E paper 32 (05 08 2016, friday) by DhakaTribune

News

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

Sholakia suspect among two killed in gunfight n Tribune Desk Two suspected militants, including one of the Sholakia attackers, were shot and killed in an alleged gunfight yesterday when other militants reportedly tried to snatch them away from RAB custody in Mymensingh’s Nandail. One of the militants killed was Shafiul Islam Sohan alias Abu Muktadil, the Sholakia suspect, Nandail Model police station Officer-inCharge Ataur Rahman confirmed to our Mymensingh Correspondent Ashrafuddin Seizel. However, the OC could not name the other militant who was killed. Three members of Rapid Action Battalion 14 were also shot and wounded during the gun battle, said RAB legal and media wing Deputy Director Raisul Azam Moni.

The Nandail OC told the Dhaka Tribune that Shafiul was being transferred from the Mymensingh Medical College Hospital to the custody of Kishoreganj police when other militants suddenly attacked the law enforcers near a place called Dangri. A gunfight ensued, leading to the death of the two militants. From the scene of the shootout, RAB found and seized two motorcycles, explosives, arms and ammunition. The elite force was carrying out a drive in the nearby areas when the report was filed at midnight. Shafiul Islam Sohan alias Abu Muktadil was one of the suspects who attacked policemen near the Sholakia Eid congregation last month. He was also an accused in four murders including the killing of two Hindu community members in Gaibandha and Panchagarh. l

Hasnat Karim and Tahmid Hasib Khan being taken to a Dhaka court by the police after they were arrested yesterday in connection with the July 1 Holey Artisan attack in Gulshan RAJIB DHAR

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Hasnat, Tahmid arrested, put on remand and had remained traceless since then. Police on different occasions gave contradictory statements about their whereabouts. The arrest came only a day after the police chief said that former North South University teacher Hasnat was still a person of interest in the case, but denied keeping him in police custody. “But we have knowledge about his [Hasnat] location. If needed, we can bring him under custody any time,” he told media. Earlier, Masudur Rahman on July 8 told the Dhaka Tribune that the police had released “all the rescued hostages after questioning them about the incident.” But the families of Tahmid and Hasnat said the two had not returned home. Meanwhile, a Dhaka court placed the duo on eight-day remand each in the case. Metropolitan Magistrate Nurunnahar Yasmin passed the order yesterday afternoon after Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit Inspector Humayun Kabir produced them before it seeking 10 days to grill them. According to the remand prayer, Hasnat – the prime accused in the case – had connection with militant outfit Hizb ut-Tahrir, banned by the government in 2009. Tahmid – a student of University of Toronto – used to work as his associate. Hasnat also holds UK citizenship while Tahmid is a Canadian residence permit holder. Meanwhile, Public Relations Officer Belal Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that Hasnat was one of the four teachers forced to

resign from their positions in 2012 for their involvement with Hizb utTahrir, an international organisation that seeks to establish caliphate. He, however, continued at the university as a part-time teacher until 2013 and later went to the UK. Around 8:45pm on July 1, armed terrorists barged into a Spanish restaurant, frequented by foreigners, at the heart of Dhaka’s diplomatic zone and killed 22 people, including 17 foreigners. Although international militant group Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, the police say that it was an act of New JMB, a faction of local banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, under the leadership of Bangladesh-origin Canadian Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury. Earlier, the law enforcers said that several militant groups had carried out the attack jointly with the help of some foreign militant organisations and Bangladeshis living abroad. When contacted, Hasnat’s wife Sharmina Karim told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have learnt about him right now. It is too early to take any decision.” Asked about his legal protection, she said that they had already contacted with the UK High Commission, “but they could not help us. They did not get permission to meet my husband.” On the other hand, Tahmid’s family members refused to make any comment fearing that it could make further hurdles in the process of freeing him.

However, a family source said that they were expecting that finding out Tahmid would be a pleasure for them and they had to do less struggle since they knew that he was innocent. But showing him arrested in the case would make it much harder. They fear that Tahmid will miss his next semester that starts in September. He has already missed his internship in the current this semester as well. Tahmid came to Dhaka the day before the attack and went to the restaurant with two of his friends that evening.

Hasnat’s phone created suspicion

The remand prayer says the police have found that Hasnat and Tahmid influenced the attackers because he downloaded WICKR ME, a secured private messenger, on his phone at 8:57pm – only 12 minutes after the attacker was launched. “The police have sought the remand to know why he downloaded Wikr Apps [sic] application within a short time and what information the militants exchanged with their men,” it says. Several investigation related sources earlier said that the militants had used Hasnat’s phone during their operation to send photos and videos of the murders. The receivers are still unknown. After the midnight when a hostage situation prevailed, the IS’ Amaq agency released the photos of five of their members and later several other photos of the slain guests. l

Where were Hasnat and Tahmid all these days? permit holder, is currently enrolled as a student at the University of Toronto. They were taken into custody after the attackers released them along with Hasnat’s family members on July 2 morning. They were later taken to the DB office for interrogation, apparently due to their dubious role during the hostage crisis. DMP Deputy Commissioner Masudur Rahman on July 8 told the Dhaka Tribune that the police had released “all the rescued hostages after questioning them about the incident.” He claimed that Tahmid and Hasnat had been released on that night, but their family said that they were yet to return home by then. A confusing state arose soon after the authorities started to give conflicting statements on their detention from July 8. Although the police claimed they arrested them Wednesday night in connection with the terror attack, the questions on where the two had been for over a month remain unanswered. Family members claimed that they had not been able to communicate with them since the day of their detention. The police said Tahmid had been arrested from Bashundhara residential area and Hasnat from in front of Aarong in Gulshan on Wednesday night.

End of contradictions

Many claimed that the police had been playing hide and seek over the issue as they neither strongly denied nor confirmed that the duo was in their custody. Although the DMP deputy commissioner claimed about their release, he failed to ascertain the exact time of their release. On July 16, DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Miah told reporters that they had been interrogating the duo in connection with the July 1 attack, but refused to give details. From the very beginning of their sudden disappearance, their families and several international human rights groups have been campaigning for their release if there were no charges against them. On July 26, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said that Hasnat had been facing interrogation. “No information about him is yet confirmed. Everything will be disclosed after the investigation ends,” he told reporters. Finally, on August 1, Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Hoque said Hasnat was still a person of interest in the case, but denied keeping him in police custody. “But we have knowledge about his [Hasnat] location. If needed, we can bring him under custody any time,” the police chief said. Within two days of this statement, Hasnat and Tahmid were arrested and later a Dhaka court placed them on eight-day remand. l

Nightlife dulled in Gulshan n Abid Azad

During the day, Gulshan looks like as it has always been – busy and full of life. But when the night falls, the area turns into a ghost town. It has been a month since the barbaric terror attack on Holey Artisan Bakery and O Kitchen restaurant in Gulshan on July 1, in which 24 people including two policemen were killed. The attack has changed the course of nightlife in the posh Gulshan area, well known among both locals and foreigners for the exotic eateries, cafes and other places to socialise. The restaurants and shopping malls that used to be packed with visitors now stay almost empty after the sun sets. Many businesses banked on Gulshan's popularity as a social hub and thrived on it. But these businesses took a hit when terrorists stormed Holey Artisan and slaughtered people – something they claimed they did because they wanted to kill foreigners. It has become particularly hard for restaurants and cafes. “Our sale has gone down by more than 50% since the attack, because a bulk of our customers used to be foreigners,” Mahmudul Kabir Akond, manager of Coffee Republic, a popular cafe in Gulshan. “We rarely have customers now in the evening.” There were only six people in the cafe when this reporter visited Coffee Republic during lunchtime yesterday. Istanbul Restaurant, another well-known joint, was shut down yesterday because the authorities can no longer afford the loss. Seventy people who were employed at the restaurant lost their jobs. “More than 80% of our customers used to be foreigners, which came down to 5% after the attack,”

said an employee of the restaurant, seeking anonymity. “Before the attack, our daily income used to cross Tk1 lakh; after the attack, we barely made Tk15,000-20,000 in a month.” Ishrat Mim, 30, a working woman who lives in Gulshan, said she had regular haunts in the area where she socialised with friends and colleagues all week. “I used to frequent Butlers' Chocolate Cafe, Gloria Jean's Coffees, North End Coffees and Margarita Storm,” she told the Dhaka Tribune. “After the Holey Artisan attack, I stopped going to these places fearing more attacks. I once went to Margarita Storm with some friends, but we found it empty. So we decided not to venture these places for now.” Security was beefed up in the entire Gulshan area following the attack – additional check posts and police members have been deployed at all exit points. Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, an employee of an international development organisation, on condition of anonymity, said: “I live in Dhanmondi, but I frequently go to Gulshan to eat, especially to the Westin for its ice cream and desserts. But now it has become difficult going to Gulshan. There are several police check posts where they ask too many mundane questions – where I live, where I am going, where I work, why I am in Gulshan, why I came at night, etc. “I am not against the security measures, but this situation discourages people like me to go to Gulshan. So now I avoid Gulshan.” Staff at several restaurants said their customers now prefer ordering food for home delivery. “I get my food delivered at home now and socialise at home. But it is not as satisfying an experience as what we would get if we could go to restaurants,” said Ishrat. l

News

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

New Video: Attack on Holey Artisan Bakery

Two women and a man are visible in the video, cowering near a table on the porch

Two of the terrorists are seen here, yelling “Allahu Akbar” - one of them brandishing a sword

To see the video go to http://bit.ly/2aWe24P IMAGE CAPTURED FROM AMATEUR VIDEO

Britons asked to minimise exposure in crowded areas in Bangladesh n Tribune Desk The British government has recommended its citizens to remain vigilant, follow the advice of local security authorities and minimise their exposure in crowded areas in Bangladesh. The United Kingdom recently issued an updated travel advisory for Britons, asking them to “remain vigilant, monitor local and social media and follow any specific advice of the local security authorities to avoid certain areas”. On July 1, terrorists stormed Holey Artisan Bakery in the diplomatic zone of Gulshan, killing 20 hostages, 17 of whom were foreign nationals. Two police officials were also killed in the attack. “There is a heightened threat of further terrorist attacks. Attacks could be indiscriminate although

foreigners, in particular westerners, may be directly targeted,” said the travel advice posted on the website of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Tuesday.

‘There is a heightened threat of further terrorist attacks. Attacks could be indiscriminate although foreigners, in particular westerners, may be directly targeted’ Because the Holey attack soon turned into a hostage situation, the authorities have also specifically advised its citizens not to visit any crowded areas where foreign na-

tionals are known to congregate as these places are at a higher risk of being attacked. The advisory has asked Britons to minimise their exposure to such areas and consider their movements carefully. Following the attack, a number of countries instructed their citizens currently residing in Bangladesh to stay vigilant. Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) is actively considering sending back the family members of their staff considering the existing situation in the country as critical. In an interview with BBC Bangla, EU Ambassador to Dhaka Pierre Mayaudon on Wednesday said they are considering sending back their staff members’ families due to the current security concern. The final decision will be taken within the next few days, he said. l

12 held from a Shukrabad madrasa n Kamrul Hasan

Police detain 12 young men, including 10 Daffodil University students from a building in Dhaka’s Shukrabad area as suspicious persons MEHEDI HASAN

Tejgaon police arrested 12 people from a madrasa in Dhaka’s Shukrabad area yesterday. Nine of the detainees were living in a mess secretly set up inside the madrasa, while the other three are teachers of the Jamiatus Shalehin Madrasa, including its Principal Selim Parvez. Two CPUs and some documents were also seized during the police drive. Assistant Commissioner (Tejgaon Zone) Satyaki Aviraz, who led the drive in the afternoon, said: “The madrasa is for children, but

the comings and goings of some young men were noticed there. So, the police launched a regular drive on suspicion. “Three rooms had been rented by 11 people, most of them students of Daffodil International University. Two of the tenants were not in the house during the drive,” he said. Satyaki added that the mobile phones of the arrested contained images from Basher Kella, a controversial Facebook page known for promoting radical Islamist propaganda. A source present during the drive told the Dhaka Tribune that the phones also had militant

training videos. Additional Deputy Commissioner (Tejgaon 2) Anis Rashid said the locals had no idea that there was a mess inside the madrasa building. The detainees have now been taken in for questioning, he added. When the Dhaka Tribune visited the madrasa, it found that the balconies of the two floors where the detainees lived had been covered entirely by a blue tarp. Asked whether the tarps were there to obstruct view of what was going on inside, the madrasa’s chef Khairul Islam said he had no idea about who could have put the cover there or when it was put up. l

News

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

SQ Chy son Hummam allegedly picked up by DB n Tribune Desk Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police yesterday picked up Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury’s son Hummam Quader Chowdhury, according to his family members. The reason behind the detention could not be known immediately. Hummam was picked up in front of the main gate of Dhaka Metropolitan Chief Court and session judge court around 12:50pm, said one of his counsel Chowdhury Mohammad Galib Ragib. Hummam’s personal secretary Minhaj Uddin Chowdhury Shibli

said he was in a white Nissan car when some three to four people circled the vehicle and picked him up. Galib said he heard that the DB

personnel tell Hummam that they were picking him up in connection to another case. When Farhat asked the men their identities they said they were from DB and she should let them do their job. A family sources claimed that two people were following him for last two days. DMP spokesperson Md Masudur Rahman said they were yet to receive any such information. However, a DB sources said Hummam was under their custody. Hummam and his mother Farhat Quader Chowdhury went to court to attend a hearing in a case

against them filed under the ICT Act, yesterday afternoon. On Oct 1, 2013, the war crimes tribunal found Hummam’s father Salauddin guilty of 1971 war crimes and awarded him the death penalty. That verdict was leaked on internet before it was made public. The tribunal’s prosecution filed a case against Hummam, Farhat, lawyer Fakhrul Islam and four others over the leaked verdict. The court later granted Farhat bail but sent the four others to jail rejecting their bail pleas. The court yesterday fixed August 14 as verdict day in the case. l

Steps proposed BGB detains 15 varsity students to improve n Tribune Report security of diplomats n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

A meeting of the Task Force on the security of diplomats and diplomatic premises has recommended some new measures to strengthen security of the diplomats and officials of diplomatic missions. The task force meeting, presided over by Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, reviewed different security related issues of the diplomats and officials of the diplomatic missions as well as international organisations in Bangladesh and took stock of measures taken so far. Details of the new security measures have not been released. Task force members at the meeting yesterday expressed satisfaction with the measures taken to enhance vigilance and patrol in the diplomatic area for their protection, said a press release of the Foreign Ministry. State Minister Shahriar Alam, Principal Secretary, Foreign Secretary and representatives from Ministry of Home Affairs, Economic Relations Division, Police, Armed Forces Division and other agencies were present. According to the Geneva Convention, it is the duty of the host government to ensure security for diplomats. After the task force meeting, Foreign Secretray M Shahidul Haque had a meeting with European Union Ambassador Pierre Mayaudon. An EU delegation on migration is expected to visit Dhaka this month while a trade delegation from Brussels is likely to visit Bangladesh at the end of the year to discuss possible trade cooperation. l

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has detained 15 university students from Kashinagar border in Brahmanbaria for suspicious movement. Around 11:20am yesterday, the young men were spotted moving around suspiciously by BGB patrol at the Kashinagar border in Bijaynagar, about 1km south of 12 Border Guard Battalion’s Singarbil outpost and detained. BGB later handed the men over to Bijaynagar police station. The station’s Officer-in-Charge Ali Arshad said they had been able to ascertain that the men went to the border area looking for illegal drugs. In primary interrogation, the young men said nine of them were students of Southeast University, one from American International University Bangladesh, one from

Prime Asia University, one from Northern University, one from Uttara University, one from Shyamoli Polytechnical Institute and one

from Brahmanbaria Government College. OC Arshad said they would be sent to court today. l

BNP: Govt filing false cases to make us inactive n Tribune Report

The government has been filing “false cases” against BNP leaders and activists to turn the party inactive, the BNP has alleged. “The number of false cases filed against us is innumerable; it seems it [the number] has crossed 100,000,” BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told journalists at the party’s Nayapaltan headquarters yesterday. “It seems that all of the top leaders have been facing more than 25 cases. By filing cases, they want to turn the main political opposition inactive.” The BNP leader alleged that after becoming bankrupted, the Awami League has been using “false cases” as a weapon to repress the BNP. “Awami League has become alienated from the people. That is why they are doing undemocratic and anti-people activities to repress the BNP,” he said. Regarding an arrest warrant against BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Fakhrul said: “Rizvi’s name was not in the FIR [first information report], but an arrest warrant was issued. “The case was shifted to judiciary court from CMM [chief metropolitan magistrate] court hurriedly, it is abnormal. The intention is clear – it was done to harass or arrest Rizvi.” Fakhrul said: “We abide by the law. We are going to court everyday. Our leader Khaleda Zia appeared before the court regularly. The arrest warrant against Rizvi was issued with a view to harass him politically.” l

Stray elephant rescue strategy finalised n Abu Bakar Siddique

The Indian elephant who was separated from his herd in June is going to be rescued from Jamalpur, the forest department officials have said. Rescue operation has been finalised and it will start as soon as the conditions are favourable. “We have already discussed with district and upazila administration about the rescue operation. The expert team will be taken close to the elepthant’s position and necessary measures will be taken after the situation is analysed by an expert panel,” former Conservator of Forest Tapan Kumer Dey told the

