developed the Trans-Karakoram Highway, now followed up by the multibillion dollar mutually-beneficial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

However, China will also want to maintain some semblance of fairness when it comes to India, as both the aspiring eastern superpowers are looking for areas of mutually-beneficial cooperation, especially in trade.

Devastation on both sides

How long until one nation has had enough?

REUTERS

In an escalated situation, if India undertakes too strong an action against Pakistan for future deterrence, the Pakistani reaction would be anybody’s guess

n Sarwar Jahan Chowdhury

I

n the context of the recent Uri attack on an Indian army camp in Kashmir, where 18 Indian soldiers died, an Indian counter-action in the form of a limited surgical strike across the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir has created a tense situation between the two nuclear neighbours.

Right-wing political forces on both sides, including the media, are adding fuel to the fire quite unwisely.

Meanwhile, two more attacks have taken place in other Indian security force camps at the hands of militants where one more Indian soldier and a few militants were killed.

Pakistani instigation was apparently discovered by Indians in some past attack on civilian and military targets in India itself, by non-state actors, but sponsored, they suspected, by some of the Pakistani state apparatus.

Fear of escalation

In an escalated situation, if India undertakes too strong an action against Pakistan for future

deterrence, the Pakistani reaction would be anybody’s guess -- it’s like dealing with a crazy guy who might do something drastic even if it causes considerable harm to him.

Many fear that chain reactions may escalate any formal military initiation to the nuclear level.

Hatred for non-Muslim nations, especially India, is so ingrained in Pakistani society that most of its intelligentsia, of whatever rationality, actually position themselves tactfully in a conservative fashion. You can’t really blame them.

With the present human rights situation in Kashmir already worsened, India has given an additional reason to the Pakistani hawks.

Poor handling of the agitations by the Kashmiri youth has weakened India’s moral strength to a considerable degree.

On the other hand, many in India also want to maintain its “sensible, moderate” impression at the global stage which brings long-term dividends. Their arguments also make a case for caution and restraint in the context of the Uri attack.

The Indian position

The tough options that many emotion-struck Indians -- that includes some public figures and media commentators -- are pressing for are fraught with a false sense of overwhelming superiority. They are mixing up geographical, population, and economic size with military force and strategic balance of power.

True, that India is about five times bigger than Pakistan in population, size, and economy, but militarily, it’s just about twice as big.

The ratio of GDP that Pakistan spends to maintain its over-sized military is abnormally high, solidifying the militant nature of the state, whereas Indian defense spending so far has a civilised defensive philosophy. India does proportionately better budgetallocation for the productive, welfare, and development sectors rather than military.

Hence, after maintaining a force level in the north to guard against any opportunistic attempts from its much stronger northern adversary, the military leverage that it will be able to accumulate in the West is actually is on par with

Pakistan or is slightly skewed in favour of India.

That’s only enough for a good defense and perhaps very limited offense. There will also be a risk of Pakistani counter-action, perhaps similarly limited.

But this can start a perilous chain of reactions. If the escalation gets out of control, can the involvement of tactical or strategic nuclear weapon be completely ruled out? Pakistan, as always, marked by its ever-belligerent nature, maintains that it won’t keep first use option off the table.

Given that the military armaments and training standards of both the nations are, more or less, of similar quality, the size of the force would matter quite a bit.

Offensive operations in such a situation would require considerable force advantage in that theatre.

Conventionally, it’s about three times that of the defenders. It was about 2:1 for the India-Bangladesh allied force in 1971, and it worked because of the immense support from the independence-hungry public, precise intelligence, and various other crucial support from freedom fighters of the then East Pakistan. The scenario in the western front would be the exact opposite for Indian forces.

Air assets are rather easy in being shifted from one sector to another -- there too India is better positioned, but not enough to subdue Pakistan. A naval blockade of Pakistan is possible, but for a quick and limited war, the likes of which, the Indian hawks are

No one is expecting a protracted Indo-Pak war just yet, as there are some signs of de-escalation, although it can’t be claimed with certainty. However, if that turns out to be the reality, even without the use of nukes -- which is not a certainty -- both countries will be economically devastated. The development-oriented Modi, a sensible quarter of the BJP, and other liberal forces of India seem to be mindful of that.

Security experts have been talking about a “cold start” doctrine of the Indian military which was designed for quick, limited, and conventional strikes inside Pakistani territory in case of state-sponsored attacks by non-state actors against India from Pakistan.

The strikes would be restricted to a level where it does not trigger a nuclear response from Pakistan, and be quick enough to achieve a limited goal before international intervention.

However, it’s not clear what would happen if there is a reactionary counter-strike from Pakistan, and where such spiral of action and reaction would end up. In the military clashes in the western front between India and Pakistan, there was no clear winner in the past. The same may be replicated in a different reality of comparative strength and geostrategy. l The concluding part of this longform will be published tomorrow.

Sarwar Jahan Chowdhury is a freelance commentator on politics, international relations, and geo-strategy. He is a former military officer and currently works for BRAC Institute of Governance and Development.

DT

23

Opinion

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

When people went back to the cinema Aynabaji has revived the Bangladeshi film industry SERPENT IN EDEN

n Towheed Feroze

S

omeone once said, if you want to find out about the general outlook of a society, then look for their ways of entertainment. Seeking advance apology from those readers who think I write way too much on movies, the recently released film called Aynabaji can be used by sociologists to understand what celluloid fun for a wide number of people actually entails.