Dhaka Tribune. A three-member team of experts from India arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday and travelled to Ja-

The elephant will be offered dry food to lure him onto to dry land and then we will tranquilize him malpur yesterday accompanied by Bangladeshi forest officials to prepare for the rescue operation. Forest department specialist, also former Chief Conservator of

Forest Tapan Kumer Dey, Deputy Conservator of Forest Shahab Uddin and Indian experts retired Conservator of Forests of Assam Rithesh Bhattacharjee, Divisional Forest Officer (Goalpara) Assam Chowdhuri Solmon Uddin and Veterinary Science Professor Swarma Khushal Konowar, already reached the Barabaria village of Sonakanda union where the elephant was last spotted. In addition, a 17 member technical team, including a veterinary surgeon Syed Hossain has been stationed at the spot. The rescue operation will be conducted with tranquilizer guns, drugs, ropes, elephant trainer, food

and necessary transport facilities, said veterinary surgeon Syed Hossain. “A kilometer wide area has been secured,” he said. He further elaborated on the details of the rescue operation: “The elephant will be offered dry food to lure him onto to dry land and then we will tranquilize him.” Once the elephant is tranquilized, he will be transported on a truck, the surgeon added. On his journey from Rowmari to Kazipur, the elephant has been spotted on the chars of five different districts, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Bogra and Sirajganj in the last one month. l

News

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

New NHRC chairman to identify reason behind radicalisation Reazul Hoque, the newly appointed

chairman of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) talks about the commission’s future plans in an interview with the Dhaka Tribune’s Kamrul Hasan. What is your plan for the future as the new NHRC chairman? Hajj pilgrims join in prayers as they embark on their journey to Mecca yesterday on the first of this year’s Hajj flight DHAKA TRIBUNE

Corrigendum In the story titled “Brac to pay Tk404 crores in taxes” in our August 4 issue it was mistakenly mentioned that the Supreme Court order for Brac to pay the taxes will adversely affect the organisation's social development programmes and the millions of people who benefit from them. A statement from Brac actually said: “Our social development programmes across the country and millions of people who benefit from them will not be adversely affected by the outcome of this ruling.” The Brac statement issued on Wednesday said that it respects the latest ruling by the Supreme Court. “Once the full text of the verdict is received, we will decide on our next course of action. On Wednesday morning, the SC ruled in favour of the government regarding Brac's taxable status. The apex court ruled that Brac has to pay its due Tk404.21 crore income tax which was previously exempted considering it a charitable organisation. Brac in its statement said the organisation contested that non-profit organisations should be exempt from income tax. But the SC ruling overturned the HC 2014 verdict which declared that the income from Brac’s social development programmes would be exempted from income tax. Brac is a non-profit organisation and the income generated by it supports the organisation's social development programmes, the statement further read. We regret the error. l

SQ Chy verdict leak case verdict on August 14 n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday fixed August 14 to deliver judgement in the case filed for leaking a part of the draft verdict of war criminal Salauddin Quader Chowdhury’s case in 2013. Judge KM Shamsul Alam of Dhaka’s Cyber Tribunal set the date after recording the closing arguments. Special public prosecutor Md Nazrul Islam Shamim presented his argument on behalf of the state while defence counsel Aminul Gani Titto represented the accused. The accused are SQ Chowdhury’s wife Farhat Quader Chowdhury, son Hummam Quader Chowdhury, manager Mahbubul Ahsan and counsel barrister Fakhrul Islam; Fakhrul’s assistant Mehedi Hasan, and war crimes tribunal’s office staff Faruk Hossain and Nayan Ali. Of them, all but Mehedi – absconding since the filing of the case – were on bail. Yesterday, the court sent Fakhrul, Faruk, Nayan and Mahbubul to jail. The court also accepted a bail petition filed for Farhat Quader but it rejected the time petition filed for Hummam and issued arrest warrant against him.

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN FRIDAY, AUGUST 5

The defence told the court that Hummam was picked by plainclothes police from in front of the entrance of the Dhaka’s Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court earlier in the day. Farhat Quader, who was present on the car with her son, refused to make any comment on the matter. After the accused were indicted on February 15 this year, the special tribunal recorded the statements of 21 out of 25 prosecution witnesses. DB police submitted the charges on August 28, 2014, but the indictment hearing was deferred a dozen times due to filing of time petitions by the defence repeatedly. According to the charge sheet, the accused in connivance with each other leaked parts of the draft verdict from the tribunal chairman’s computer and uploaded it on different websites to make the war crimes trial controversial. It was also mentioned that SQ Chowdhury’s family had made huge investments to leak the draft verdict. Farhat Quader and Hummam were charged with hatching conspiracy and instigating the leak, while lawyer Fakhrul charged with facilitating it. Mehedi, Mahbubul, Faruk and Nayan were directly involved in the crime. l

Dhaka

Chittagong

Rajshahi

DHAKA TODAY SUN SETS 6:39PM

Rangpur

Reazaul: It would be difficult to talk about our targets for the near future, as the action plan of the commission is approved in a meeting with all members. The mission of the commission as set by the law is broad. But as the chairman of the commission I believe that militancy and terrorism are our main concerns. We have to find out how the commission can work to uproot terrorism. The commission will work to identify the reasons behind radicalisation. Some of the reasons that turned these innocent children from our society into terrorists have already been identified, like unemployment, frustration, loneliness, negligence from family, poverty. All of these issues are connected to human rights. To curb militancy we have to reach primary schools and every family. Militancy cannot be fought by the law enforcement alone. To formulate a process, so that we can reach every family, we will hold open discussions with people from every walk of the society. And after receiving their advise we will formulate a process so that the commission can work for curbing militancy from the country.

What would you going to be

Khulna

Barisal

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:30AM

36.6ºC Sylhet

24.8ºC Rangamati

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES

focused on among the regular operations?

Reazul: The commission will definitely conduct its basic operations like issues of violence against women and children, early marriage, child labour. Besides, the commission will be watchful of oppression done by law enforcement. We will also be watchful of harassment by law enforcement, custodial deaths and crossfire. Law enforcement has to answer for every killing under their custody. However, some activities and practices by the law enforcement have to be seen lightly as without extra power it would be difficult to curb militancy from the country. At present the country is in a state of war and the militants are our main enemies. So everybody will have make some considerations for their work to some extent.

You were a full-time member of NHRC. What challenges do you think you have to face during your tenure?

Reazul: At present Bangladesh has a population of 16 crore and the commission has only 48 personnel including support staff. So it is difficult to operate extensively. But I believe that the government will very soon solve this problem and provide us with manpower. l

Sylhet

Cox’s Bazar

Fajr: 4:55am | Jumma: 1:15pm Asr: 5:15pm | Magrib: 6:50pm Esha: 8:45pm Source: Islamic Foundation

News

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

HUMILIATION OF SHYAMAL KANTI

Salim Osman excluded from police report Hossain, n Tanveer Narayanganj Police on Thursday submitted a report over harassment incident of Shyamal Kanti Bhakta, a teacher of Piar Sattar Latif High School in Narayanganj, stating that local lawmaker AKM Salim Osman was not involved in the incident. Deputy Attorney General Motahar Hossain Saju said this while talking to journalists. On May 13, Shyamal Kanti was assaulted on the school premises by a mob claiming that he had committed blasphemy against Islam. Later, he was also made to do squats holding his ears in presence of local Jatiya Party lawmaker AKM Salim Osman. The teacher later told media

that he had been made a victim of conspiracy by some teachers and members of the managing committee. Then, a general diary was filed with Bandar police station. After the humiliation incident which created massive outrage across the country, Kanti was undergoing treatment for several days at a hospital in Naraynganj and Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Seeking apology, Salim Osman also told journalists that he was compelled to make Shyamal Kanti to do squats holding his ears in order to save the teacher from a mob. On May 17, the school’s managing committee sacked the teacher with effect from May 13 showing four reasons, including allegations of physically assaulting students and making disparaging state-

ments against Islam. Later, Education Ministry dismissed the school’s managing body and reinstated Shyamal Kanti based on the findings of the probe report. On May 18, a High Court bench issued a suo-moto rule asking why legal proceedings should not be taken against those, including the MP. The court also ordered Narayanganj district administration to submit a report on what lawful measures had been taken after the incident. Shyamal Kanti Bhakta returned to his workplace on July 11three months after he was sacked by the school’s management committee and was later reinstated by the Ministry of Education. l

FOUR SCHOOLBOYS KILLING CASE

Properties of three fugitive accused confiscated n Md Noor Uddin, Habiganj Bahubal police yesterday confiscated properties of three fugitive accused in connection with the four schoolboys killing case. Following a directive of a Hobiganj court, officer-in-charge of Bahubal police station Molla Monir Hossain brought properties of Ustar Mia, Belal Mia and Babul Mia to the police station in the afternoon. On July 25, Additional District and Sessions’ Judge Court ordered the authorities concerned to confiscate all the movable properties of the trio. Confirming the seizure, OC Monir Hossain said they would inform the court about the confiscation on Sunday. On February 17, police recovered the bodies of four schoolboys— Zakaria Ahmed Shuvo, 8, son of

Wahid Miah, his two cousins – Tajel Miah, 10, son of Abdul Aziz, Monir Miah, 7, son of Abdal Miah – and Ismail Hossain, 10, son of Abdul Quadir, from a ditch at Shundratiki village under Bahubal upazila, four days after they went missing. On April 5, nine people were indicted in connection with the killing. Abdul Muktadir, officer-incharge of detective branch of police, submitted the charge sheet before the court of Senior Judicial Magistrate Md Kausar Alam. The accused of the case are Abdul Ali, Rubel Mia, Jewel Mia, Arzu Mia, Shahid Mia, Boshir Mia, Belal Mia, Ustar Mia and Bacchu Mia. Of the accused, five are in police custody. Ustar Mia, Boshir Mia and Belal Mia are absconding while prime suspect ‘Bachchu’ died in a gun battle with the members of Rapid Action Battalion. l

Traffic constable dies after truck runs him over n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong An on-duty traffic constable died after being run over by a speeding truck in Chittagong’s Nayabazar intersection on Wednesday night. The constable was identified as RG Jojon Akhanda, 40, from Anwara upazila, Chittagong. Pranab Chowdhury, Officer-inCharge of Halishahar police station said that the wheat-laden truck was returning from the Central Storage Depot (CSD) at Halishahar in the port city.

The traffic constable had signaled the truck driver to stop when instead he began to speed towards Akhanda and ran him over. Akhanda was taken to Chittagong Medical College Hospital in a critical condition where the on-duty doctors pronounced him dead. “We have arrested the truck driver Md Russell and his assistant Md Musa. We are investigating whether the driver ran over the traffic constable intentionally or he lost control of his vehicle,” said the Halishahar OC. l

Thousands of students of several educational institutions and guardians take anti-militancy oath at Rajshahi Court Saheed Minar yesterday AZAHAR UDDIN

Construction of Karnaphuli Tunnel will begin soon Hussain, n Anwar Chittagong The construction of much-awaited Karnaphuli Tunnel in the district will begin this year. Iftekhar Kabir, project director of the tunnel made the announcement while addressing at a meeting held at the conference room of Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) yesterday. With CDA chairman Abdus Salam in the chair, the coordination meeting was attended by Engr Kazi Hasan Bin Shams, project director of Ring Road, Engr Habibur Rahman, Engr Mahfuj, project director of Elevated Expressway and Shamshuzzaman, land acquisition

official of Chittagong district administration, among others. Iftekhar presented details of the development on the proposed tunnel. The proposed multi-lane tunnel will connect Chittagong city with the other side of the Karnaphuli River and indirectly with other parts of the country through Dhaka-Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar Highways. The tunnel will reduce byroad distance between Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar, apart from easing the heavy portcity-bound traffic from Dhaka. Road Transport and Bridges Ministry signed a deal with Chinese firm China Communication Construction Company Ltd for building the tunnel. l

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

Flood victims in dire need of relief n Tribune Desk With the drastic fall of water level in major rivers across Bangladesh, the overall flood situation has improved, but flood victims yet to go back their normal life. Many people are still living on high roads, flood control embankments and educational institution since water from their dwellings yet to go completely. Apart from accomodation crisis, many the flood victims are suffering from many types of water-born diseases. According to the Water Development Board’s Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre, Water level in the Jamuna continues to fall at Bahadurabad, Sariakandi and Sirajganj points. But water is flowing above the danger level at these three points. Yesterday, the Padma water level was continuing to fall at Goalanda, Bhagyakul and Sureshwar points. But water is still flowing above the danger level at those points. According our Sirajganj correspondent Aminul Islam Rana, flood-hit people are suffering for want of pure drinking water and sanitation facilities. During visits to several places of the district, this correspondent found many people were suffering from various diseases such as skin, diarrhea and dysentery. Morjina Begum, a seven-month pregnant woman, who takes shelter on the flood protection embankment, said: “I am facing

Ctg tannery fined Tk10 lakh n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong

The Department of Environment (DoE) fined a leather processing industry for polluting environment without installing Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) The errant tanner identified as Riff Leather Ltd located in CDA Noxious Industrial Area in Kalurghat of the city. The fine was slapped on the leather processor following a hearing which was held at the Chittagong Metro office of the DoE yesterday. Sangjucta Das Gupta, Chittagong Metro assistant director (technical) of the DoE, told the Dhaka Tribune that a team of the DoE, on a surprise visits on August 1, discovered that the errant tannery was polluting environment by releasing untreated into the nearby water bodies. “Riff Leather Ltd has not completed setting up ETP yet. Therefore, the errant tanner was fined with Tk1,043,740 for dumping untreated waste into the canals and drains.” l

News

Ershad: Jatiya Party will go to power again n Tazul Islam Reza, Gaibndha

Chandanbaishar Ghughumari Govt Primary School at Sariakandi in Bogra reamains closed as flood water still at the ground of the institution. The picture was taken yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE physical problems, as I could not visit doctor since the flood hit our locality. No doctor has come here to see us.” Our Bogra Correspondent said 429 school had been closed due to the flood. The second terminal examination was suspended at these schools. In Jamalpur, the flood situation improved further in the district as the water level in the Jamuna River fell significantly.

According to the Water Development Board sources, water level in the Jamuna dropped by 24 cm and water was flowing just at the danger level at Bahadurabadghat point this noon. With the improvement in flood situation most of the flood victims who took refuge at 14 flood shelters in Islampur upazila and 6 flood shelters in Dewanganj upazila have returned to their homes. District Relief and Rehabilita-

tion Office said relief distribution is continuing, 2,000 packets of baby foods are also being distributed among the flood victims in Islampur, Dewanganj, Madarganj, Melandaha,Sarishabari and Bakshiganj upazilas, reports BSS. Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources said, standing crops on about 20,550 hectares of land went under flood water in all the seven upazilas of the district. l

Missing NSU ex-student, driver found alive Mizanur Rahaman, n FM Chittagong A missing ex-student of NSU and his car driver were found alive and well yesterday, more than two days after they were allegedly abducted from Chittagong. Junayed Ahmed Akib, a 25-yearold former student of North South University, was picked up by police in Dhaka’s Bashundhara area. He said his abductors had blindfolded and released him there. The alleged kidnappers however released the chauffeur, Md Mostafa, blindfolded in Chittagong’s Akbarshah area. He later came to Akib’s family and described a similar ordeal. Akib’s brother-in-law SM Abul Manjur confirmed the news to the Dhaka Tribune. “Assistant commissioner (AC) of

Panchlaish Zone informed us about Akib’s location in Dhaka after finding his mobile phone switched on at around 3am and asked us to contact Akib to find out his whereabouts,” Manjur said. He added that the alleged abductors also freed Mostafa in a blindfolded state around the same time near Chittagong’s Akbarshah shrine area. “After being released, Mostafa came to our residence in a CNG-run autorickshaw and told us that they had been picked up by unknown people on Monday.” Manjur added that further details would be known once Akib arrives in Chittagong. Akib and Mostafa went missing on Monday evening from the port city’s Wasa intersection area. On Wednesday, police found Akib’s car abandoned at the parking space of

Chittagong’s Diabetic Hospital. Chittagong Metropolitan Police’s Panchlaish AC Jahangir Alam told the Dhaka Tribune that they were not yet sure whether or not the two men had been abducted. “Akib is being taken from Dhaka to Chittagong, while police were interrogating driver Mostafa to dig out the mystery behind their sudden disappearance,” he said. AC Jahangir added that police traced Akib’s location to Dhaka’s Bashundhara when they found his phone had been switched on. “At first we called him [Akib] but he did not receive the phone.” Khulshi police OC Md Nizam Uddin said: “The two men were freed blindfolded and had their mobile phones returned to them... Akib will be interrogated after he returns to Chittagong.” l

Jatiya Party Chairman Hussain Muhammad Ershad yesterday said Jatiya Party would go to power again to serve the people. He said: “An opportunity has created for Jatiya Party to go to the power. You [people of the country] have to be remain with us. The party will solve sufferings of country’s people, if it assumes power of the state.” He also urged the government to supply adequate relief materials among the affected people in the flood-hit areas of the country. The former president came up with the speech while he was distributing relief goods among the flood victims at Jatiya Party office in Kanchipara union council, Gaibandha. Co-Chairman of Jatiya Party GM Kader and Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Howladar also attended the programme. The Jatiya Party (Ershad) is a political party in Bangladesh established by President Hussain Mohammad Ershad on 1 January 1986. The Army Chief Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad had usurped the state power by a coup on 24 March 1982, and ruled the country as chief martial law administrator till December 1983. Political parties and activity had been prohibited during the state of emergency, when Justice AFM Ahsanuddin Chowdhury was appointed President of Bangladesh. Ershad wanted more civilian influence and decided to develop a political party to represent his government. l

SUST student held over militant link n Tribune Desk

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested a student of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) from Sylhet city on Wednesday for his suspected link to militancy. The arrested was identified as Md Jewel Ahmad, member of banned Islamist outfit Hizb-utTahrir and a resident of Bianibazar upazila. He is a resident of Sridhara village, Bianibazar, of the district. ASP, media officer of RAB 9 Ziaul Haque, told the Dhaka Tribune that a team of RAB conducted drives at separate places in the city and arrested four people, including Jewel, in the early hours of that for his alleged involvement with militancy. Ziaul Haque said involvement of three others were not found during interrogation. They will be released soon, he added. l

8 World

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

SOUTH ASIA

US designates Pakistan’s Jamaat-ur-Ahrar a terrorist group The US has added the Pakistani militant group Jamaat-ur-Ahrar to its list of global terrorists, triggering sanctions against a faction that has staged multiple attacks on civilians, religious minorities and soldiers.The group is a splinter faction of the Pakistani Taliban movement. -REUTERS

INDIA

Gang rape videos on sale in India Graphic mobile phone clips of gang rapes are being sold in shops in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, as a spate of rapes in one of the country’s most violent states has sparked anger and calls for the chief minister to step down. The clips, which last 30 seconds to 5 minutes, are being sold in the hundreds, perhaps thousands, every day. They cost Rs 50-150 each. -REUTERS

CHINA

China joins Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan in security alliance

2015's record heat led to wilder weather, struggling marine life n Tribune International Desk

NEW RECORD HIGH FOR GLOBAL TEMPERATURES

The warming planet continues to break heat records, contributing to wilder weather and more challenging environments for marine life. The latest annual checkup from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 2015 paints a grim picture. Among the report’s highlights are that air and ocean temperatures are getting warmer, with a powerful El Nino adding fuel to the fire. The temperatures have contributed to an increase in heat waves and other major weather events, including typhoons and hurricanes. And these changes are also dealing a heavy blow to coral reefs and marine animals. Here’s a rundown of some of the NOAA report’s key findings.