In a time when celluloid entertainment had become formulaic, relying too much on copying ridiculous traits from Bollywood, Aynabaji proves one thing -- a navel exposing, cleavage showing item number with provocative lines are not essential

director is a seasoned advert guru and used all his skills to market it successfully. Others, however, go beyond the interest-arousing gimmicks to look for genuine value.

Let’s discard the marketing side for now and concentrate on the internal worth of the production because, this one flick has flouted the law of a commercial yarn and yet, managed to hold millions stuck to their seats inside the hall.

Like I said, the plot is about a very average person with an extraordinary passion -- to act and become somebody else. In that transformation, one mundane existence metamorphoses into a fascinating escapade.

Well, what about lofty ethics?

Nope, no place for that when pursuit of one’s obsession takes priority.

Aynabaji is where the protagonist, played by the versatile actor Chanchal, comes down from Mount Olympus to become just

When producers, cinema hall owners talk about bringing back the educated middle class to the cinema, they should emphasise that following a ‘done to death’ style is hardly a way to revive the film industry All sold out for a film’s success.

Balaka hall is running the film for a third straight week -- a rare practice in these days when a film is forgotten while it’s still on the screen. In recent times, there has not been any other movie which managed to fill the seats for such a long period. Well, I am not saying the film is flawless; attaining certain degree of cinematic perfection will take more such flick, but this is what can be called a milestone for Bangladeshi celluloid because not only does it shed the gratuitous display of female flesh, it gives a protagonist, who, all of us can relate to because he is not the super fit, virtuefilled one man army, pulversing 10 people at a time, always ready with moral sermons.

Why did this movie, which is fairly simple in the plot, become the center of so much discussion?

Some say, Amitabh Reza, the

another guy, who lives by making compromises between virtue and a little vice. Our movie makers hardly go out of the template in which the main male role has to be an example of all things glorious. Ayna, the central figure of Aynabaji, is hardly that -- he is someone who is more eager to reach a conciliation, instead of going into a confrontation. This is a guy who resorts to disingenuous behavior just to make life a little more comfortable.

In following his work, scruples come second. A few years ago, a film director, who was facing a tough time selling his own idea of a movie to a producer, lamented by saying that there is a syndicate which imposes a formula and, if their path is not followed, deliberate obstacles are created in the country-wide marketing of the movie. This means three songs, four fights, two moments of bliss,

two moments of despair, so on and so forth.

From what I know, Aynabaji did not go through this group and that’s why it could trash the unnecessary fights, the insipid dialogue plus many other clichés.

Like I said earlier, if one wants to look for errors, this is not without fault, though, I would say, if a local movie manages to keep the audience guessing till then end, then the film is a success.

In the past three years, I only finished two local movies in the hall -- a testament to what excreta is made for the big screen.

When producers, cinema hall owners talk about bringing back the educated middle class to the cinema, they should emphasise that following a “done to death” style is hardly a way to revive the film industry.

Copying Bollywood masala numbers won’t serve culture;

regular commercial ventures, riding mainly on the liberal show of the female body may pull some people seeking titillation, though a little creative thought, adroitly packaged with some classy romanticism, can do both -- bring people from all classes and help secure the movie industry.

It’s not correct that, as entertainment, working people, who form the bulk of movie-goers, crave only blood, gore topped with racy songs.

Sometimes, I look at Shakib Khan and deplore the characters he plays. If only he was cast in a film which sidelined the common formula.

In the right hands, Shakib Khan can go beyond the ludicrous Mafia style underground killers that he has been portraying lately.

Can anyone point to one Shakib movie and say, yes, this is not only commercially successful but also

artistically/intellectually sound?

Many have expressed amazement at the accolades poured over Aynabaji. Some have even gone as far as to say, this hype is a manifestation of the whims of the people.

Well, instead of being so blinkered, one has to say, a production which did not follow the rules and still managed to create a stir, is proof that, innovative ideas/approaches, presented with the right dose of marketing strategy, can do wonders.

Perhaps this can work as inspiration for all those who are toying with an unorthodox plot.

As for Shakib Khan, well, he is already a top hero, but will someone come and bring out the actor in him? l Towheed Feroze is a journalist currently working in the development sector.

DT

24 Sport

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

TOP STORIES

Can Sabbir be the saviour?

One can hardly imagine a newcomer carrying the weight of expectations of taking his side through to the winning line on Test debut. But that is exactly the scenario at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. PAGE 25

Broad: A fantastic Test to be a part of Perhaps England didn’t see it coming, considering that the Tigers returned to Tests after 15 months. No matter the result, the visitors will consider it as one of the most exciting games they have been involved in recently. PAGE 26

Pakistan build huge lead over Windies Opening batsmen Azhar Ali and Sami Aslam hit half-centuries to help Pakistan strengthen their grip on the third day of their second Test match against the West Indies in Abu Dhabi in the UAE yesterday. PAGE 27

Tearful Iniesta out for six to eight weeks Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta will be out for between six and eight weeks, the Spanish champions confirmed on Saturday after he suffered knee ligament damage in a 3-2 win against Valencia at the Mestalla. PAGE 28

Bangladesh opening batsman Imrul Kayes unleashes a reverse sweep during the fourth and penultimate day of their first Test against England at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Hathurusingha proud of Bangladesh’s display Uddin n Mazhar from Chittagong Bangladesh debutant Sabbir Rahman (59*) and Taijul Islam (11*) would be looking to inspire their side to a historic Test match win against England when they resume the fifth and final day’s play today at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in the port city with 33 runs still required.