2015 was the hottest year ever recorded

Extreme heat

China is to set up an anti-terrorism alliance with Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, state media said on Thursday, as it seeks to boost coordination with neighbours to tackle a growing domestic militant threat. Fang Fenghui, a member of the powerful Central Military Commission, hosted a meeting with his counterparts on Wednesday in Urumqi, capital of the western Xinjiang region. -REUTERS

Temperatures in 2015 broke the previously smashed records from 2014 — it was the hottest year in 136 years of record keeping. A heat wave in Pakistan and India contributed to the deaths of thousands of people as temperatures climbed above 40°C in some parts of those countries. The record high for India was set in May when the temperature reached 51°C in the city of Phalodi. Europe also underwent a massive heat wave — London had its hottest July day on record, reaching 36.7°C.

ASIA PACIFIC

Faster glacial melt

Philippines holds informal TPP membership talks with US

The Philippines is eager to join the 12-nation Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal and it has already held informal talks with the United States to do so, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said on Thursday. In an interview on the sidelines of Asean economy ministers meetings in Vientiane, Lopez said the key industries which would benefit would be electronics, automotives and garments. -REUTERS

MIDDLE EAST

Iran executes 20 Sunni terrorists in single day Iran said Thursday it had hanged 20 terrorist Sunni prisoners, in one of the Islamic republic’s biggest mass executions in recent years. The men, who were hanged on Tuesday, were accused of carrying out a string of attacks against civilians and religious leaders in Iran’s western Kurdish region. -AFP

+0.1°C compared to 2014 + from 1°C compared to the pre-industrial period (end of the 19th century)

The record temperature was broken for the second consecutive year

The poles are seeing some of the most dramatic changes due to the warming sea and air temperatures. Signs of the warming can be seen in glaciers, which have been melting for decades, but some of the most dramatic changes were seen in the Greenland ice sheet, more than half of which had reached a melting point in 2015. And the Zachariae Isstrom glacier separated from the bedrock it had been frozen to and is beginning to slide into the ocean.

Penguins, walruses suffer from heat

The heat is affecting more than just the ice sheets and glaciers. The report states that a loss of sea ice in the Antarctic, particularly around the Bellingshausen Sea, is taking its toll on penguins. The population of the Adélie penguin has crashed to its lowest level. There were about 10,000 breeding pairs in the population in the early ‘90s, and now there are less than half that number, according to the report.

Variations from the average of land and sea surface temperatures from 1981-2010 -4

Source: NOAA

-2

-1

-0.5

0°C

0.5

no data

In the Northern Hemisphere, walruses are also feeling the heat. The animals mate along the ice edges in the winter and give birth on sea ice in the spring. They also often rest on the sea ice. But with that ice shrinking, the animals have been resting on the shoreline. The report says this has resulted in calf fatalities “due to overcrowding and trampling.”

El Nino and the Pacific Blob

El Nino, the natural phenomenon that produces warmer temperatures every few years, has proven to be an exacerbating factor in the overall warming climate. It has likely contributed to the stubborn “Pacific Blob,” a mass of warm water in the Pacific Ocean. This mass of warm water has likely led to a large toxic algae bloom in the region. The ribbon of algae reached a size of up to 64km wide and 198 metres deep, stretching from the coast of California to Alaska. While the blob has begun to dissipate, some scientists say it’s not going away soon — it’s just going deeper.

Coral death watch

In some parts of the Pacific Ocean, the coral on the sea floor looks like “a ghost town,” according to University of Victoria coral reef scientist Julia Baum. The coral around the island of Kiritimati has been on its highest level of alert for stress since June 2015.

The combined image shows before and after images of coral bleaching and death at Lizard Island on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The photo on the left was taken in March, while the photo on the right was taken two months later, in May AP Mark Eakin from NOAA called the coral death there “gruesome.” He said that more than a third of the world’s coral reefs are under an official death watch. The reefs just can’t survive when the water is so warm. And the Australian coral reefs have been suffering for years — some of the reefs are completely “snow white,” according to Terry Hughes, from the country’s National Coral Bleaching Task Force. Coral can survive mild or shortterm bleaching and recover, but not if it goes on for too long or is too severe.

Wilder weather

The year 2015 not only broke temperature records, but also spawned more hurricanes and cyclones dur-

ing the 12 months since records have been kept. NOAA says there were more tropical cyclones in 2015, and more powerful hurricanes occurred at the same time in the central Pacific hurricane basin. The fact that there were three Category 4 hurricanes at the same time “was a first, not just for the central Pacific basin, but for any basin during the modern record,” stated the report. Unfortunately, we won’t likely get a break from the challenges brought on my warming temperatures — 2016 is set to continue the trend and break 2015’s record. l

[This is an excerpt from a CBC article, which can be found at http://bit. ly/2axV5mD]

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

Groups of wealthy Republicans campaign for Democrat Clinton New York/ n Reuters, Washington, DC Groups of wealthy Republicans unhappy with Donald Trump have been privately courting prominent peers to join them in backing Democrat Hillary Clinton’s US presidential bid, several people involved in the effort told Reuters. They say they are seeking money and endorsements from other Republicans disillusioned by Trump, their party’s candidate for the November 8 presidential election. Some have received encouragement from Clinton and members of her campaign staff. Big-name Wall Street donors can make a difference for Clinton. They could inject big money into a campaign. They might influence moderate Republicans to switch sides. Their support of Clinton challenges Trump’s assertion that his business successes make him a better candidate for president. With the political conventions barely over, the Republican effort to fundraise for Clinton is at an early stage. Some of the groups have yet to receive contributions because they must still file paperwork under campaign finance rules. Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks declined to comment for this story. Clinton spokesman Jesse Ferguson said business leaders

are supporting Clinton because of her economic plan and because Trump “cannot be trusted to lead our economy.”

Wary of Trump

Groups formed to support Clinton include Republicans for Her 2016, run by Republican lobbyist Craig Snyder; a grassroots organisation called R4C16, led by John Stubbs and Ricardo Reyes, officials in former President George W Bush’s administration; and the Republican Women for Hillary group co-led by Jennifer Pierotti Lim, an official at the US Chamber of Commerce. The first two groups are acting independently of Clinton’s own effort. The third is acting in concert with her campaign. Webb, a partner at law firm Winston & Strawn, said he began his outreach after being approached by billionaire investor J B Pritzker and longtime Clinton associate Lanny Davis Pritzker and Davis could not be reached for comment. On Wednesday, billionaire hedge fund manager Seth Klarman said he would work to get Clinton elected because of comments by Trump he found “shockingly unacceptable.” Although Klarman, who is the president and chief executive of The Baupost Group, is a registered independent, a review of filings shows his political giving has largely benefited Republicans over the years, including some of Trump’s rivals in the state-by-state nominating

US campaign

Hillary

Clinton I will be a president for Democrats, Republicans and independents”

My primary mission as president will be to create more opportunity and more good jobs”

“

(On Trump) A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons."

“

[Trump] wants to divide us -from the rest of the world, and from each other.

White House denies Iran ransom payment

Donald

“

CANDIDACY

“

USA

Trump

What the two candidates for US president said

“

"My message is that things have to change -- and they have to change right now."

“

Every day I wake up determined to deliver a better life for the people all across this nation”

ECONOMY

IMMIGRATION

“

ON THEIR RIVAL

...the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death, destruction, terrorism and weakness."

“

Powerful forces are threatening to pull us apart. Bonds of trust and respect are fraying,"

contests this year. Jim Cicconi, a former Reagan and George H W White House staff member and lifelong Republican, said he went public with his decision to support Clinton “to encourage others in my situation to do the same thing.”

Whitman, Bloomberg back Clinton

Spearheading in part the Clinton effort to woo Republicans on Wall Street is Democratic strategist Leslie Dach, a former Walmart executive and aide to Bill Clinton, sources close to the Clinton campaign said. People familiar with the Clin-

"We are going to build a great border wall to stop illegal immigration, to stop the gangs and the violence”

“

We must immediately suspend immigration from any nation that has been compromised by terrorism”

ton drive say the Democratic nominee herself has spoken to Republican business leaders, including Hewlett Packard Enterprise Chief Executive Meg Whitman, who endorsed Clinton on Tuesday. Clinton deputies courted former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg ahead of a rousing speech he gave at last month’s Democratic National Convention that urged Wall Street to support her. Whether Bloomberg, a selfmade billionaire media mogul and an erstwhile Republican, will play a role in courting other Republican business leaders has yet to be determined, a source close to the discussions said. l

India, Pakistan rivalry to overshadow regional forum n Reuters, Islamabad India called on Thursday for isolation of countries deemed to be supporting terrorism, while Pakistan decried “brutal force” against civilians resisting occupation as the nuclear-armed neighbours’ rivalry spilled over into a regional conference. Traditionally tense relations between Pakistan and India have been strained further in recent weeks by a flare-up in protests against Indian rule in its part of the disputed border region of Kashmir, in which about 50 people have been killed. Indian Interior Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Wednesday for a meeting with counterparts from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc). Singh had already ruled out bilateral talks with Pakistan on the side-

Syed Salahuddin leader of the United Jihad Council, leads an anti India rally in Islamabad on August 3 REUTERS lines, and in his speech to the forum castigated any support for militants. “One country’s terrorist cannot be a martyr or freedom fighter for anyone,” he said. “Those who provide support, encouragement, sanctuary, safe haven or any assistance to terrorism or terrorists must be isolated.”

World

Singh did not mention Pakistan by name but India accuses its neighbour of sheltering militants fighting against Indian rule in its part of divided Kashmir. Pakistan denies supporting militants but say it offers political support to the “freedom struggle” of the people of the Muslim-ma-

jority region. Pakistani Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan, in his remarks, “drew the attention of Saarc member states to the use of brutal force ...against unarmed civilians engaged in a struggle against foreign occupation”, a barely-veiled reference to Kashmir. Khan said he hoped the Saarc meeting could be a forum for “a lot of soul-searching on all sides”. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since their independence, including two over Kashmir, which both countries rule in part but claim in full. While Pakistan says Kashmir is at their heart of their decades of rivalry, India says its main issue is the militancy that it accuses Pakistan of sponsoring. Efforts to get talks going have stuttered for decades, at times derailed by militants attack in India that it has blamed on Pakistan. l

The White House on Wednesday denied renewed accusations that it paid Iran ransom for the release of four American prisoners, parrying a tidal wave of condemnations from Republicans. Amid revelations that the US helped airlift $400m worth of Swiss francs and euros to Iran after a prisoner release, the White House insisted the two were not linked. -REUTERS

THE AMERICAS

Brazil impeachment committee recommends removing Rousseff A Brazilian Senate committee voted Thursday to recommend the full upper house remove suspended president Dilma Rousseff from office in an impeachment trial, taking her a step closer to a definitive ouster. The decision - passed by a vote of 14 to 5 - is non-binding, but delivers Rousseff yet another setback on the eve of the Olympics opening ceremony. -AFP

London stabbings that killed US woman not terrorism A Norwegian-Somali teenager went on a knife rampage through London’s Russell Square fatally stabbing an American woman and injuring 5 other people. Police said Thursday that it wasn’t terrorism - but in a city on edge after a summer of attacks elsewhere in Europe, both authorities and London residents initially responded as if it were. -AP

EUROPE

Greece rescues 70 migrants at sea off Lesbos Greece on Thursday rescued 70 migrants at sea, the largest single influx from neighbouring Turkey since a failed coup there last month. The Greek coastguard picked up 67 people on board a dinghy off the island of Lesbos, while another three were plucked to safety after falling into the water. -AFP

AFRICA

Early South Africa poll results show ANC losing support Results from South Africa’s fiercely contested local elections could deliver a setback to the African National Congress (ANC), with early indications on Thursday showing the party that ended apartheid losing support. The ANC has dominated the political landscape since the fall of white-minority rule, but the faltering economy, rampant corruption and soaring unemployment have eaten into the party’s popularity. -AFP

World

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

INVESTIGATIVE REPORT

In Egypt, an Italian student’s research stirred suspicion before he died n Reuters, Cambridge Ten days before he vanished, Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni made a Skype call from his Cairo flat to an academic in Germany. It was the middle of January and Egyptian police were braced for political protests ahead of the fifth anniversary of the 2011 uprising that toppled long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak. Regeni sounded anxious. “We did not talk very much as it was expected that we will catch up at some point later,” said Georgeta Auktor, a researcher at the German Development Institute in Bonn, where Regeni had spent a few weeks in 2015. “He said he feels he needs to be careful where he goes in the city and whom he meets.” They did not speak again. Regeni’s body was found on the side of the Cairo-Alexandria highway on February 3 by passengers on a bus that had broken down, according to a police source. Egyptian forensics officials said the body showed signs of torture, including cigarette burns and beatings. Regeni’s mother, Paola, later told Italy’s parliament that her son’s injuries were so bad she identified him only by the tip of his nose. Egyptian human rights groups said the torture suggested Egyptian security services had killed the student, allegations those services and the government have strongly denied. In April, intelligence and security sources told Reuters that police had arrested Regeni outside a Cairo metro station on January 25 and then transferred him to a compound run by Homeland Security. The government and security services deny he was ever in custody. It remains unclear who killed Regeni or why. But piecing together his activity in the months leading up to his death, it is apparent that two factors put the student at risk: his passionate interest in political and economic issues and his belief that Egypt needed change. Three Egyptian security sources have told Reuters that Regeni raised the suspicions of Egypt’s security services because he met unionists and was researching politically sensitive subjects. “Homeland Security had monitored Regeni with a number of opposition leaders and labour unions. He attended several meetings,” one of the sources said. A second security source said: “He is a foreigner and does not work in the media … and this is what made Homeland Security follow and monitor him.” A third security source said that Regeni’s meetings were suspicious

because they took place at “a time in which many nations were intervening in what is happening in Egypt.” This, he said, raised the possibility that the Italian was gathering information for a foreign nation. But other Egyptian security officials said that even if agents were watching Regeni’s activities they played no role in his death. Two Egyptian officials – one in security, one in government – said that if security services had suspected Regeni was a spy he would simply have been deported. A Western ambassador said that may have been true in the past, but no longer. “That is what happened in the Cold War. This is Egypt under Sisi. They are very suspicious,” he said, referring to Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the army general who is now Egypt’s president. Both subjects are sensitive in Egypt. The military’s grip on the economy is a subject rarely talked about in a country that has been ruled almost entirely by military men since the overthrow of King Farouk in 1952. And independent unions helped orchestrate the industrial unrest and strikes that paved the way for the 2011 uprising that toppled Mubarak. Two years later, union activists supported the mass protests that led to the ouster of Mubarak’s democratically elected successor, Mohamed Mursi. Academic Auktor, who is also an associate fellow at University Erlangen-Nuremberg Institute of Economics, was working with Regeni on a paper called “Developmental State in the 21st Century – Calling for a New Social Contract.” She said the Italian longed to “see the fruits of 2011. He thought a more inclusive state was necessary. He believed that the involvement of more social groups would be beneficial.” But the government of Sisi, the one-time head of military intelligence who seized power from Mursi, is wary of unions, regularly breaking up strikes and arresting labourers. Though many independent trade unions emerged after the 2011 Arab Spring uprising, they have been fragmented since Sisi took control. Human Rights Watch, a lobby group, has criticised Sisi’s government, saying it had stopped “dealing with the de-facto independent trade unions, which has led labour activists to fear that labour rights gains since 2011 are facing erosion.”