The match is hanging finely in the balance and Tigers head coach Chandika Hathurusingha believes they have all the time in the world to score those 33 runs.

The former Sri Lankan international also informed that he is proud of his charges, who have fought tooth and nail against the formidable visiting side.

“When Taijul went in to bat, we needed 46/47 runs, which we couldn’t score in five or six overs.

Best scenario was to bat them out and take the game to the fifth day.

Now the challenge is to bat as long as possible [today], and hoping we will win. [Today] if we bat 1015 overs, we will get that target.

We have to get in there, spend as

much time as possible in the middle,” Hathurusingha told the media yesterday after stumps.

“I won’t go into the individual performances. I am really happy that they took 20 wickets. It was a positive. I am happy to be still in the game in the fourth day against a team like England. I don’t think anyone gave us the chance four days ago. We had a good gameplan. We would like to have done better in the first innings.

“Our batters adapted to certain extent but we have room for improvement. That’s the challenge and beauty of Test cricket. This is one of the best games I have watched. I am very pleased with the performance of both teams,” he said.

Hathurusingha heaped praise on Sabbir, along with the other batsmen of the team, and stated that it was never easy to bat on

such difficult pitch.

“I am very happy with the way he (Sabbir) batted in the second innings, with all that difficulty of getting hit on the head. He was out for whole day. He concentrated on one of the most difficult wickets I have watched or played cricket on. Credit to Sabbir, Imrul [Kayes] and even Tamim’s [Iqbal] nine runs. I value them like 50 runs. If you have noticed, the new ball always got wickets in this surface. We are in this position because of how [Mahmudullah] Riyad, Sabbir and Mushfiqur [Rahim] played,” he said.

“I was sitting outside so I don’t know what happened in the dressing room. I don’t think panic is the word. Everyone wants to win.

We are all hoping that someone stays with Sabbir [today]. It may be Taijul or Shafiul [Islam]. They can bat. It is getting increasingly difficult to bat on that wicket. If the ball jumps like it did to Mushy, you don’t have anything to do.

What we can do is play the ball on merit and if it is behaving differently, forget about it. Play the next ball – that’s the message.” l

SCORECARD ENGLAND FIRST INNINGS 293 (Ali 68, J, Bairstow 52; Mehedi 6-80) BANGLADESH FIRST INNINGS 248 ( Tamim 78; B. Stokes 4-26, Ali 3-75) ENGLAND 2ND INNINGS (overnight 228-8) C. Woakes not out A. Rashid lbw Shakib S. Broad run out G. Batty lbw b Taijul Extras (b3 lb8 pen 5) Total (all out; 80.2 overs)

R

B

19 47 9 18 10 27 3 8 16 240

Fall of wickets 1- 26, 2-27, 3-28, 4-36, 5-62, 6-189, 7-197, 8-213, 9-233, 10-240 Bowling Mehedi 20-1-58-1, Shakib 33-7-85-5, Taijul 15.2-2-41-2, Kamrul 8-0-24-1, Mahmudullah 1-0-6-0, Shafiul 3-0-10-0 BANGLADESH 2ND INNINGS R Tamim Iqbal c Ballance b Ali 9 Imrul Kayes c Root b Rashid 43 Mominul Haque lbw b Batty 27 Mahmudullah lbw b Batty 17 Shakib Al Hasan c Bairstow b Ali 24 Mushfiqur c Ballance b Batty 39 Sabbir Rahman not out 59 Mehedi Hasan lbw b Broad 1 Kamrul Islam c Ballance b Broad 0 Taijul Islam not out 11 Extras (b9, lb 13 w1) 23

B 33 61 47 36 39 124 93 9 3 23

Total (eight wickets, 78 overs) 253 Fall of wickets 1-35, 2-81, 3-103, 4-108, 5-140, 6-227, 7-234, 8-238 Bowling Batty 17-3-65-3, Ali 14-2-60-2, Woakes 7-3-10-0, Rashid 17-2-55-1, Broad 13-4-262, Stokes 10-2-15-0 (w1)

25

DT

Sport

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

Can Sabbir be the saviour? n Mazhar Uddin from Chittagong

All eyes will be on the unbroken ninth wicket duo of Taijul Islam and Sabbir Rahman when the final day’s play of the ongoing first Test between Bangladesh and England resumes today in Chittagong MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

One can hardly imagine a newcomer carrying the weight of expectations of taking his side through to the winning line on Test debut. But that is exactly the scenario at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in the port city as Bangladesh will be hoping to seal a historic Test win over a formidable England side for the first time ever, relying on debutant Sabbir Rahman, who has already struck a fifty in his five-day bow.

Probably it is too much to ask from a debutant but Sabbir has shown great amounts of maturity to keep the home side alive as Bangladesh require another 33 runs with two wickets in hand when the fifth and final day’s play begins today.

England were bundled out for 240 in the first hour of the fourth day yesterday and the Tigers were set a target of 286, a score they never previously managed in a successful run chase. And it was never going to be an easy ride as even the most experienced cricketers of the side felt tremendous pressure.

Bangladesh started off positively but the English bowlers came back strong every single time as the home side kept losing wickets at crucial junctures. At one stage they were 140/5 when Sabbir walked into the middlle after Shakib al Hasan was dismissed scoring 24 runs.