Egypt

By late last year, Egypt was in a state of paranoia. Government television and radio stations and newspapers

An Egyptian activist hold a poster calling justice for Giulio Regeni during a demonstration in Cairo on April 15 had been consistently portraying the country as a victim of foreign conspiracies. Press reports described critics of the government as traitors or terrorists, and security forces were rounding up alleged opponents. The government made protesting without permission a crime, and the number of people arrested on political grounds reached 40,000, according to human rights groups. Those groups say state torture is widespread, an allegation the government denies. Regeni was not the only academic from Cambridge hoping for change in Egypt. In early November, a few weeks after he left for Cairo, a small group of people gathered in London to protest against an upcoming visit by Sisi. Abdel Rahman was not at the rally, but fellow Cambridge academic and activist Anne Alexander was. In a speech captured on video and now posted on YouTube, Alexander said: “I think we have sent a clear message tonight but we need to say it louder and more urgently. We need to make sure that Abdel Fattah al-Sisi cannot go around the world pretending that he is a statesman. He is not a statesman. He is a killer. He is not just a killer, he should be a pariah.” In the crowd, people held up posters backing the Muslim Brotherhood, which Sisi has banned. He describes it as a terrorist group and an existential threat to Egypt.

An informer?

On December 11, Regeni attended a general meeting of the Center for Trade Unions and Workers’ Services in downtown Cairo, according to a source in the group, one of Egypt’s oldest independent groups advocating workers’ rights. Three of Regeni’s friends and others he worked with said Regeni told them later that a man at the meeting had stood, pointed his phone at him, and taken his photo. One union leader said security services may have been interested in Regeni because “he was looking into workers’ unions, not actors or footballers. And as you know, workers are what is needed for any mobilisation.” A leader of the street vendors’ union, Mohamed Abdallah, said he worried the workshop used foreign funding, which is frowned upon by the government. Over the past few years, foreign NGOs have had staff questioned and assets frozen amid accusations they helped destabilise the country ahead of the 2011 uprising. After the Italian turned up dead, Abdallah said he was questioned by Egyptian authorities several times, including by the interior ministry’s Homeland Security Agency. Italian investigators have also spoken with him. “They asked me the same questions that everybody had asked me since this all happened. When and

REUTERS

where have I met him,” said Abdallah. “I didn’t meet him in any hidden place. It was all in the market.” Two Homeland Security sources said Abdallah frequently visited one of the main security compounds in central Cairo. He had also met with a Homeland Security officer six months before Regeni’s death, they said.

Italy

After Regeni’s death, his parents travelled to Cairo and spent a few days staying in his apartment with his roommate, Mohamed al-Sayad. Italian newspapers have alleged that Sayad, a lawyer, might have been an informer for the Egyptian security services. Sayad denied the allegation. “Everything you are saying is lies,” he said. Regeni’s parents said the Egyptian seemed friendly and appeared to be genuinely upset by their son’s death. Progress in the case has slowed to a crawl. The murder has strained ties between Egypt and Italy. Rome has repeatedly complained that Egyptian authorities are not cooperating. An Italian prosecutor handling the case said he has asked Cairo for CCTV footage from the metro station where security and intelligence sources said Regeni was last seen. But months have passed and he has received nothing. “They told us they had recorded over it,” he said. l

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

12 Business

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

TOP STORIES

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib International Airport construction to begin in 2018 Muhith: Drug export to US a great achievement Finance Minister AMA Muhith has said the export of pharmaceutical products to the United States (US) market is a great achievement of the country as it is difficult to receive approval from the US Food and Drug Administration(FDA). PAGE 13

BoE cuts rates to record low on Brexit The Bank of England cut interest rates for the first time since 2009 yesterday and said it would buy 60bn pounds of government debt to ease the blow from Britain’s June 23 vote to leave the European Union. PAGE 14

Dutch inflation rate negative for first time in 30 years

Inflation in The Netherlands dipped into negative territory in July for the first time in nearly three decades, slipping to -0.30%, according to official statistics published yesterday. PAGE 15

Capital market snapshot: Thursday DSE Broad Index

4,577.6

0.0% ▲

Index

1,123.0

-0.0% ▼

30 Index

1,795.2

0.1% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk

4,428.6

-2.1% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

107.5

-1.8% ▼

All Share Index 14,070.2

0.1% ▲

30 Index

0.4% ▲

CSE

Selected Index

12,995.6 8,565.3

0.1% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk

269.0

-9.6% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

9.1

-2.5% ▼

Showkat Kallol and n Asif Ishtiaq Husain The construction of the planned most-modern new airport titled Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib International Airport will start within the next one and a half years, said Civil Aviation Minister Rashed Khan Menon yesterday. While talking exclusively to the Dhaka Tribune, the minister said: “The construction of the airport will begin in 2018.” The government has already selected Nippon KoEI Co Limited, a Japanese consulting firm, to conduct the feasibility study of the proposed airport. The study is expected to complete by June, 2017 at a cost of Tk120 crore. “The main objective of the project is to construct a new modern international airport and to create a hub airport in this region and meet growing traffic demand of the country,” said the minister. The existing infrastructure facilities of the main gateway of the country, Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, are insufficient to meet the future air traffic demand and there are some constraints to expand the airport, he added. Three sites – ‘Char Janajat’ in Madaripur district, ‘Keyain and Latobdi’ in Munshiganj district and Char Bilashpur in Dhaka district – have primarily been selected for establishing the airport, according to officials of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB). After the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase on Wednesday, additional Secretary to the Cabinet Division M Mostafizur Rahman said the cabinet selected Nippon to conduct the feasibility study of the airport and the government will finance the

Design of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib International Airport

The construction cost is estimated at Tk50,000 crore involving building three runways with 14,500 feet length each entire feasibility cost. According to the project proposal, the construction cost is estimated at Tk50,000 crore involving building three runways with 14,500 feet length each. The airport area will cover 8,000 acre of land and take about 10 years to complete the project. It took 17 years to complete the construction work of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport

BSEC probes into PLFSL, MBL share insider trading n Tribune Business Desk Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) yesterday formed a committee to examine the alleged insider trading in Premier Leasing and Finance Limited and Mercantile Bank Limited.

“The regulator has formed an enquiry committee to investigate into the matter of insider trading of shares in the stock exchanges,” said BSEC in a statement yesterday. Insider trading occurs when a trade has been influenced by the  PAGE 13 COLUMN 5

which stretches across 2,000 acres of land. For site selection, feasibility study team will verify all factors, including cost and risk benefits, economic and financial impacts, financing and airport operation strategy, environmental impact assessment and environmental management plant. Once the new airport is completed, it will make significant contribution to the national GDP like aerotropolis Dubai International Airport. The ideal aerotropolis is an amalgam of convention hotels, hospitals, cargo complexes, factories and the future of large city. The Bangabandhu airport will be connected through a link route to the Proposed Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Route (Motijheel to Diabari Depot). In 2009, after assuming power, the government announced to build Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib International Airport. l

Home Ministry to ensure security of BD-China JEC meet urged n Asif Showkat Kallol Economic Relations Division has requested the Ministry of Home Affairs to take additional security measures for foreign delegates during the 14th Bangladesh-China Joint Economic Commission meeting to be held in Dhaka on 22 August. A letter singed by ERD Senior Assistance Secretary Muhammad Nasim also made the request to different law enforcement agencies including National Security Intelligence, Rapid Action Battalion and Dhaka Metropolitan Police. A sub-committee has been formed by the ERD to oversee the security matter of the meeting. “Security will be tight at the Bangladesh-China Joint Commission meeting on 22 this month. We have formed an eight-member sub committee to ensure security of the visiting Chinese delegation during the event,” said an ERD official. He said security of the hotel where the delegation members will stay will be brought under the additional security measures. The Chinese delegation will be escorted by police from airport to hotel, to the meeting venue and to different other places. The delegation will arrive on August 21 and stay until August 23. The relationship between Bangladesh and China has been warm since 1975. Currently, China is Bangladesh’s largest trading partner and the trade volume between the two countries stood at around $8.29bn. China has provided assistance to different projects of Bangladesh’s development and social progress, including construction of seven China-Bangladesh Friendship Bridges and Bangabandhu International Convention Center (BICC). Recently, China and Bangladesh have reached an agreement on the 8th China-Bangladesh Friendship Bridge and China-Bangladesh Friendship Exposition Center, and China will provide assistance for the renovation of BICC. l

Business

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

Muhith: Drug export to US a great achievement n BSS Finance Minister AMA Muhith has said the export of pharmaceutical products to the United States (US) market is a great achievement of the country as it is difficult to receive approval from the US Food and Drug Administration(FDA). “One of the most difficult regulatory body in that (US) country is Food and Drug Administration,” he said while addressing, as the chief guest, at a function on celebrating the first-ever shipment of prescription medicine to USA at a city hotel yesterday. Beximco Pharmaceuticals Limited (BPL) organised the function marking the company’s first-ever pharmaceutical product export to US market. Congratulating the Beximco Pharmaceuticals for the achievement, the minister said this is the achievement of the pharmaceutical sector of the country. Health and Family Welfare Minister Mohammed Nasim, US Ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Bernicat, Beximco Group Vice Chairman Salman F Rahman and Beximco Pharma Managing Director Nazmul Hassan

Beximco Group Chairman ASF Rahman hands over a sample of drug to US Ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat in an event at the Beximco Pharmaceuticals premises in Tongi, Gazipur yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU MP, among others, were present. Receiving approval from the US Food and Drug Administration is long and rigorous process, said Marcia Bernicat, adding that “It is

the FDA’s job to uphold the highest standards and to protect American consumers.” “It is a testament to Beximco’s hard work - as well as the quality

of their products - that Bangladesh is able to celebrate the occasion of exporting the first FDA -approved drug to the United States,” she said. She mentioned that it is crucial

Banglalink’s Q2 revenue grows

UK keen to invest in Padma bridge rail link, Payra port

Bangladeshi mobile operator Banglalink saw its total revenue increase by 5% year-on-year to over Tk1,200 crore in the second quarter. Banglalink, which has over 30 million subscribers, yesterday announced its results for the second quarter of 2016. The increase in revenue was mainly driven by continued increases in voice revenue, primarily as a result of traffic growth, coupled with a 60% increase in data revenue, according to a press release of the mobile phone operator. “This data revenue growth was driven by 6% growth in data users and 178% growth in data usage, supported by expanding 3G coverage and smart-phone penetration.” Despite aggressive price competition, Banglalink’s ARPU(Average revenue per user) increased 5% mainly on the back of growing voice and data traffic. Banglalink Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Erik Aas said: “We are encouraged to see the response from our customers to the digital services we are offering, which has been instrumental in achieving our second quarter 2016 results. As we transform ourselves into a digital organisation, we are confident we can offer improved digital services to our customers.” l

n Tribune Business Desk

As a part of its investment in Bangladesh, the United Kingdom (UK) has shown keen interest to invest in Padma Bridge rail link and Payra port. The rail link will stretch from Padma bridge to Kuakata. The British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Alison Blake, has shown the investment interest at a view-exchange meeting with Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed at the latter secretariat yesterday. The envoy also said Brexit would not hurt Bangladesh’s trade with the UK as it will remain friend with the country in terms of trade and commerce. Quoting the British envoy, Tofail Ahmed said: “The United Kingdom is keen to invest in Padma Bridge-Kuakata railway link and Payra port.” “My prime minister has been very clear that British people voted for Brexit and Brexit means Brexit,” said Alison Blake. After the Brexit, Britain will remain an active and progressive nation by having trade relationship with its friends, he added. “The UK is still very active in the world. Our relationship with Bangladesh in so many areas including trade and business continues to matter.”

It is a difficult time as Bangladesh witnessed the Holy Artisan Bakery incident, but Britain’s intention is to build a very strong partnership, and trade and prosperity play a major part of that, said the envoy. “I wish that the balance of trade between Bangladesh and England could be in other direction not by restricting imports from Bangladesh but by boosting export to UK from Bangladesh.” The meeting also discussed the security issues about which the envoy said like others, UK business people are also concerned about what happened in the Holy Artisan. British businesses like everyone else is concerned about what happened here some days back and also concerned about its implications, Alison said, adding that her government will help combat terrorism. Talking terrorism, Alison said what the government of Bangladesh is doing to tackle terrorism is a fact that many countries have across the globe. “We have not changed our travel advice to businessmen. We say continue to come, continue to tackle but be cautious, stay in touch with local authorities, talk to us, take advice and go to safe places,” she added.

In response to the security concern, the minister assured the higher commissioner of protection for foreigners living here. “We have assured the foreigners of full-fledged security. The government has tackled the terrorist issue effectively.” Tofail said law enforcers are arresting those involved in militancy, thus combatting terrorism in the country. According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, Bangladesh earned $3.8 billion from the United Kingdom in the last fiscal year, which is 18.85% higher compared to $3.2 billion a year ago. Bangladesh’s import from the UK is only $249 million in July-May period of the last fiscal year, which indicates that Bangladesh and the UK bilateral trade is imbalanced. In another meeting with Alison Blake yesterday, Civil Aviation Minister Rashed Khan Menon said the UK will withdraw Dhaka-London direct cargo ban soon. “Bangladeshis are operating around 10,000 curry houses in London and other cities in the UK. To have the taste of different Bangladeshi curry, British citizens can visit our country.” Blake said tourist arrival in Bangladesh would increase after bilateral talks in diplomatic level. l

for the country to diversify its economy and move up the value-added chain to meet the goal of becoming a middle- income country. Terming the day a significant milestone, Salman F Rahman said “We began a new era for the pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh by exporting to US market.” In the fiscal year 2015-16, Bangladesh earned $82.11 billion, a 13.04% up, compared to $72.64 million a year ago. The sector has exceeded export target by 2.64%. Nazmul Hasan said ‘These initiatives are in line with our aspirations to expand our reach by taking products to the world.” The company is one of the largest exporters of pharmaceuticals in the country and its state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities are certified by global regulatory bodies of Australia, European Union, Gulf nations, Brazil, and others. The company is consistently building upon its portfolio and currently producing more than 500 products in different dosage forms covering broader therapeutic categories which include antibiotics, antihypertensives, antidiabetics, antiretrovirals, anti asthma inhalers etc. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

BSEC probes into PLFSL, MBL share insider trading privileged possession of corporate information that has not yet been made public. Because the information is not available to other investors, a person using such knowledge is trying to gain an unfair advantage over the rest of the market. This is not only unfair but also disruptive to a properly functioning market. If insider trading were allowed, investors would lose confidence in their disadvantaged position and would no longer invest. Premier Leasing and Finance Limited (PLFSL) will be placed in ‘Z’ category from existing ‘A’ category with effect from August 07 since the company has recommended no dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2015. On the day at the Dhaka Stock Exchange, the shares of Premier Leasing slumped more that 16% – the day’s highest fall by any company – to close at Tk6.8 a share, which is below its offer value of Tk10 as investors reacted sharply to its no-dividend deceleration for FY’15 and incurring a huge loss in the first six months of this year. Mercantile Bank Limited (MBL) shares remained almost unchanged at Tk10.4 a share. l

Business

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

ECB bond-buying pushes firms to borrow more n AFP, Frankfurt Eurozone companies have been issuing more bonds in the wake of a March decision by the European Central Bank to buy up private-sector debt, the Frankfurt institution said. The number of new bonds issued “rebounded significantly” after the ECB’s announcement that it would intervene on the markets, the bank said its regular economic bulletin. “Issuance was well above the

average seen in previous years” in the second quarter, turning around “subdued” bond offerings at the beginning of the year which the bank attributed to market uncertainty. The bond-buying programme swung into action on June 8, and has mostly targeted consumer goods, utilities, telecoms and industrial firms. It builds on the bank’s existing 80 billion euros ($91bn) a month “quantitative easing” or asset purchase programme aimed at jumpstarting inflation in the euro area.

By buying up bonds, the ECB hopes to make it easier for companies to raise money, allowing them to invest and hire workers - which in turn should boost growth and inflation. By July 31, the ECB had spent 13.2bn euros on corporate bonds, buying 94 percent of them on secondary markets rather than direct from the issuers. Bond purchases are expected to remain a small part of the 80 billion euros the ECB spends each month as part of its QE programme.