Being the last recognised batsman, with the exception of another debutant Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Sabbir and skipper Mushfiqur Rahim had to score the bulk of the remaining runs required.

The dashing right-hander built his reputation as an attacking batsman in the limited-over formats ever since making his international bow two years back. But more than anything, it was a test of his temperament and patience as he had to refrain from playing his natu-

ral, aggressive game.

He smashed a six over long-on in just his 12th delivery off spinner Moeen Ali and an over later, he struck another maximum and a four off the same bowler which released some pressure off Mushfiq at the other end.

Bangladesh dominated the post-tea session and started to smell a memorable victory as the home side were just 59 runs shy of registering their first Test win against England after losing all the previous eight meetings.

But the visitors struck back again as Mushfiq was dismissed off an unplayable delivery from off spinner Gareth Batty after scoring a patient 124ball 39.

The Rajshahi cricketer though soon reached his maiden fifty with a gorgeous boundary off Batty through the mid off region but the job was not done yet.

Pressure again came heaping upon Sabbir after Miraz and Kamrul Islam Rabbi departed in quick succession, leaving Bangladesh struggling on 238/8.

Now, it was a case of survival more than anything else for the Tigers.

Sabbir, who was struck on his helmet, missed quite a few edges, heard a lot of chit-chat and sledging by the English fielders and even showed his damncare attitude on occasions. However, he realised that Bangladesh need him if they want to win the famous Test match so he had no other option but to curb his instincts.

Taijul Islam gave great support to Sabbir and the pair will resume the fifth and final day looking to score the 33 runs.

However, besides everything else, Sabbir, who is batting on 59 off 93 balls featuring three sixes and two boundaries, also needs a bit of luck in order to pull off an extraordinary Test match win. l

Comilla take on Rajshahi Women’s Asia Cup in BPL 4 opener squad named n Tribune Report Defending champions Comilla Victorians will lock horns with Rajshahi Kings in the opening game of the fourth edition of the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on November 4, 2016. Bangladesh Cricket Board announced the itinerary yesterday.

In the second game of the opening day, Rangpur Riders will face Khulna Titans.

The first leg of BPL 4 will be held in Dhaka from November

4-13. The second leg will be hosted by Chittagong’s Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium from November 17-22 before the third and final leg moves to Dhaka where matches will take place from November 25 right till the final.

Seven teams – Comilla, Rajshahi, Barisal Bulls, Dhaka Dynamites, Chittagong Vikings, Rangpur Riders and Khulna Titans – will take part in the money-spinning tournament.

The grand finale is scheduled to be held in Mirpur on December 9, Friday. l

n Tribune Report Bangladesh Cricket Board yesterday announced the 15-member national squad ahead of the upcoming Women’s Asia Cup 2016, scheduled to be held next month in Thailand.

India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and hosts Thailand will participate in the sixth edition of the tournament that gets underway on November 27. India have won all the previous five editions.

Squad

Jahanara Alam, Rumana Ahmed, Nigar Sultana (WK), Fargana Haque, Khadija-tul Kubra, Halima Khatun, Ritu Moni, Ayesha Rahman, Nahida Akter, Panna Ghosh, Suraiya Azmin, Jannatul Ferdous, Sharmin Sultana, Sobhana Mostari and Salma Khatun.

Standby

Sanjida Islam, Lata Mondol, Shaila Sharmin, Morsheda Khatun and Sharmin Akter Supta. l

Bangladesh fast bowler Taskin Ahmed sports his new bleach blonde hair cut yesterday INTERNET

DT

26

Sport

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim is on the verge of being caught by England close-in fielder Gary Ballance off the bowling of spinner Gareth Batty (unseen) during the fourth and penultimate day of the first Test at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Broad: A fantastic Test to be a part of Uddin n Mazhar from Chittagong

Perhaps England did not see it coming, especially bearing in mind that Bangladesh returned to Test cricket after nearly 15 months.

However, whatever be the final result, the visitors will consider the ongoing first Test match at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium as one of the most exciting games they have been involved in recently.

The Tigers need 33 more runs to win with two wickets in hand and all eyes will be on Sabbir Rahman (59) and Taijul Islam (11), who will

come out to bat today in the fifth and final day.

And according to England fast bowler Stuart Broad, this is one of the most memorable five-dayers he has ever experienced in his 99-Test career so far.

“What a fantastic Test match to be a part of. Coming back for day five, we need two wickets with 33 runs to get. Things you tell yourself as a bowling and fielding unit, two deliveries, two good balls, who can have the character to bowl two unplayable deliveries, or beat the batsman’s defence or test his ego,” Broad told the media yesterday af-

ter the day’s play.

“I think Bangladesh have played fantastically well. I think the Test match has been up there among the top five that I have played in, excitement-wise. I have played 99 Tests so I know I will get twothree hours kip [yesterday night] through worry. So it is good fun,” he said.

Broad is of the opinion that the home side should be proud with their performance, come what may today.

“I think it has been a brilliant Test match. Both sets of players have shown considerable skill.

The pitch hasn’t been great for the batsmen. I think Bangladesh will be very proud with their performance. We are proud we have utilised our skills in these conditions.

This was our first Test match here for six years. There’s going to be 11 very disappointed and 11 delighted guys [today],” he said.

The 30-year old went on to praise debutant Sabbir, who remain vital to the home side’s hopes of clinching a historic win.