BoE cuts rates to record low on Brexit n Reuters, London The Bank of England cut interest rates for the first time since 2009 yesterday and said it would buy 60bn pounds of government debt to ease the blow from Britain’s June 23 vote to leave the European Union. The central bank said it expected the economy to stagnate for the rest of 2016 and suffer weak growth throughout next year, and lowered its main lending rate to a record-low 0.25% from 0.5%, in line with market expectations. But it also launched two new schemes, one to buy 10bn pounds of high-grade corporate bonds and another - potentially worth up to 100 billion pounds - to ensure banks keep lending even after the cut in interest rates. Most MPC members also expected to cut Bank Rate again this year to a rate “close to, but a little above zero”, if the economy performed as poorly as forecast “Following the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union, the exchange rate has fallen and the outlook for growth in the short to medium term has weakened markedly,” the central bank said in its quarterly Inflation Report. Policymakers were not completely united on how to respond. The cut in Bank Rate and the measure intended to ensure banks passed it on to consumers - known as the Term Funding Scheme (TFS) - gained unanimous support. But three policymakers - Kristin Forbes, Ian McCafferty and Martin Weale

A wooden carving of the Bank of England logo is seen on a desk during a news conference at the Bank of England in London REUTERS - opposed raising the target for quantitative easing government bond purchases to 435bn pounds from the 375bn total reached in late 2012. Forbes also opposed the purchases of corporate debt something the BoE did briefly after the financial crisis, but more to aid market functioning than to boost growth. Many economists had expected Forbes to oppose a rate cut after she said last month that the central bank should not panic and instead wait for more data on the scale of Britain’s economic slowdown. While many business surveys show Britain’s economy has slowed sharply and may even be entering recession, it is too soon for official data on how the EU vote is affecting output. The BoE left its forecast for growth this year steady at 2%, as the economy expanded faster in the first half of 2016 than it had expected in May. But 2017 brings a sharp downgrade to growth of just

0.8 percent from a previous estimate of 2.3% - the biggest downgrade in growth from one Inflation Report to the next, exceeding what was seen in the financial crisis. The growth outlook for 2018 was cut to 1.8%. The BoE also revised up its inflation forecasts sharply, due to the big fall in sterling since the financial crisis, predicting it will hit 2.4% in 2018 and 2019. The MPC said the costs of trying to bring it back to its 2% target in the immediate future would exceed the benefit. The Monetary Policy Committee launched the Term Funding Scheme to make sure that the lower levels of interest rates now set by the Bank of England are reflected in the costs commercial banks charge households and companies to borrow funds. The Bank said it does not expect the scheme to lead to significantly faster aggregate loan growth, but to offset any hit to lending from a cut in official interest rates closer to zero. l

The bank reported that its March announcement that it would start buying up bonds drove down the interest rates firms have to pay to borrow, as well as increasing the number of firms offering bonds. While some large firms responded by seeking huge amounts of cash - with the largest new bond issue a 13bn euro operation by brewing group AB Inbev - the ECB has mostly targeted small purchases of less than 10m euros, which accounted for 58 percent of what it bought. “The purchases are well diver-

sified across corporations in many economic sectors and across the euro area countries,” the bank said in its report. National central banks of eurozone countries that buy the bonds on behalf of the ECB began publishing details of their purchases in late July. The Bank of France and Germany’s Bundesbank (central bank) mostly listed debt from blue-chip companies such as Total, Orange, Daimler, and Siemens among their holdings. l

Business

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

Dutch inflation rate negative for first time in 30 years n AFP Inflation in The Netherlands dipped into negative territory in July for the first time in nearly three decades, slipping to -0.30%, according to official statistics published yesterday. “The last time that inflation was

below zero was in December 1987,” the Central Statistics Office said. The news came after three months of stagnation when the country’s inflation rate had remained unchanged at zero percent in April, May and June. The negative inflation rate

means that last month “for the first time since December 1987 goods and services were cheaper for consumers” than in the same period a year earlier, the CBS said. Weakening oil prices and the falling cost of holidays helped push the rate down, aided by lower pric-

CORPORATE NEWS

Mutual Trust Bank has recently signed an agreement with Well Group on providing payroll banking services, said a press release. The bank’s deputy managing director, Syed Rafiqul Haq and CEO of Well Group, Syed Nurul Islam were present at the signing ceremony, said a press release

United Commercial Bank Limited has recently signed an agreement with bKash Limited on facilitating bKash with its distributors’ collections and payments by transmitting real time collection information to bKash through the bank’s online link. The bank’s additional managing director M Shahidul Islam and CFO of bKash, Moinuddin Mohammed Rahgir signed the agreement, said a press release

Social Islami Bank has recently held a training programme on application of Islamic micro finance in core banking solution, said a press release. The bank’s deputy managing director, Md Tarik Morshed inaugurated the training programme

NCC Bank Ltd has recently elected its director, SM Abu Mohsin as chairperson of the bank’s executive committee, said a press release

es for clothing in the July sales, the office said. Discounting the fluctuating energy and food costs, as well as sales of alcohol and tobacco which are taxed, the inflation rate for July stood at 0.3%. But the CBS cautioned that neg-

ative inflation was not the same as deflation. The lowest ever recorded inflation rate in The Netherlands was in January 1987 when the consumer price index sank to -1.13%. CBS said the country’s inflation rate was now one of the lowest in the eurozone. l

Writing

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

| fiction |

| press release |

'No' is not 'maybe later' n Shehtaz Huq Sophomore year, college. My friend talks me into taking selfdefense classes in the basement of my campus’s Public Safety office. “It’ll be great,” she tells me. She is pumped full of endorphins from twenty hours of kicking dummies and tackling Officer Frosted Tips. I, on the other hand, am not so sure. “When will I ever need to

and then he retracts his grasp and continues on his saunter. I look at my mother, askance, but she has missed the encounter. Later when I recount the story, I am told that I should have expected it. “What were you wearing?” I am asked. “Did you expect anything different in those jeans?” In those jeans, that kameez, these shoes, that headband—

Was I playing games, acting coy, biting my lip, crossing my legs suggestively, did I flash an inch of skin above the waistband or twiddle my toes or toss my tresses mermaid-style? Did I say but really mean “maybe later” because that’s what we do, we tempt and toy and then when the hands get too hands-y we bail? In the aftermath of these incidents, in the wake of the

Mountain echoes 2016 highlights

the difference between the bed and the door, between my feet and his sternum, and between my synapses and my vocal cords. I considered how the walls could project my screams, who to call and text in the event that my worst fears were realized, and how to bury the shame that I let it happen. I did not recall the stomp-grind-stamp techniques from self-defense, I did not dress

PHOTO: BIGSTOCK

know how to do the shin-stompgrind?” I ask her, and then myself, as I’m strapped into the padding and handed the boxing gloves. I was wholly unprepared to defend myself the times that my no’s, adamant or timid, gently uttered or hissed, went unheeded. At five years old, my first encounter. Thirteen for my second. I am elbow-deep in a clothes bin on the streets of Dhaka College, rooting through sweaters, and a passerby reaches over and grabs my chest. He looks me in the eye, I stare back at him,

every subsequent encounter, every reach and grab and attempt, every meeting in the oak-paneled office of a dean or a supervisor, explaining and recounting over and over again who said what, what happened, if the “alleged” interaction was prompted or not, makes me wonder if I had said no firmly enough. Did I cross my arms, shake my head, did I say the word “no,” did I articulate it well, was my accent in the way, were my vocal words saying “nay” but my seductive South Asian eyes saying “aye”?

calls, the interrogations, the reports and the hearings, I have gone blue in the face explaining what it entails to obtain consent. Friends joke that I ought to pass out permission slips at freshmen orientation. They say I take this too seriously, that the statistics are inflated, that “assault” or “rape” are easy excuses to fall back on when a romantic tryst go awry. All the times that I was made to feel less than, weak, denuded—I did not ask for it. I said no, with every atom of my being. I gauged

right, speak right, sound right. My eyes were too coy. My buttondown shirt was too suggestive. I did not ask for it. This is not a feeling you would want to ask for. The self-disgust, shame, horror, shock, anger, resentment, panic are not what you ask for. The vilification of your being, your intent, your attire, your upbringing, you do not ask for. When they say, “You could have said no,” you say you did, that to say “no” was the only thing left to say. And they may still not listen. They will not listen. l

Jaypee Group presents Mountain Echoes Literary Festival, an initiative of the India-Bhutan Foundation, in association with Siyahi, powered by the Department of Tourism, Government of Rajasthan Bhutan, 26-28 August 2016: Mountain Echoes is pleased to announce highlights for the 2016 edition, a rich program of literature, art, culture and music. Set in a country renowned for its environmental conservation, Mountain Echoes 2016 will open with a conversation on the impact of climate change, presented by acclaimed Indian novelist Amitav Ghosh, author of The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable, a nonfiction book that summons us to confront the most urgent task of our times. The festival will also include talks featuring a range of themes including women’s voices, travel writing and love and relationships. Mita Kapur is the founder and CEO of Siyahi, a literary consultancy. She also conceptualises and produces literary festivals and events including Mountain Echoes. Her first book is The F-Word and she has edited Chillies and Porridge: Writing Food, an anthology of essays. As a freelance journalist, she writes regularly for different newspapers and magazines on social and development issues along with travel, food and lifestyle. For further information on Mountain Echoes 2016, visit their website: www.mountainechoes. org or their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ MountainEchoes; Twitter: @MountainEchoes and Instagram: mountainechoes #mountainechoes l

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

Seriously laid-back stories Make laugh, not war

oday, I share with you a few short and humorous stories/takes regarding certain things. These stories come straight from my life, which you may or may not relate to; however, I solemnly hope that you do relate to them. In order to prevent this from reading like a massive rant, I have tried to categorise them into subheads. Once again, this is all to help divert your mind from all the chaos and provide you with some comic relief at my expense. Being a comedian this is the best I can offer.

To wed or not to wed

Recently, my family has taken an interest in philosophy. That philosophy is “responsibility is directly proportional to marriage and comedy is directly proportional to irresponsibility.” Same goes for my relatives. The conversations between my father and my uncles are something like this: Uncle: Bhai, what is your son

Illustration: Rio Shuvo doing these days? Father: Well he was working as a journalist before but these days... Uncle: Was? But? What’s wrong with him? Tell me! Father: He’s pursuing comedy these days as a career. Uncle: Oh my goodness, find him a bride. That might cure him....of this illness. Given, my cousin recently got married, since he’s the eldest among us. Now, apparently, it is my turn to tie the knot. Why? Because I have another cousin who’s younger than me and he is dying to become RESPONSIBLE. Faced with all this, I have come up with a theory. The average Bangladeshi person is under parental pressure the most, twice in their lives. First when they’re a child, the pressure to get the best grades, then when they’re an adult, to get the best spouse.

Cool dad and super heroes I have been wondering what

having a cool dad would’ve been like. For example, a little me not wanting to do my homework, using load shedding and darkness as my excuse. To which my dad, instead of scolding me, would say: “[Bane voice] Oh you think darkness is your ally! You merely adopted the dark! I was born in it! Moulded by it! I did not see a light, till our village got electricity!” Had this ever happened in real life, I know for a fact that I would have always...never done my homework. This is just so I can get him to say it over and over again.

Friendship

School was awesome for me since I made a lot of friends. I knew they were my friends since they gave me a nickname. I used to be fat, so they’d call me “teletubby.” However, every time I’d want to play with them, they’d say: “Max, we don’t want to hang with you.” I ended up wondering, why would I kill myself and why would

Feature

they join me? It took me two years to figure out what “to hang” meant and finally made some real friends in the year 2007. Facebook was a life saver!

The average Bangladeshi person is under parental pressure the most, twice in their lives

Anyway, after I got older, I got into street performing and found the art of comedy. Thanks to that made more friends and also got myself some mediocre fame. Frankly, whoever said fame doesn’t buy you true friendship, should check my Facebook page. As for everything else there’s Mastercard!l

Feature

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

Green transportation to connect rural communities BRAC University develops solar assisted, cost-effective tri-wheelers

nFeatures Desk

esearchers at BRAC University have conducted research to develop an environment friendly and cost-effective solar assisted electric tri-wheelerby, integrating the innovative torque sensor technology for the first time on the vehicle. A group of researchers of the EEE department worked relentlessly to design and develop the prototype three-wheeler electrically assisted human hauler, incorporated with PV panel and torque sensor pedal. Funding was received from IEEE SIGHT USA in order to build this prototype electric rickshaw van for the on-grid and off-grid rural community of Bangladesh. Due to the remarkable performance of the prototype in terms of energy saved from the national grid, increase in total distance coverage, ease of pedaling effort and greater speed limit compared to that of conventional battery operated electric rickshaw, the team was also able to attract Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL), which provided a substantial fund for carrying out a 12 month long pilot project. This involved designing and developing 15 units of solar PV panel assisted electric triwheelers. Developing the prototypes BRAC University and IDCOL signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), and the pilot project was also supported by World Bank. The aim of the project was to design and develop 15 units (5 units of human haulers, 5 units of ambulance vans and 5 units of cargo haulers) of electrically assisted environment friendly tri-wheeler with PV panels and torque sensor pedal technology. The whole project was supervised by a director at BRACU, along with wholehearted efforts and contributions of two research engineers. Moreover, a number of senior BRAC employees working on BRAC Health & Nutrition Programme (HNPP) also assisted BRAC University personnel to complete the project within the month of July, 2016. The initial stage of the project

involved developing three different types of vehicles to serve different purposes - human haulers that can be a more convenient mode of transport for rickshaw passengers, ambulance vans with necessary medical equipment for transporting patients, and cargo haulers for carrying goods such as rice bags, medicines, vegetables etc in large quantities. The field test was carried out for four months at Genda, Savar to analyse and evaluate the performance of these electric vehicles and to collect community feedback from rickshaw pullers, passengers, patients, shopkeepers and people of other various professions. The findings of the field tests showed that the total distance using this eco-friendly technology was around 80-90 km, which is almost three times more than the total distance coverage of conventional electric rickshaws. The vehicle can also be driven at a speed range of around 35-45 km/hr, which is nearly twice the speed of conventional electric rickshaws. The use of solar panels on the roof of the vehicle helps to charge its battery bank, regardless of whether the vehicle is moving. One of the most attractive features of the developed vehicle is the application of the innovative torque sensor pedal technology, which can significantly reduce the human effort put in pedaling compared to that of a manually driven tri-wheeler. A total of 72% of the available battery storage energy can be saved by the contribution of solar panels and the torque sensor pedal technology, and around 46% of the total saved energy is contributed by the use of torque sensor pedal technology. Thus, the use of torque sensor pedal on these vehicles can undoubtedly increase the battery lifetime compared to that of a typical electric rickshaw. Far-reaching benefits for rural communities The developed human hauler can carry around 6-8 people at a time, whereas the typical electric rickshaw can carry only 2 -3 people. Hence, the use of this type of technologically advanced electric tri-wheeler can

PHOTO: BIGSTOCK

All of the developed vehicles are environment friendly and feasible for the rural community in Bangladesh

undeniably improve the income of pullers, and in turn have socio-economic benefits for both on-grid and off-grid rural communities. Based on the qualitative results obtained during the field tests, all three types of vehicles were modified using smaller wheels and thicker axle with a total of eight batteries (each 12V, 50Ah), as well as two 500W brushless DC motors to improve the total mileage coverage and mechanical stability. 400W solar panels are also used to charge the batteries, thus reducing the impact of overloading the national grid. To address safety issues, the modified ambulance vans are also equipped with rear wheel braking system, reverse gear switch, mirror, triple drum brake, shock absorbers, siren, light and shock absorbers both at the

front wheel and rear wheel. All the three wheelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s base width are also widened for better stability during turning in rough surfaces. These vans can have immense benefits to rural populations by making emergency health services more accessible. Usually, patients requiring medical care rely on manually driven tri-wheelers, which are not suitable for emergency situations because of low levels of speed and poor vehicle stability on rough surfaces. Alternatively, the electrically assisted medical vans can reduce the time taken to reach hospitals, provide a less bumpy ride and are also much cheaper than petrol driven fourwheeler ambulances used in urban areas. Similarly, cargo haulers and human haulers can also improve the living standards of the people

by bringing positive socioeconomic impact in the rural community. All of the developed vehicles are environment friendly and feasible for the rural community in Bangladesh. The use of renewable energy technology in these vehicles can reduce the dependency on the national grid for electricity, and can also contribute to reduced emission of pollutants in the atmosphere as a result of reduced usage of petrol driven vehicles in rural areas. According to BRAC University, the dissemination of these technologically innovative developed tri-wheelers can bring a positive change in the living standards of rural people. Future market size of these vehicles can be increased and long-term sustainability can be aimed for through financial support of governmental and nongovernmental organisations. The future prospect of these vehicles depends upon the development and implementation of proper sustainable business models by entrepreneurs and other business organisations, who can work together to create a thriving business in the transport sector of Bangladesh. l