“He (Sabbir) has played very nicely. The partnership with Mushfiqur was very good. They were calm and took their scoring op-

tions. He has taken this Test match very deep. There will be a lot of pressure on him to take his scoring options. It would be up to the bowlers to bowl at the stumps all the time,” said Broad.

“He stood up very well [yesterday], but we should put him under a lot of pressure [today].

“I love it. A lot of Test cricket is about character in players. I think he does that very well. I like getting into a battle myself. I think it has been played in good spirit [yesterday]. We like to see a sport where everyone gets stuck in,” added the Nottinghamshire seamer. l

Bayern break Gladbach Kohli powers India to easy win n jinx to go three clear AFP, Mohali

RESULTS Leverkusen

0-3

Hoffenheim

Demirbay 15, Wagner 49, Zuber 60

Hertha Berlin

2-1

Ibisevic 13, Stark 74

Ingolstadt

3-3

Cohen 6, Lezcano 24, 60

Darmstadt

3-1

Vidal 16, Costa 31

VfL Wolfsburg Gomez 60

2-1

Philipp 66, Petersen 78

Bayern Munich

Dortmund Aubameyang 59, Ramos 69, Pulisic 90+1

Ben-Hatira 25, Kleinheisler 68, Sirigu 76

Freiburg

Cologne Modeste 65

Augsburg Altintop 84

2-0

M’gladbach

n AFP, Berlin Bayern Munich broke their Borussia Moenchengladbach jinx on Saturday as Arturo Vidal and Douglas Costa netted in a 2-0 home win to put the champions three points clear.

First-half goals by Bayern’s Chile and Brazil internationals gave Carlo Ancelotti’s Munich a first win over Gladbach in five German league matches after Borussia claimed home and away league victories in 2015.

After back-to-back draws in the league the win caps a good week for Bayern, who enjoyed a 4-1 romp against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Wednesday.

“The first half was perhaps our best of the whole season,” said Ancelotti. l

Virat Kohli struck a magnificent hundred as he joined forces with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to power India to a comprehensive seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the third one-day international in Mohali yesterday.

Kohli (154 not out) and Dhoni (80) put together a 151-run stand for the third wicket to help India achieve their 286-run target in 48.2 overs as the hosts took a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

The batting duo not only put the innings back on track after India lost their openers early but also took the attack to the opposition bowling.

Kohli, who hit 16 fours and a six during his 134-ball knock, dominated the New Zealand bowling as he hit the ball to all parts of the

ground.

Recording his 26th ODI ton, he made the most of a reprieve after he was dropped on six by Ross Taylor at gully off Matt Henry to consolidate his position as India’s batting mainstay.

3RD ODI NEW ZEALAND 285 in 49.4 overs (Latham 61, Jadhav 3/29, Yadav 3/75) lost to INDIA 289/3 in 48.2 overs (Kohli 154*, Dhoni 80, Henry 2/56) by seven wickets Dhoni, who recorded his 61st ODI fifty and went past the 9000run mark, hit three towering sixes during his 91-ball stay but once again failed to finish off his opponents.

The 35-year-old, whose laboured knock in the previous game

failed to take India over the line, scored his first fifty in a year after he promoted himself to number four.

Henry broke the big stand after Dhoni mistimed a delivery to short cover, the fielder strategically placed in that position for the wicketkeeper-batsman.

Manish Pandey made sure that he gave Kohli the perfect support to canter home in dew-laden conditions at the Mohali Stadium.

Pandey, who scored 28, and Kohli put on an unbeaten 97-run partnership to bring the home crowd to life.

Earlier Tom Latham and James Neesham struck fighting half-centuries and a late-order flourish helped New Zealand post a competitive 285. The two teams now head to Dhoni’s hometown of Ranchi for the fourth ODI on Wednesday. l

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

Romania’s Simona Halep hits a return against Madison Keys of the US during their first round women’s singles match at the WTA Finals tennis tournament in Singapore yesterday. Halep won 6-2,6-4 AFP

Pakistan build commanding lead over Windies n AFP, Abu Dhabi Openers Azhar Ali and Sami Aslam hit half-centuries to help Pakistan strengthen their grip on the third day of the second Test against West Indies in Abu Dhabi yesterday.

Ali was unbeaten on 52 and Asad Shafiq five not out as Pakistan reached 114-1 at stumps, increasing their lead to 342 after dismissing West Indies for 224 in their first innings.

That had given Pakistan a first innings lead of 228 and left them firmly in control as

they look to claim an unassailable 2-0 lead in the threematch series.

Pakistan won the first Test - a day-night affair played with a pink ball - by 56 runs to take a 1-0 advantage. But despite the West Indies falling 29 runs short of avoiding the follow-on, Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq decided not to enforce it and batted again.

Both Ali and Aslam survived leg-before decisions through referrals after on-field umpire Michael Gough had raised his finger on both occasions. l

DAY’S WATCH CRICKET

7:20 PM Indian Super League 2016 Goa v Kerala

10:00AM England Tour of Bangladesh 1st Test, Day 5

12:45 AM Sky Bet EFL 2016/17 Bury v Bolton Wanderers

GAZI TV, BTV, STAR SPORTS 2

TEN 3 12:00PM West Indies Tour of Pakistan 2nd Test, Day 4

FOOTBALL STAR SPORTS 1

TEN 1

HOCKEY STAR SPORTS 4 4:30 PM Asian Hockey Champions Trophy Korea v China

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Sport

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

Chelsea humiliate Mourinho n AFP, London

Chelsea supporters taunted Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho with chants of “You’re not special anymore!” as his Stamford Bridge return yielded a humiliating 4-0 defeat yesterday.