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

| book release |

| social media |

Young hacker publishes his knowledge

Bump up your Snapchat followers

17-year-old Khan Mohammad Zubair has released his book Hacking!! on the last week of February, 2016. His publication on ethical hacking and antihacking made him the second youngest author on subject to be published by Ankur Prakashani, Bangladesh. The book received and overwhelmingly positive response in the country. Zubair is studying at intermediate student at Rajuk Uttara Model College. Born in Khulna, he began his education at South Herald English Medium School in Khulna. Ankit Faida is the youngest author to write a book on hacking. He published his first book on hacking at the age of 15, by Macmillan India. The book covers several chapters combined with practical knowledge. Chapters include an introduction into hacking types,

keystroke logging, phishing, session hijacking, cookie sniffing, WiFi hacking, ARP poisoning, cryptography, collissions, salting, strengthening and memorising passwords etc. It also elaborates on how people may protect themselves

from the aforementioned threats. This book was formed to raise awareness of cyber threats and help people surf on the Internet safely. Hacking!! can be ordered online from www.rokomari.com l

| tech release |

OPPO introduces F1s

The ever-evolving global smartphone brand, OPPO, stepped up the selfie revolution by announcing the launch of the upgraded “selfie expert” OPPO F1s, at an event held in Dhaka. As an advanced version of the F1, the F1s promises to take selfies a step further with a 16MP front camera, a sophisticated beautification feature and an industry leading 0.22s fingerprint reader. The F1s also sports a 5.5-inch screen, an octa-core processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB ROM, and a 3075mAh battery, assuring a perfect selfie experience. The smartphone is priced at Tk23,900. The launch was done in the presence of Navy Yi, managing director of OPPO Bangladesh Communication Equipment Co Ltd, Shihab Ahmad, chief

strategy officer of Banglalink and Jubaer Shuvo, a renowned photographer. “Being a priority market for OPPO, we understand the Bangladeshi consumer’s demand for excellent camera quality and the on-going selfie craze,” said Navy Yi, managing director of OPPO Bangladesh Communication Equipment Co Ltd. “OPPO has a rich experience in camera technology and has been the industry leader with several accolades and awards to its credit. And now, we are carrying this legacy forward and stepping up the selfie revolution, by launching the upgraded F1s

to share advanced photography technology with an even wider range of users in Bangladesh. It offers them an outstanding photographic experience,” he further added. At the launching ceremony, Shihab Amhad, CSO, said, “We are happy to partner with OPPO and bring this excellent handset for our customers. I believe this handset meets the demand of customers seeking to explore the digital world, which Banglalink is set to open for them. I hope we will offer similar quality handsets to Banglalink customers in the near future.”l

Biz Info

Ways To engage followers on Snapchat Customer engagement is important, and a generous share of the marketing budget is allocated to producing content to engage customers. Snapchat is currently one of the hottest platforms and has over 100 million active users every day. Some users have transformed into Snapchat icons, and are followed by millions. The brands and products they use are heavily looked into by their fans. For example, Shaun McBride, a snapchat icon, is familiarised by many brands, social media celebrities and agencies. He has promoted brands like Disney, AT&T, Samsung, Taco Bell, Red Bull and Major League Soccer. McBride said he can retain the attraction of more than 500,000 of his followers. Here are some suggestions from the man himself about how companies can boost their brands Find your brand’s creative edge According to McBride, Snapchat works best for companies that have a message to share. If the company is looking for downloads or focused on moving customers to their website, Snapchat won’t exactly be the best choice. He suggested showcasing a brand in a unique manner to get the users’ attraction on the Snapchat story. He creates his own unique attraction through crazy adventure,s concerts or meet-ups with popular celebrities. “Tell the story of your brand by posting content from the environment that represent it,” says McBride. Be natural, and don’t overadvertise Snapchat users can simply swipe down or tap through stories if they find it unappealing. You need to make sure your stories and content are interesting enough to grab their attention before they do. Make use of emoji and the filters available. Be creative with your presentation, for it’s your responsibility to engage your audience by creating interesting

stories that would carry your messages. However, people understand if you’re trying too hard. A natural element must be present in your snap stories, as artificiality won’t hold your audiences for long. When asked about how McBride has been producing natural and engaging content for so long, he said, “I’m using the camera in a unique way. I just have to do different things, and keep the content fresh so people keep enjoying it. It’s kind of a win-win.” Find the right spokesperson to represent your brand To represent your brand, you need find a personality who has an engaged audience and knows how to use the app well. Many celebrities are using Snapchat and do have a millions tuning in to their activities, but they lack the keen sense of creativity looked for here. Moreover, they need to show a real connection with the brand, or your audience won’t be able to connect with it either. McBride opined, “Whether it’s an agency or an individual, knowing what to post is vital. If your plan is just to post a behind-the-scene tour of your warehouse, you’ll need to rethink your strategy.” Increase user engagement by replying to snaps With the introduction of story replies, marketers can now collect feedback from their snaps. This is an important and helpful way to measure the success of the campaign. “I snap my fans back. I open their snaps, and I include them in my story. I give them free stuff when I do. I call it ‘Free Stuff Fridays,’” McBride laughed. “My audience responds very well to it.” l

Article reprinted under special arrangement with SDAsia.com

20 Editorial

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

TODAY

Institutional casualties of war The desperation to find demons is a need of the hour. As the vicarious 9/11 experience showed us, terrorism, and its antidotes, reside not only on the battlefield, but also in human psychology and public discourse PAGE 21

Then and now

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

The police was not such a large a force back then as it is now. It was known to be corrupt then as well, but at the lower daroga level only. Nobody could point fingers at the officers. Anybody could lodge a complaint at the police station, and mostly, the petty thieves got caught PAGE 22

Follow the leader

Build and destroy the Dhaka way We have to think that such mindless destruction of these hotels and restaurants is doing a great harm economically 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.

rime Minister Sheikh Hasina is right in saying that militancy and terrorism can only be fought together, as a nation. As she goes on to say, militancy and terrorism in the name of Islam only serves to defame and insult its true followers. After the Holey Artisan and Sholakia attacks, we as a nation find ourselves on shaky ground. But we have to see it as a temporary setback and forge ahead. Our country has worked too hard and for too long to let this lead us astray. The PM’s call, which seeks the public’s support, is timely and warranted. We, as citizens of the nation we call our home, must realise that responsibility does not lie on government and law enforcement agencies alone. We too must set aside our differences, be it political or religious, and understand that that violence is never the answer, and that whoever wields the machete stands against us as a common enemy. Investigations into matters have so far yielded fruitful results. It is commendable that the government is taking appropriate action against those who wish to see the values we stand for erode under a sea of violence and sectarianism. Last month’s raid and the revelations that have been unearthed is ample proof that terrorism knows no class or gender. We must fight them in the same way. Let us take the lead from our prime minister and move forward together to root out the curse of militancy and terrorism once and for all.

The PM’s call, which seeks the public’s support, is timely and warranted

Opinion

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

Institutional casualties of war The fight against terror is taking a toll on innocent bystanders, and there are those who seek to benefit from the chaos

n Adnan R Amin

ith one hellish massacre unleashed, another thwarted, and the agency of attackers diminished by talk of their “vulnerability” and social standing, Bangladesh has been looking for demons to crucify. Evil needs a face. And this witch-hunt has spread across institutions and communities like wildfire, with everyone feeling the need to pontificate, accuse and judge, all for a bit of closure. Perhaps it was as a continuation of this frenzy that a leading news presenter on a top television channel recently interviewed the vice chancellor of a renowned private university. But instead of a quest for facts and nuance, it soon turned into an aggressive media trial. Investigations into institutions that may be “hotbeds of militancy” are not only warranted, but also in public demand. While such investigations are

A media witch-hunt is not the way to go

The desperation to find demons is a need of the hour. As the vicarious 9/11 experience showed us, terrorism, and its antidotes, reside not only on the battlefield, but also in human psychology and public discourse

ongoing, it is the responsibility of the media to refrain from influencing possible outcomes. Unless the driving force is personal judgments and the goal is cheap, tabloid sensationalism. Despite the current environment of fear, suspicion, and uncritical acceptance of demonising -- the televised interview garnered widespread criticism. Thousands of current and former students protested baseless allegations against faculty members (some of whom subsequently resigned), and said that they were singled out due to their “beards and Islamic garb.” While the talk-show was not significant enough to warrant any serious attention, the social trend that underlies it is worth exploring. Knee-jerk reactions in a

PTSD-stricken society need to be examined, analysed, and chronicled. Anecdotal evidence can reveal important clues about the resilience of (or lack thereof) massmedia narratives to social hysteria and pop-culture speculation, even if it does not offer any serious critique of discursive practices or journalism. Hence, the undeserved attention to an hour of jingoistic journalism. The withholding of names and identities is not an exercise in discretion, but self-censorship. The attempted exorcism opened with an odd, selfcontradictory monologue: The program had been named, “jongibaad er uttor dokkhin” (north and south of terrorism) so that viewers “do not think it is about the university.”

BIGSTOCK

The reporter explained that the Bangla naming was a “tactic” to avoid implying that the vice chancellor was on live television to speak about the very same institution. Owing to lack of militant activities in the polar regions, it did not exactly take a golden A+ to decode the unoriginal wordplay. Despite the self-congratulatory, convoluted prologue, these first few minutes contained a bigger flaw. This reporter began with -- and thereby validated -- the premise that the university now has a negative connotation. Predictably, the first question had involved the interviewee’s “feelings.” While the penchant for assessing emotions and feelings at every turn may be excused -the uncritical acceptance of, and failure to oppose, the mob mindset may not. The premise was wrong; the premise was an accusation, an act best suited to a court or a lovers’ quarrel. The tactics were as complicated as the opening monologue. In instances, the VC had to point out that his words were being taken out of context, and misinterpreted in full view of a live audience. There seemed to be an agenda at work, and the odds did not favour the interviewee. That the

VC had joined only four months ago was largely suppressed, as was his illustrious career. The only shred of “evidence” turned out to be anonymous live callers, who discussed specifics of “religious books” and after-prayer chats. One named specific professors who “failed to act” after subversive literature or activities were reported on campus. Now, citizen tip-offs are and will be an important tool for security forces. However, the media must know better than to use such intelligence flippantly; media’s mandate and role are very different from that of counterterrorism forces. Despite the anonymity of the live callers, at least one professor named on this show resigned in protest. Therefore, we now have an exemplary teaching career ended because of persons who, despite presenting no name, age, location, and affiliation, were given unquestioned legitimacy by the medium and the reporter. For a reporter or presenter, being able to play hardball during an interview is an essential skill. Sometimes it even spills over into arrogant haranguing. We saw this when Christian Amanpour interviewed the Bangladeshi premiere for CNN. Of course, CNN is no model of responsible journalism,

having passed off hours of unsubstantiated social media videos as news. Still, it is expected of any respectable news outlet to offer trained, fact-oriented, causeand-effect knowing, speculationaverse, and cordial professionals on prime-time broadcasts. The desperation to find demons is a need of the hour. As the vicarious 9/11 experience showed us, terrorism, and its antidotes, reside not only on the battlefield, but also in human psychology and public discourse. It showed us that the war on terrorism could take a toll on bystanders. Chillingly, there is no doubt that there are groups and individuals, from a wide spectrum, seeking to benefit from the chaos. All throughout history, people have leveraged conflict situations for personal status and material gains. Therefore, in constructing public discourse around the grim realities of 2016, precision and verifiable evidence must be of prime concern. A late entrant to the antiterrorism paradigm, Bangladesh must execute and evaluate its discourses critically, as it must with the institutions that produce them. l Adnan R Amin is strategy and communications consultant.

Long Form

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

Then and now Times have changed. This is the first part of a two-part long form

Drugs are being smuggled across our borders, and the authorities are looking the other way

e, of the older generations -- who were born as Indians under the British Raj, grew up and lived as conscientious citizens of the then newly-created Pakistan for 44 years, and then broke away from Pakistan to establish this independent and sovereign Bangladesh through a bloody War of Liberation in 1971 -- can hardly come to terms with the current state of affairs in the country. True, there was alien rule and no democracy under the British Raj and the then Pakistan. We were virtually ruled like a colony. But we must concede that there was a semblance of rule of law and

safety of life and property for the common the people. Men and women could move about freely in the dead of night without apprehension of any harm befalling them. Nobody was picked up from their homes, as we now hear too often of people with political influence and money being picked up with no clear idea about who picked them up and no clue about their whereabouts. Mostly, the hostages end up being killed, with their dead bodies being dug out from nearby fields or floating in the river. The police was not such a large a force back then, as it is now. It was known to be corrupt then as well, but at the lower daroga level only. Nobody could point fingers at the officers. Anybody could lodge a

BIGSTOCK

complaint at the police station, and mostly, the petty thieves got caught. Now, of course, the people’s perception of the police has changed. Instead of being friends of the people, as they ought to be, the police are now feared even by ordinary people who are just trying to get by. The image of the police has gone down immensely since our independence, partly because it has been thoroughly politicised and partly because it has been poorly led by its officers and has strayed away from its moral moorings. It sounds harsh but it is true that there is hardly a crime our police force has not been accused of. There was poverty, illiteracy, and unemployment before. But back then we upheld certain moral and ethical values. We looked down upon the corrupt and the debased regardless of their social status and political clout. We were scornful of the poor milkman who would mix water with the milk he sold. But now, our dairy farms produce and market milk not by mixing water, but substances harmful to health. Our politicians and government

servants who are responsible for ensuring quality of not only farm products but all produce as well, either look the other way deliberately, or do not feel concerned about what is happening around them to the common folk. As ordinary people, we adored those who symbolised justice and simplicity. We were full of admiration for the district munsif, the judge who travelled in a rickshaw from his residence to the court building and back, symbolising humility and integrity. Our womenfolk did not wear the hijab before as some of them do now, nor were they told by our religious leaders to observe purdah as they are being told now frequently over so many TV channels. They dressed modestly but sensibly. We had co-education in schools, colleges, and universities. Our teachers took care of us like they were our guardians while we were on their charge away from our home. We never heard of our girls and women being teased by boys, let alone being raped, as we hear now too often. It is worth mentioning that Islam alone has a complete code of life. Islam spells out, in the Holy Qur’an, that to tell a lie is a sin. Islam has specifically declared alcohol and certain food items forbidden for Muslims. Islam alone has a dress code for both men and women: The Qur’an has certain instructions for women about how they should dress -- both men and women have been asked to look down and not look up lest they attract their opposite sex. Do we not see many transgressions which were not there before? Our children have become drug addicts. Narcotics such as yaba and phensedyl are supplied easily from across our borders, while our BGB men are apparently looking the other way. Some young men coerce girls into having sex with them, dangling the promise that they would marry them, and often even tape such immoral acts using their smartphones in order to blackmail their victims. Blue films are available on the internet and in video shops all over the country as well. l The concluding part of this long form will be published tomorrow. Brig Gen Shamsuddin Ahmed (Retd) is a former Military Secretary to the President of Bangladesh.

Opinion

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

Build and destroy the Dhaka way The recent eviction drive intended to fight terror comes with a large human cost

Think before you destroy

n Nadeem Qadir

h Dhaka! Despite the terror threats and traffic jams, Dhaka has its own charm and its own way of life. I miss it, sitting in London -- funny, but true. This life is often subjected to massive constructions, and again massive destructions. I can remember how, once upon a time, we were unsure of what Dhaka should look like. We got rid of the age-old fountain in Shahbagh to make roads, we destroyed our parks to build Shishu Park in Suhrawardy Uddyan, while a part of Ramna Park went to the famous Kakrail Mosque adjacent to it. Trees were felled, and children lost playgrounds. In place of the Suhrawardy Uddyan, the Race Course Maidan as it was known, the Shishu Park was built for major, hidden political reasons. The place is a historic one, as it has three major historical records. One, it is the place from where Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman gave his clarion call for the independence of Bangladesh in a sea of humanity. Two, it is the place where the occupation Pakistani army led by Lieutenant General AAK Niazi

MEHEDI HASAN

surrendered to the joint IndoBangla forces. And three, it is the place where Bangabandhu accorded a public reception to the late Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi, and here she announced that the Mitra Bahini (the allied forces) will leave Bangladesh before March 7, 1971,

changed their appearances. In one incident, road islands made only six months back were broken up for new ones as the then mayor of Dhaka had seen something in South Korea which he liked. So, destroy with a bang, and who cares about tax-payer money?

one way or the other, and that is the fact. These establishments have been paying bills regularly, but how, if they are illegal? We have to think that such mindless destruction of these hotels and restaurants is doing great harm economically. One, the owners who have invested

We have to think that such mindless destruction of these hotels and restaurants is doing great harm economically. One, the owners who have invested are losing out, and have already started to sack staff because of low business after the terror attack on Holey Artisan Bakery

the birthday of her host prime minister. Many believe it was to erase these from the minds of the people that the Shishu Park was built. Well, that was a politicallymotivated decision, but what of Osmany Uddyan with the Osmany Memorial? It is always whim or politics. Dhaka’s road islands keep on changing, as if those responsible have nothing to do with tax-payer money. One will lose count as to how many times the road islands have

Now, in the face of terror attacks, hotels and restaurants in upmarket areas are being brought down daily. Yes, we have to provide security to the residents, especially the expatriate community. But the question is: Why were they permitted to open shops and restaurants by breaking down beautiful homes? Who gave them permission? Was it regular paperwork or in exchange of kickbacks? They have given permission

are losing out, and have already started to sack staff because of low business after the terror attack on Holey Artisan Bakery. “What will happen to my education if I lose my job?” one young friend asked me. He works hard to ensure he can pay his university fees and live in the big city called Dhaka. There are many like him. Who are these hotel staff ? They are people who have come to the city to earn a living and support their families back home.

Two, they are students who are earning to study in the institutions offering better education than the ones back home, or they were not lucky to get admission in public universities. They also lessen the burden on their parents, who cannot afford to send their children to private educational institutions due to financial constraints. Thus, the current decision may be a good step to fight terrorism and bring back the residential homely atmosphere. But, we have to think of alternatives for those involved in these trades. Many families and students are in great trouble already, and we must not make it worse. Our city-planners must ensure that those who gave that permission will pay back the owners, who in turn will help their staff. The fault lies with those who gave permission, and not the other way round, as is happening. Can we please rethink and help fight terror, as well as of the wellbeing of all those who are involved in this mad game bulldozers playing in Dhaka? l Nadeem Qadir, a senior journalist, is a UNCA Dag Hammarskjold Scholar in journalism. He is the Press Minister of Bangladesh High Commission in London.