With seven major titles across two spells, Mourinho is Chelsea’s most successful ever manager, but his return to his old stomping ground ended in one of the most chastening results of his career.

Pedro Rodriguez opened the scoring after just 30 seconds and Chelsea did not look back, Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante completing an emphatic Premier League victory.

Antonio Conte’s side have now won three consecutive league games without conceding a goal and climbed to fourth place, just a point below leaders Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool.

City missed out at home earlier yesterday, drawing 1-1 with Southampton. Nathan Redmond gave the visitors the lead in the first half before Kelechi Iheanacho equal-

ised in the second.

Back at the Bridge, Mourinho, in stark contrast, has already tasted defeat three times in the league with United, who trail City by six points ahead of Wednesday’s Manchester derby in the League Cup fourth round.

The team sheet told a tale of two captains: United’s, Wayne Rooney, was absent after reportedly injuring his thigh, while Chelsea’s, John Terry, remained on the bench following an ankle injury.

Mourinho was greeted warmly

by Terry and former assistant Steve Holland prior to the game, sharing a warm embrace with the former, but Chelsea’s hospitality vanished within 30 seconds of kick-off.

Chris Smalling inexplicably allowed Marcos Alonso’s pass from Chelsea’s left to bounce past him and Pedro nipped in to round United goalkeeper David de Gea and roll the ball home.

Mourinho, sacked for the second time by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich last December, looked faintly shellshocked. l

Locatelli gives Milan win over Juventus n Reuters, Milan A stunning second-half strike by 18-year-old Manuel Locatelli gave AC Milan a 1-0 win over Juventus after the Serie A titleholders had a goal controversially disallowed on Saturday.

Juventus thought they had gone ahead in the first half from Miralem Pjanic’s free kick but the goal was ruled out for offside after a two-minute consultation between match officials. It was Milan’s first win over Juventus for nearly four years and ended a run of nine successive defeats against the Turin side.

Juventus stayed top with 21 points from nine games but Milan closed the gap to two points.

“It’s clear that the goal was good, everyone else is saying that, not just me,” said Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri. “The Milan protests made the referee doubt his decision, but we as teams should think about playing.”

The game at San Siro was an intense, tactical battle but erupted in controversy after 35 minutes.

Pjanic floated a 35-metre free kick over the wall, Juve’s Leonardo Bonucci lunged and failed to make contact with the ball but distracted Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and it flew into the net.

Juventus players were back on the halfway line waiting for the restart when referee Nicola Rizzoli disallowed the goal for offisde against Bonucci although replays suggested he was onside when the ball was played.

Locatelli added to Juve’s sense of injustice when he collected Suso’s pass and fired an unstoppable shot past Gianluigi Buffon into the top corner in the 65th minute.

Donnarumma, 17, ensured Milan’s win by turning away Sami Khedira’s long-range shot with the last kick of the game.l

Chelsea’s Belgian playmaker Eden Hazard slots in to score against Manchester United during their English Premier League game at Stamford Bridge yesterday AFP

Rooney takes swipe at ‘United fan’ Owen n AFP, London Manchester United star Wayne Rooney took a swipe at former team-mate Michael Owen for expressing support for his club’s bitter rivals Liverpool.

Owen has a foot in both camps after making his name during a glittering spell at Liverpool and also playing for United in the twilight of his career.

But the 36-year-old, who played alongside Rooney for United and England, appeared to irrate his old colleague when he posted an encouraging message during Liverpool’s Premier League clash with West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

“Come on Red Men. A win by two goals and it’s ‘top of the league’,” Owen tweeted alongside a picture of the view from his seat in the Anfield stands. With Owen having criticised Rooney this week for “losing his nasty streak”, the England striker took the opportunity to have a dig back by claiming his former teammate actually supports United.

“Interesting this Michael I thought you was a united fan???,” Rooney responded.

Owen, who scored 158 goals in eight years with Liverpool, was criticised by Reds fans when he joined United in 2009. l

Tearful Iniesta out for six to eight weeks n AFP, Madrid Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta will be out for between six and eight weeks, the Spanish champions confirmed on Saturday after he suffered knee ligament damage in a 3-2 win at Valencia.

Iniesta was stretchered from the field in tears after just 14 minutes, but fears he could be sidelined for months were eased by tests upon his return to Barcelona.

“After the first diagnosis carried out at Mestalla, the tests in Barcelona have shown the extent of the

injury,” Barca said in a statement.

“The time out is between six and eight weeks.”

Iniesta could now return in time to face Real Madrid in the first El Clasico of the season on December 3.

However, he will miss Barca’s Champions League trips to Manchester City and Celtic next month.

Barca had earlier confirmed Iniesta had injured the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee.

Barca’s season has been plagued by injuries so far as Lionel Messi has just returned from nearly a month out.l

Barcelona’s midfielder Andres Iniesta gestures on a stretcher after being injured during the Spanish league match against Valencia on Saturday AFP

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Capsize (5) 6 Spinning toy (3) 7 Allude (5) 10 Ornamental coronet (5) 12 Malarial fever (4) 13 Added clause (5) 15 Whirled (4) 16 Donkey (3) 18 Observe (3) 20 Crustacean (4) 22 Swellings on skin (5) 23 Yield (4) 25 Farm birds (5) 27 Illustrations (5) 28 Fastener (3) 29 Fruit (5)

DOWN 1 Says (6) 2 Hawaiian dish (3) 3 Meagre (6) 4 Speak evil of (7) 5 Barrel (3) 8 Distant (3) 9 Floor coverings (4) 11 Tear (3) 14 Angered (7) 16 Away (6) 17 Confectionery (6) 19 Level (4) 21 Beer (3) 22 Fly trap (3) 24 Female deer (3) 26 Prosecute (3)

29

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Downtime

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

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

You have two letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.

Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.

As you get the letters, fill in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check off the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SUDOKU How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

PEANUTS

SATURDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

Showtime

Rupa Ganguly joined the 20th National council of Awami league Popular actress from West Bengal, Rupa Ganguly came to Bangladesh to join the 20th National council of Awami League, ruling political party of Bangladesh.

Actor-turned politician Roopa Ganguly, who played the role of the mythological character Draupadi in the hit television series Mahabharat, took an oath as the Rajya Sabha MP. Rupa Ganguly is also famous in Bangladesh for her historical performance as ‘Kapila.’ Kapila is a popular character of the movie Padma Nodir Majhi. Actor Raisul Islam Asad, was her co-artist.

Ganguly was nominated by President Pranab Mukherjee, to the seat vacated by cricketerturned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, who resigned recently following differences with the BJP leadership. l

Bollywood’s new venture featuring Liberation War 1971

A Bollywood film which is based on real events, will be featuring battles between two submarines which were involved in the India-Pakistan war in 1971.

Bangladesh’s Liberation War of 1971 is depicted in the film as well.

n Showtime Desk With her self-deprecating humour and down to earth personality, Jennifer Lawrence has won the hearts of millions across the world. Despite the circulation of some of her scandalous photos, she managed to remain one of Hollywood’s most bankable actresses.

According to Hollywood Report, Lawrence has been cast as Zelda Fitzgerald in Ron Howard’s upcoming biopic, which is currently titled Zelda.

It would be interesting to see

n Showtime Desk

n Showtime Desk

J Law to star in Zelda

The story of Sankalp Reddy’s new film, Ghazi will also feature the story of the Pakistani war submarine PNS Ghazi, which was destroyed by India’s INS Rajput during the war. Taapsee Pannu and Rana Daggubati will be playing the key roles in the film.

Taapsee Pannu who plays

Bangladeshi refugee in the film said, “I am very proud to be a part of it. It’s India’s first submarine film, and it’s based on a real incident of how a Pakistani submarine was sunk.”

“This is the only period film I have done so far. But it is not a typical period drama,” she added.

Sankalp Reddy, the director of the Indian bilingual war film, said, “I had researched about a few submarines, but the PNS Ghazi story intrigued me the most. There are two different versions of how Ghazi sank.

While the Indian version claims the submarine sank because of a series of successful efforts by the Indian Navy, the Pakistan version claims its top vessel sank following an internal explosion, killing all on board.”

The film is being simultaneously made in Hindi and Telugu.

On the other hand, the Liberation War has been portrayed in Bollywood films in different ways. Among them, Children of War, 1971, and 16 December, are most recognised while the Liberation War was partially depicted in Indian Bengali film, Goynar Baksho. Besides, Bollywood 2014 feature Gunday, was criticised in Bangladesh for it’s controversial portray of the Liberation War in 1971. l

her as the spouse of one of America’s greatest writers.

It is established that both the writer, F Scott Fitzgerald, and his wife, suffered from mental illness. And the Oscar winning actress would be more than capable of capturing the complex personality of Zelda Fitzgerald.

In the past, Lawrence mesmerised viewers, by her performances in films like Silver Linings Playbook, Joy, American Hustle, and The Hunger Games.

She has gained a reputation of making a bad movie good with her solid performances. l

The finale of ‘Saatti Taarar Timir’

nShowtime Desk A group of friends reunite marking the return of a friend who has been living abroad for quite some time. Featuring the stories of these female friends, TV drama serial Saatti Tarar Timir, directed

by Afsana Mimi, premiered on November 29, 2014.

A sequel to Mimi’s earlier venture Doll’s House, the show boasts a strong female cast including Moutushi Biswas, Sanjida Preeti, Shormimala, Joyeeta Moholanobish, Moushumi Hamid, Mumtaheena Toya, Sadika Swarna, Suborna Mustafa,

Khairul Alam Sabuj, Dilara Zaman, Intekhab Dinar, Wahida Mollik Jolly, and Monir Khan Shimul, among others.

Nazrul Islam has written the drama for the screen which sets to end on it’s 300th episode. The show chronicles a group of girls who follow their intertwined lives in a vivid depiction of the ultimate metro life.

Though the drama serial started as a daily soap, it later started airing two days a week. Today, the 300th episode of Saatti Tarar Timir will be aired on ATN Bangla, at 10:55pm. l

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Showtime

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

Trump asked Salma Hayek on a date nShowtime Desk

According to a Buzzfeed report, the Mexican-born actress, Salma Hayek talked to El Show del Mandril on Radio Centro 93.9, last Friday. She spoke about a time when presidential candidate, Donald Trump, leaked a false story to the National Enquirer after she rejected his request for a date.