24 Sport

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

TOP STORIES

Know your Olympians Bangladesh has had a terrible relation with the Olympics since their first appearance in 1984, and an upward trajectory is hardly predicted in this year’s mega event which is going to be unveiled hours later. Bangladesh also holds the infamous record of being the most populous country in the world never to win an Olympic medal. One of the most densely populated countries in the world, Bangladesh’s best shot at a medal came in London 2012 when the US-born Syque Caesar was a dark horse in the artistic gymnastics after winning a silver medal in the South Asian Games. He was the first Bangladeshi to win an international title in gymnastics. Eventually he failed in the big stage, taking 27th place on parallel bars (14.766), 29th place in floor exercise (14.666) and 50th place at the horizontal bar (13.700). This time seven Bangladesh players will fight in five different disciplines out of the 28, trying their luck once again to put their name in the medal tally along with the 82 other countries who have never won a medal. This is the largest contingent in Bangladesh’s history. Dhaka Tribune Sport takes a look at the participants who are going to represent Bangladesh in Rio 2016.

Aaqib: Ibadat reminds me of Irfan Former Pakistani fast bowler Aaqib Javed praised Abu Haider, Abu Jayed, Ibadat Hossain and Abul Hasan as the future Tigers stars after he worked with the pacemen in the HP camp as the consultant for the past few days. PAGE 26

SIDDIKUR RAHMAN GOLF Men’s individual stroke play, August 11-14, Thursday-Sunday

Five Olympic sports you must know about There are a number of Olympic events that we don’t really follow because let’s face it, there are far too many to follow. We have a look at five lesser-known sports, and maybe you will follow it in the next two weeks. PAGE 26

Youngest Olympian rolls off school Gaurika Singh may be the youngest competitor at the Olympics in Rio but the 13-year-old says there’s nothing unusual about that in her London school. The Nepalese swimmer will be the youngest competitor at the Games. PAGE 27

Born: November 20, 1984 Place of birth: Madaripur Club: Kurmitola Golf Club

Asian Tour titles (2)

2010 Brunei Open, 2013 Indian Open

Other titles (18)

2011 Bangladesh Masters, 2011 Masters Invitational, 2010 Bangladesh Open, 2009 Bangalore Open, 2008 Haryana Open, 2008 PGTI Players Championship, five wins in Bangladesh, two each in Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka and one in India Maiden appearance in the Olympics

Road to Rio

after hearing the news. I didn’t feel the excitement or any kind of interest even twothree months ago. I never thought I would make it to the Olympics but after the Mauritius Open, everyone came up to me and said, “You might go to the Olympics”. Then, I became serious and determined to make it happen.

What He Said

I cannot confidently say that he will win a medal. With that said, I think he will experience one of his most memorable golfing days in the Olympics. Siddikur’s life coach Ali Khan

Siddikur (world no. 308) qualified directly among the top 60 eligible players for the men’s singles based on the IGF World Rankings as of July 11, 2016. Siddikur is the first Bangladeshi to qualify for any Olympic Games in his own right, rather than relying on wild cards, tripartite commission entries or universiality places. It feels really great. I think this is the biggest achievement of my life to qualify for the Olympics through direct qualification process. My family and I are very excited

SHYAMOLI ROY

ARCHERY

Women’s individual Aug 5, Friday, 10pm (BST) Born: April 5, 1994 Place of birth: Narail Agency: Bangladesh Army

National titles

Rivals to feel wrath of lightning Bolt Usain Bolt is promising to let American sprinter Justin Gatlin “feel his full wrath” as he zones in on an unprecedented trebletreble of gold medals at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Bolt was given a medical exemption by Jamaican officials to compete at Rio. PAGE 28

6 medals (2 golds, 2 silvers, 2 bronzes)

International titles

1 bronze medal

Best achievement

33rd Asian Archery in 2015 Gold medal in the recurve bow individual event

Best score

618 points, 2015 Asian Archery, Thailand Maiden appearance in the Olympics

What Others Said

Road to Rio

Bangladesh received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send a female archer to the Olympics. Archer Shyamoli, the wildcard entry, will fight in the women’s individual recurve event. Her track record is far behind in the international level. There is hardly any hope she can make it to the final.

What She Said

It’s like a dream come true that I’m going to participate in the Olympic Games, given that it has been only two years since my debut for the national side. I’m really grateful to the federation for giving me the opportunity to participate in different international events in the last two years.

What Others Said

Shyamoli is very good as an archer. But there is no one in Bangladesh who has the capability to bring medal in archery. There is still long long way to go. She has self confidence and I hope she will perform better. I hope she will improve her ranking. 64 best archers around the world participate in the Olympics so if she fight and beat some of them it will also be a big achievement for her. Emdadul Haque Milon, Archer, 2012 London Olympics

Sport

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

SHIRIN AKTER

MEZBAH AHMED

ATHLETICS Women’s 100m (heat), August 12, Friday, 9pm (BST)

ATHLETICS Men’s 100m freestyle (heat), August 13, Saturday, 6:30pm (BST)

Born: October 12, 1994 Place of birth: Satkhira Agency: Bangladesh Navy Event: 100m sprint

Born: March 11, 1995 Place of birth: Bagerhat Agency: Bangladesh Navy

National titles

23 medals (18 golds, 3 silvers, 2 bronzes)

International titles

No medals

Best timing

National titles

10.72s in 100m

33 medals (27 golds, 6 silvers)

Maiden appearance in the Olympics

International titles

Bangladesh received universality slots from IAAF to send two athletes (one male and one female) to the Olympics. Bangladesh’s fastest man Mezbah, whose best timing is 10.43s by manual stopwatch, will run in the heat of the shortest event in the Games along with world record (9.58s) holder Usain Bolt.

Road to Rio

Shirin Akter will participate in the 100m sprint event in Rio.

What She Said

The Olympics is a dream for any athlete. When I was admitted at BKSP in 2007, I started dreaming of the Olympics and reaching the peak. I’m very happy. I don’t know how to express it. I have been thinking as to how I will go there, how I will adapt with the weather, how can I represent my country over there. I’m very excited.

What He Said

I have been a Brazil fan since my childhood. Now I will be going there to take part in the biggest sporting event. It is going to be a very special moment in my life.

What Others Said

If you ask me if there’s any hope for medal, there is absolutely no hope. The most important thing is what they can learn from watching best athletes of the world closely and how they can utilise them following their experience they will get after meeting them. They can also get inspiration from other athletes and learn from their training system. They don’t have enough training facilities here. They need long-term training, modern equipments and good nutrition. None is enough here. BKSP coach Abdullah Hel Kafi

ABDULLAH HEL BAKI

SHOOTING

Men’s 10m Air Rifle August 8, Monday, 6pm (BST)

What Others Said

Shirin’s participation in the Olympics is a huge incident in women’s sports in Bangladesh. It is a great inspiration for the young female athletes of Bangladesh for the future. I heard some of them saying, “We can also go to the Olympics like Shirin apu.” BKSP coach Abdullah Hel Kafi

SONIA AKTER TUMPA

Best score

624.8 points

Maiden appearance in the Olympics

SWIMMING

Road to Rio

Bangladesh received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send a men’s 10m air rifle shooter to the Olympics. Shooting has always been the most successful discipline for Bangladesh at world stage. This time Abdullah Hel Baki will aim high with his favourite weapon once again.

What He Said

Born: August 1, 1989 Place of birth: Gazipur Agency: Bangladesh Navy

National titles

National champion in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015; 22 medals (11 golds, 11 silvers)

International titles

Silver medal in 2014 Commonwealth Games Gold medal in 2010 SA Games team event 12 medals (1 gold, 9 silvers, 2 bronzes)

MAHFIZUR RAHMAN SAGOR

SWIMMING

Men’s 50m freestyle (heat) August 11, Thursday, 10pm (BST) Born: May 15, 1993 Place of birth: Pabna Agency: Bangladesh Navy Event: 50m freestyle

National titles

National records: 7 71 medals (50 golds, 11 silvers, 10 bronzes)

Maiden appearance in the Olympics

4 medals (4 bronzes)

Road to Rio

Best timing

11.99s in 2016 SA Games heats

It will be hard for me to cope with the conditions over there due to time difference. Because, when the competition gets underway there, it will be night-time in Bangladesh. I will try my best to adjust with the conditions before the event and I’m already preparing myself.

What Others Said

His prospects are good. I think he can clinch a good position in the overall standings. It’s tough to say whether he can claim a medal but a respectable rank is quite achievable. Asif Hossain Khan, Shooter, Bangladesh flag bearer in 2004 Olympics

Women’s 50m freestyle, August 12, Friday, 10pm (BST) Born: July 15, 1997 Place of birth: Jhenaidah Agency: Bangladesh Navy

National titles

National records: 6 95 medals (67 golds, 23 silvers, 5 bronzes)

International titles

2 bronzes in 2010 SA Games, 1 bronze in 2016 SA Games 7 medals (1 gold, 2 silvers, 4 bronzes)

Best timing

30.86s in 50m freestyle, 2015 Kazan World Championship Maiden appearance in the Olympics

Road to Rio

Wildcard entry Tumpa will partic-

International titles

2 silvers in 2010 SA Games, 7 bronzes in 2016 SA Games 19 medals (6 golds, 5 silvers, 8 bronzes)

Best timing

23.93 seconds, 2016 Thai Open Second appearance in the Olympics after London 2012

Road to Rio

Bangladesh received a Universality invitation from

ipate in the 50m freestyle. Tumpa, who has her career best timing on 30.85s, is far away comparing the 50m freestyle records in Olympic.

What Others Said

After SA Games in India, Sonia has been in the national training camp regularly. A very good foreign coach has been training them in the camp. I hope Sonia will put up a better display to set a better timing than before. Rubel Rana, Swimmer, Bangladesh flag bearer in 2008 Olympics

FINA to send two to the Olympics. This is the second Olympics for Sagor, the best swimmer in the country, who stood 39th among 58 contestants clocking 24.68s in the 50m freestyle event in London 2012.

What He Said

I recorded my personal best in the National Championship in Gopalganj in 2014. Then I finished seventh in the London Olympics

heats. This time I will give my best and my target will be to reach the semi-finals.

What Others Said

Sagor was in Thailand in the last one year. He improved a lot there and also recorded his best timing. He also won gold in a tournament there. Of course he will do better in Olympics. Rubel Rana, Swimmer, Bangladesh flag bearer in 2008 Olympics. l

Sport

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

‘I can increase pace by building up muscles’

Aaqib: Ibadat reminds me of Irfan n Mazhar Uddin

n Minhaz Uddin Khan Having won the Robi Pacer Hunt, Ibadat Hossain Chowdhury came into the ongoing Bangladesh Cricket Board’s High Performance programme. Here, the paceman, an employee of the Bangladesh Air Force, mingled with the cricketers who have played more professional cricket than him. But that did not held Ibadat back from grabbing the best out from the opportunity which he got among thousands of other competitors. Ibadat had clocked a speed of 139km/h during the pacer hunt and had caught the attention of the coaches. But that of course was not enough as he had to go through another camp on fitness and skill. Only satisfactory development there made the pacers hunt management award Ibadat a spot in the HP squad. For the past week, Ibadat worked under former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed in a special programme for the pacers. “Aaqib worked with our pace and run-up on the first day. He explained to us as to how we can increase our pace. Then he taught us swing, variation and reverse swing on the last day. He couldn’t gauge my pace after seeing my body structure. He said I lack physical strength but I can increase my pace by building up my muscles,” Ibadat told the media at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday. A permanent employee of the Air Force, Ibadat through the HP experience understood the importance of keeping in touch with the game in order to develop and compete. “I have a job in Bangladesh Air Force and they have been positive about me whenever I have needed a leave to play cricket. I will take a letter from here so that I can come back regularly to do my gym work with the trainers and keep raising my fitness,” he said. “My squadron officer told me that no matter how big a cricketer you become, you will always be with the Air Force. I came this far thanks to the Air Force,” he added. l

Ibadat Hossain Chowdhury bowls under the supervision of Aaqib Javed at Mirpur yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Former Pakistani fast bowler Aaqib Javed praised Abu Haider Rony, Abu Jayed Chowdhury, Ibadat Hossain and Abul Hasan Raju as the future Tigers stars after he worked with the pacemen in the High Performance camp as the consultant for the past few days. The 43-year old arrived in Dhaka on Friday and is expected to leave today. “I wrote a few names like Ibadat Hossain, Abu Haider, Abu Jayed Chowdhury and Abul Hasan. I think Raju has potential but he had injuries, problems with confidence. He has got pace, good body and action. But he has to come out of that phase,” Aaqib told the media yesterday. “Ibadat is bowling 138-140 (kmh) with his physique. Coaches told me he will go back and join the Air Force and stop practising. I think somebody should give him a contract or a job that is related to cricket. He reminded me of Mohammad Irfan. “We worked on him (Irfan) for six months and made him ready for first-class cricket. If he can build a decent body, he can be a future Bangladesh fast bowler,” he said. According to Aaqib’s philosophy, it’s not that practice makes a man perfect rather he informed that it’s the intelligent hard work that leads towards betterment. “There are different traits the bowlers have – Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee and Shaun Tait had pace. Joel Garner and Irfan had bounce. Survival with swing and some pace – Shaun Pollock, Chaminda Vaas and Mohammad Asif,” Aaqib explained. “Then people who have to create illusions with difficult actions – [Lasith] Malinga, Mustafizur [Rahman] and Sohail Tanveer. If you know which category you belong to, then your life will be easier. You’ll have a better understanding of your role in the team. You will focus on different things. “I have seen people bowling 130 with the mindset of Brett Lee. Getting smashed. We discussed awareness of yourself. Once you do, you will have understanding of the challenges in front of you,” he said. Aaqib added that whatever knowledge he imparted to the Bangladeshi pacers in the last week or so will prove to be more than enough.l

Five Olympic sports you must know about each other. The slalom contains four events and will run from August 7-11 before the sprint, constituting 12 events, gets underway on August 15. 334 competitors are expected to partake in a total of 16 events.

n Rashad Banna There are a number of Olympic events that we don’t really follow because let’s face it, there are far too many to follow. We have a look at five lesser-known sports, and maybe you will follow it in the next two weeks.

Canoeing

Having made its debut in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, canoeing has grown and is now one of the most integral part of the Summer Games. The sport comprises the slalom and the sprint. In the slalom, the participants steer their canoe through hanging points in the quickest time possible while in the sprint, the canoeists race against

Fencing

Fencing has been an ever present sport in the Olympics after being introduced in the 1896 Athens

Games. Taking place from August 6-14, two hundred and twelve fencers will participate in ten events (six individual and four team) across three disciplines – foil, epee and sabre. A sport in which two competitors fight against each other with swords, fencing comprises a host of equipments – jacket, plastron, glove, breeches, socks, shoes, mask, chest protector, lame and sleeve.

Equestrian

Equestrian, or horse riding, driving and vaulting is one of the most prestigious sport in the Olympics. Running from August 7-19, horse-riders from 43 nations will vie for medals in three events – dressage, jumping and eventing. Established at the Olympics in Paris in 1900, equestrian has taken place at every Summer Games with the exception of 1904 and 1908 in

St. Louis and London.

Triathlon

Introduced as late as the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the triathlon is considered one of the most toughest sports around. 110 competitors - 55 men and as many women – will partake in the individual triathlon events containing three components – 1.5km swim, 43km cycle and 10km run. The men’s event will be held on August 18 while the women’s event will take place two days later. Unlike several other sports in the Olympics, the triathlon will be a single event with no heats.