“When I met that man I had a boyfriend and he tried to become his friend to get my home telephone number,” she said, “He got my number and he would call me to invite me out.”

After saying no to the date, Trump found it “disrespectful,” she continued, “He wouldn’t say he called, but someone told the National Enquirer.”

“Someone told the National Enquirer — I’m not going to say who because you know that whatever he wants to come

out, comes out in the National Enquirer. It said that he wouldn’t go out with me, because I was too short,” Hayek added.

Hayek then went on to reveal how Trump reached out to her after the story was published, “Later, he called and left me a message. ‘Can you believe this?

Who would say this? I don’t want people to think this about you.’

He thought that I would try to go out with him so people wouldn’t think that’s why he wouldn’t go out with me.”

An outspoken Hillary Clinton supporter, Salma’s latest comments are far from her first about the Republican nominee.

In July 2015, the Oscar nominee spoke exclusively to E! News about his controversial stance on immigration.

“I’m aware that he would say anything to attract attention and create the publicity around him,” she told us. “If something generates publicity, I would never be surprised about anything he does,” admitting that she refuses to “say his name.”

In early October, Hayek starred in a Spanish-language PSA on behalf of Clinton urging Latino voters to cast their vote on November 8. l Souce: E! News

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Back Page

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016

FIRST FINANCE FEELS THE PINCH FOR CORRUPT DIRECTORS PAGE 12

HATHURUSINGHA PROUD OF BD DISPLAY PAGE 24

FINALE OF ‘SAATTI TAARAR TIMIR’ PAGE 31

BD-Eng Test set for breathtaking finish Uddin from n Mazhar Chittagong The highest target that Bangladesh have successfully chased in Test matches was 215 against the West Indies at St. George’s in 2009.

What’s more, the Tigers have scored more than 286 in the fourth innings thrice, but never won.

The stats and records however, are meant to be broken as Bangladesh are 33 runs away from a historic victory with two wickets in hand. Hence, when the fifth and final day of the first Test against England gets underway today, the whole nation will be waiting with bated breath.

Debutant Sabbir Rahman kept alive the home side’s expectations as he is still at the crease on a 93ball 59 alongside a spirited Taijul Islam on 11. The unbroken ninth wicket duo’s effort in the fag end of the day will no doubt give hope to the Tigers, who concluded an eventful fourth day on 253/8.

In pursuit of 286, Bangladesh to their credit were never out of the game. With that said, England also played their part well picking

up regular wickets. By the look of things, both the teams seem to be involved in a boxing bout with punches being thrown from each side.

The Tigers started off positively despite getting some unplayable deliveries as Imrul Kayes played shots every now and then, which released some pressure after England spinners Moeen Ali and Gareth Batty began their siege with the new ball.

At the other end, Tamim Iqbal also fancied his chances but eventually departed after making nine while Imrul was removed following his 61-ball 43, comprising six fours; Bangladesh going to lunch on 86/2.

The pendulum though swung in favour of the visitors after Batty dismissed Mominul Haque (27) and Mahmudullah (17) in quick succession; Bangladesh tottering on 108/4.

Perhaps the stage was set for Shakib al Hasan to atone for his wayward dismissal in the first innings but the English were not willing to give him any inch. He was removed after scoring 24 to

Bangladesh debutant Sabbir Rahman executes a delightful square cut during the fourth and penultimate day of their first Test against England at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK become Moeen’s second victim.

Amid the flurry of wickets, skipper Mushfiqur Rahim continued to display his patience, much like the first innings when he made 48.

He was joined by Sabbir and thanks to their commanding 87run partnership, Bangladesh were in the driving seat. They dominated the post-tea session, cutting down their runs required to 59 before the

visitors struck again.

The last hour approached and the excitement and intensity started to mount but Sabbir stood strong and struck a magnificent shot towards mid off to reach his maiden fifty.

But it was not yet over as England dismissed debutants Mehedi Hasan Miraz and Kamrul Islam Rabbi in double quick time.

Now, it was England who were

sniffing victory.

However, Taijul and Sabbir held the ship together right till the end without further damage, surviving some missiles thrown at them by the persisting English bowlers.

And so, after four days of intense action, both the sides are preparing to dish out the final blow and in a few hours time, only one team will celebrate, leaving the other to ponder what might have been. l

Internet distrupted by submarine cable maintenance n Ishtiaq Husain The internet speed has been intermittently disrupted in the country because of a 4-day long routine maintenance of the submarine cables in Singapore that began at 12:30am local time, yesterday.

On October 20, Bangladesh Telecommunication Company Limited (BTCL) released a statement saying: “The SEA-ME-WE-4 Consortium would carry out maintenance work of the submarine cable at its Singapore end from 12:00am of October 23 to 2:00pm of October 27 that may disrupt internet service

temporarily in the country.”

BTCL Director of Public Relations and Publication, Meer Mohammad Morshed said that in order to minimise user inconvinice the company had set up an alternate backup support which made sure that the internet was not entirely unavailable.

Sources said at around 12 o’clock, the connection with the eastern side of the world was temporarily shut down during the maintenance but as Bangladesh had set up a backup support with the western side of the world the internet only expericed slower speed.

However, International

Terrestrial Cable (ITC) based service did not face any disruption.

Despite the disruption, BTCL would continue its services through alternative means, Assistant Director Tohura Sultana said in a statement.

Earlier, 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.” l

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