Taekwondo

Taekwondo, a combination of Karate, Chinese Martial Arts and Korean Martial Arts, began its Olympic journey in the Seoul Games in 2008. Slated to be held from August 17-20, a total of 128 taekwondo fighters (64 in each gender) will fight for the ultimate honour in four weight classes – flyweight, featherweight, middleweight and heavyweight. l

Sport

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

Journo bodies condemn BCB chief n Tribune Report

QUICK BYTES Youngest Olympian rolls off school talent line Gaurika Singh may be the youngest competitor at the Olympic Games in Rio but the 13-year-old says there’s nothing unusual about that in her London school. The Nepalese swimmer will be the youngest competitor at the Games when she dives into the water for the 100m backstroke heats on Sunday. But she said such achievements at Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls in Hertfordshire, England are par for the course. When asked what her school friends think about her Rio jaunt, Singh told AFP: “They’re happy for me but a lot of people at my school are successful! –AFP

Martinez named Belgium manager Spaniard Roberto Martinez has been named as head coach of Belgium, the team said on their official Twitter feed on Wednesday. In a surprise appointment, the former Everton manager will succeed Marc Wilmots, who was dismissed after Belgium lost to Wales in the Euro 2016 quarter-finals. –AFP

Aslam and Azhar make England suffer Sami Aslam and Azhar Ali batted through the afternoon session to lift Pakistan to 154 for one at tea on the second day of the third test against England in Birmingham on Thursday. Replying to the hosts’ 297, Aslam moved on to 69 not out with Azhar on 72 as England struggled to make anything happen on a flat wicket at Edgbaston. –REUTERS

DAY’S WATCH OLYMPIC STAR SPORTS 3 5:00AM Rio Olympic Games 2016 Opening Ceremony

FOOTBALL TEN 1 12:45AM Sky Bet EFL 2016/17 Fulham v Newcastle United

CRICKET SONY SIX 5:30AM Caribbean Premier League T20 Qualifier 2

TEN 3 10:30AM Australia Tour of Sri Lanka 2nd Test: Day 2

Roston Chase of West Indies connects for a four as Indian wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha plays close on day five of their Second Test at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica on Wednesday AFP

The three sports journalists associations yesterday condemned Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan’s statement on Wednesday. Bangladesh Sports Journalists Association, Bangladesh Sports Journalists Community and Bangladesh Sports Press Association gave separate statements. During a press conference held at his corporate office in Dhanmondi, entrance of four journalists were initially barred before he said BCB press conferences will now be held through invitations only. The BCB last month in a press release said “only invited individuals/organisations will be eligible to attend BCB media conferences”. Since then, however, the BCB had not issued any invitation to the media for the daily press briefings at its Mirpur headquarters where journalists had general venue access. l

Windies earn surprising draw with India n Reuters Roston Chase accomplished an allround feat last achieved by cricketing great Gary Sobers as West Indies escaped with an unlikely draw against India in the second test in Jamaica on Wednesday. After taking 5-121 with his offspin earlier in the match, Chase scored an authoritative 137 not out to lead West Indies to safety, with

the home team losing only two wickets on the fifth and final day at Sabina Park in Kingston. In just his second test, the 24-year-old from Barbados became

2ND TEST, DAY 5 WEST INDIES 196 & 388/6 (Chase 137, Dowrich 74, Holder 64) v INDIA 500/9 dec MATCH DRAWN

just the fourth West Indies player to score a century and take five wickets in the same test, and the first to do so in 50 years. Sobers, the only player to accomplish the feat twice, last achieved that double in 1966. The small crowd erupted in rapturous applause when Chase completed his century and raised his bat in celebration, with nobody clapping louder than retired bat-

Australia lose openers early n Reuters Kusal Mendis excelled under pressure again, hitting a sparkling 86 and featuring in two important partnerships to help Sri Lanka overcome a shaky start and post 281 all out on the opening day of the second test against Australia on Thursday. The hosts returned to reduce Australia to 54 for two, with Dilruwan Perera dismissing David Warner (42) with the final delivery of the day. Usman Khawaja was unbeaten on 11 with Australia trailing by 227 runs. Paceman Vishwa Fernando made a memorable test debut for Sri Lanka, opening the attack and dismissing Joe Burns for nought with his second delivery. It was, however, Mendis who hauled the hosts back into the contest after Mitchell Starc’s two-wicket burst left them reeling at nine for

two inside five overs. The 21-year-old right-hander added 108 runs with Kusal Perera (49) and 67 with captain Angelo Mathews (54) to steady the innings. Mendis pulled off a similar res-

Kusal Mendis scores 86 to rescue Sri Lanka on first day

cue act in the first test at Pallekele where Sri Lanka were six for two in their second innings before his career-best 176 helped secure the hosts’ 106-run victory against the world’s top-ranked test team. Left-arm paceman Starc (5-44) gave Australia a dream start by dismissing Dimuth Karunaratne for a golden duck after Mathews had won the toss and opted to bat on Galle’s spin-friendly track. Kaushal Silva (five) also fell to an innocuous Starc delivery but Mendis and Perera staged a brilliant recovery, finding boundaries regularly during their century stand. Spinner Nathan Lyon denied Perera his half-century but runs kept flowing with Mathews dictating terms with clean hitting and decisive footwork against the spinners. The Sri Lanka captain also unfurled the reverse sweep against Lyon to collect a couple of boundaries.l

ting great Viv Richards. “It’s a great feeling I could help draw the test match for my team after we were behind the eightball by a long way,” the softly-spoken Chase said after being named man of the match. “My aim is to be equally capable both batting and bowling but I prefer batting more.” Chase was ably supported by fellow 24-year-olds Jermaine Blackwood (63) and Shane Dowrich (74). l

SCORECARD SRI LANKA 1ST INNINGS D. Karunaratne c Burns b Starc K. Silva c Nevill b Starc K. Perera c Smith b Lyon K. Mendis c Nevill b Starc A. Mathews c Nevill b Marsh L. Chandimal c Khawaja b Hazlewood D. de Silva lbw b Holland D. Perera lbw b Lyon R. Herath b Starc L. Sandakan b Starc V. Fernando not out Extras: (b4, lb10)

R 0 5 49 86 54 5 37 16 14 1 0 14

Total (all out, 73.1 overs)

281

B 1 16 82 137 65 14 63 31 19 7 4

Bowling Starc 16.1-7-44-5, Hazlewood 15-3-51-1, Lyon 18-1-78-1, Marsh 9-0-30-1, Holland 15-0-64-1 AUSTRALIA 1ST INNINGS R B J. Burns c Perera b Fernando 0 2 D. Warner c Mathews b D Perera 42 41 U. Khawaja not out 11 38 Extras (lb) 1 Total (2 wickets; 13.3 overs)

Bowling Fernando 2-0-16-1, Herath 1-0-3-0, Dilruwan Perera 5.3-1-14-1, Mathews 3-113-0, De Silva 2-1-7-0

Sport

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

Brazil kick off at home with 3-0 win n Reuters, Rio De Janeiro Brazil got off to a winning start in their home Olympics on Wednesday when the women’s soccer team beat China 3-0 in host city Rio de Janeiro. Although the opening ceremony takes place on Friday, the soccer competitions begin ahead of time with six women’s matches on Wednesday and another eight men’s games yesterday. Brazil put on a commanding performance in front of their home crowd at the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Defender Monica headed home the first 10 minutes before half time and Andressa Alves got a second with a volley from close in after 59 minutes. Stand out performer Cristiane got a third with a header in the final minute of the game. The result leaves them top of Group E ahead of Sweden, who beat South Africa 1-0. Nilla Fischer scored Sweden’s winner after 74 minutes, bundling the ball into the net with her knee after the South African keeper

Phelps leaves door ajar for sixth Games n Reuters, Rio De Janeiro A mischievous Michael Phelps hinted the Rio Games may not be his last when the most decorated Olympian of all-time said on Wednesday he was excited his infant son Boomer would be in the stands to watch “the potential” last races of his career. The American, who retired after the 2012 London Olympics and was taken to task when he announced he would make a Rio comeback, appeared to be joking with reporters packed into his pre-Games new conference about continuing his career. But the winner of a record 22 Olympic medals, including 18 golds, left the door open by the smallest of cracks that a sixth Games could be on his agenda. “To have our first born be able to watch - I’ll say this just in case it comes back - my potential last Olympics just so you guys don’t beat me to death about coming back,” said Phelps, drawing laughter from the packed hall. “To have him (Boomer) watch the potential last races of my career is something I look forward to being able to share with him and also now being able to share the experience of carrying the American flag and leading Team USA out,” he added.l

failed to hold a cross. In the second game in Group F, Canada beat Australia 2-0 in spite of playing most the game with 10 women. Canada got the first goal after 16 seconds and then added another 10 minutes from time, even after having Shelina Zadorsky sent off after 18 minutes. Germany hammered Zimbabwe 6-1, with Melanie Behringer getting two goals for the Germans and Kudakwashe Basopo scoring Zimbabwe’s first goal at an international tournament. The Germans were 2-0 up at half time before they moved up a gear and ended up easy winners in Sao Paulo. The United States defeated New Zealand 2-0 thanks to a goal in each half from Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan. In the final game of the night, France hammered Colombia 4-0 in Belo Horizonte. The men’s competition began yesterday, with eight games, including Brazil against South Africa and holders Mexico versus Germany. l

An action between Brazil and China during their 2016 Rio Olympics women’s first round Group E match at Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Wednesday REUTERS

American rivals to feel ‘full wrath’ of lightning quick Bolt n Reuters, Rio De Janeiro Usain Bolt is promising to let American sprinter Justin Gatlin “feel his full wrath” as he zones in on an unprecedented treble-treble of gold medals at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Bolt was given a medical exemption by Jamaican officials to compete at the Rio Games after he pulled a hamstring during the Olympic trials and Gatlin wasted little opportunity in trying to get under the 29-year-old’s skin. Gatlin said the six-time Olympic gold medallist had been given ‘a medical pass’ to compete and Bolt said on Wednesday that had only served to fuel his desire to shut the American up by proving himself on the track. “Yes definitely, I think they have not learned over the years that the more you talk, the more I will want to beat you,” Bolt told Reuters on Wednesday. “It’s one of those things, but I’m looking forward to it, should be exciting and they will feel my full wrath as always.” Bolt, who returned to action in the 200 metres at last month’s Diamond League meeting in London, said he felt he was in better shape

Jamaica’s Usain Bolt leaves his hotel to attend a training session in Rio de Janiero on Wednesday AFP

ahead of the opening race of his programme on Aug. 13 - the 100 metres - than he was for last year’s world championships in Beijing. “I’m feeling much more confident now,” he added. “I’m much more comfortable with where I’m at. “I never try to predict times, because you never know what will happen. But for me the shape I’m in, I’ll say I’m in much better shape, so I think 9.6 seconds definitely.” Bolt’s world record for the 100 is 9.58 seconds. He ran 9.79 in clinching his third world championships title last year in Beijing. As for his preferred 200, Bolt said he and coach Glen Mills had been pleased with the work they had been doing on the bend after some “rust” in London, when he ran 19.89. “We’ve been doing a lot of work since I’ve been here, everything has been going well, I’ve been feeling great and I have no problem so I’m happy with the progress I’m making,” he said. “It was just rust for me, having not run the 200 in over a year pretty much, but now I’ve familiarized myself back with the work, and it’s just about going out there and executing.” l

All 11 Russian boxers cleared to compete in Rio n Reuters, Rio De Janeiro All 11 Russian boxers who qualified for the Rio Olympics have been given the all clear to compete at the Games, the International Boxing Association said yesterday. “AIBA has carried out an individual analysis of the anti-doping record of each of the 11 Russian boxers qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games...” AIBA said in a statement. “That process is now complete and confirmation has been received from the IOC (International Olympic Committee) Review Panel that the following 11 Russian boxers are eligible to compete at Rio 2016.” The IOC opted not to ban all Russian athletes from the Rio Olympics after revelations of a wide statebacked doping programme across many sports. Instead the Games’ ruling body directed sports federations to allow Russian athletes to compete if they met a set of criteria, including a clean doping past and sufficient testing at international events. The IOC announced on Saturday that a three-member panel would review the decisions by the individual sports federations over the eligibility of Russian athletes. l

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Spruce (6) 4 Depressed (3) 7 Sheeplike (5) 8 Publications (6) 11 Merry amusement (3) 12 Contended in rivalry (4) 13 Consumes (4) 15 Go in (5) 16 Conclusive (5) 20 Wagers (4) 23 Readily-separating mineral (4) 24 Sweet potato (3) 25 Praises (6) 26 Foreign (5) 27 Favourite (3) 28 Visions (6)

DOWN 1 Impel (5) 2 Circumspect (7) 3 Flower (4) 4 Elevate (4) 5 Burden (4) 6 Lump on the skin (3) 9 Transgression (3) 10 Become firm (3) 14 Give life to (7) 17 Nothing (3) 18 Perform (3) 19 Endures (5) 20 Large bundle (4) 21 Send out (4) 22 Transmit (4) 24 Sharp bark (3)

Downtime

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 15 represents B so fill B every time the figure 15 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

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

Showtime

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

Hay says sorry for N-word scandal n Showtime Desk Earlier this month, Genesis Davis was stripped of her Miss Florida 2017 crown because she used professional hair and makeup artists in her private room. This move violated company guidelines, so the pageant had no choice but to relieve Davis of her duties. The newly crowned Miss Teen USA made headlines of the wrong kind after winning this title on Saturday night when a number of racially-insensitive Tweets from her past went public. Within hours of Hay’s victory, past Tweets in which Hay used the “N-word” on multiple occasions went viral. They all appear to have been from 2013 and they all seem to feature Hay throwing around that racial epithet in casual conversation. Karlie Hay sat down on Tuesday with Good Morning America and apologised for her use of racial epithets in 2013.

Pageant officials decided not to strip Hay of her crown, after which the Texas native made the following statement, “I admit that I have used language publicly in the past which I am not proud of and that there is no excuse for. Through hard work, education and thanks in large part to the sisterhood that I have come to know through pageants, I am proud to say that I am today a better person.” On Tuesday’s GMA, Hay continued to express regret over her past actions. “I am very sorry. It’s embarrassing. It’s something I’m ashamed of, and I’ve grown up from that 15-year-old girl who used that type of language,” she says in the following footage. Hay continued, “At that age, I was being a follower. I was trying to fit in with my friends. The word was thrown around in the music I listened to, with the friends I hung out with, and I had no guidance so it was kind of a careless mistake.” Hay continues, “I’ve grown from then, and I’ve blossomed into

the person I am today.” She added she has learned that through every obstacle there’s something positive that can come out of it and other people will also learn from her mistakes. In the end, Hay said she’s attempting to “stay positive” through all the controversy, adding: “It was an incredibly bad mistake.”l

Akshay is Salman’s Favourite

n Showtime Desk Hrithik Roshan is sensitive about his career and peer relationships in Bollywood. When Priyanka Chopra said something in support of Kangana Ranaut, Hrithik threw angry texts at PC. Now, it’s Salman Khan who is supporting Akshay Kumar over Hrithik Roshan. Next week Kumar’s Rustom will clash with Roshan’s Mohenjo Daro. Both are biggies, and could eat into each other’s business, especially during the opening weekend. However, Team Rustom just got a big ally in the form of the king of box office, Mr Sultan himself. Salman Khan has been showering his admiration for Akshay Kumar in the past few

days, even calling him the real Sultan of Bollywood. They have acted together in Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, while Salman also made cameos in Akshay Kumar’s Tees Maar Khan and Fugly. Salman Khan had taken to Twitter to show his love for Akshay’s film with a short and sweet video. There is a rumor that Salman isn’t too fond of Hrithik after the former trolled Guzaarish

and said not even a fly would watch the film. They also purposefully avoided each other at IIFA 2016 held in Madrid. It’s also interesting to note that Salman Khan himself avoided a clash with none other that Shah Rukh Khah, when Raees was supposed to be released with Sultan. Now, Raees has been postponed for a January release and is now clashing with Kaabil starring Hrithik. With regards to the current clash, Akshay had actually downplayed the contest during a recent press interaction, where he said that there have been instances when two films have benefitted from a clash. l Source: Hollywood Gossip

Suicide Squad hits theatres n Showtime Desk Audiences might not forget the super mess of a movie Batman Vs Superman so early. But here comes another comic book outing to entertain the Bangladeshi audience at the same time of the world release. Star Cineplex is bringing Suicide Squad to Bangladesh. The movie releases today on August 5 worldwide. This time, not heroes, but villains will be the centre of attraction. Suicide Squad will follow a group of supervillains who are coerced into going on dangerous missions. That’s right: it won’t be a superhero headlining this film – it’s a group of bad guys. The Suicide Squad has been an important presence in the DC Universe since writer John Ostrander revitalised the group in the 1980s, and now they’re getting a chance to shine in the DC Cinematic Universe. The Suicide Squad has appeared in a variety of sources, such as Justice League Unlimited, Batman: Assault on Arkham and Arrow, but this will be their first theatrical debut. The specific plot for the movie hasn’t been revealed yet, but we can expect the basic premise from the comic books to be the same. The Suicide Squad, officially designated Task Force X, is a secret team of supervillains who have been imprisoned by

the United States government. The team undertakes high-risk missions for the government in exchange for amnesty. If they succeed in their mission, they live to fight another day, and get their sentences reduced. But if they fail, they can just be written off. Hence, the nickname Suicide Squad. In the source material, team members also have micro bombs implanted inside them, which can be detonated if they try to escape or cause trouble during the mission. Whether or not this will be featured in the film is not yet known. Suicide Squad is a 2016 American superhero film based on the DC Comics antihero team of the same name. Written and directed by David Ayer and distributed by Warner Bros Pictures, it is the third installment in the DC Extended Universe. The film stars an ensemble cast featuring Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ike Barinholtz, Scott Eastwood and Cara Delevingne. In Suicide Squad, a secret government agency led by Amanda Waller recruits imprisoned supervillains to execute dangerous black-ops missions and save the world from a powerful threat in exchange for clemency. l

Miles cancels concert in Kolkata

Showtime

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

WHAT TO WATCH

Top Gun Zee Studio 5:05pm As students at the United States Navy’s elite fighter weapons school compete to be best in the class, one daring young pilot learns a few things from a civilian instructor that are not taught in the classroom. Cast: Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, Tom Skerritt

n Showtime Desk “Some members of Bangladeshi band Miles constantly remark (negatively) against India!” A campaign bubbled on the social media based on the aforementioned allegation, which lead to the cancellation of the band’s concert in Kolkata. Amidst the chaos, Fossils, a rock band from Kolkata, declined to perform in the same concert with Miles. An FM radio station in Kolkata arranged the concert, titled Azadi Concert, marking the Independence Day of India. However, due to the persistent campaign against Miles and Fossils’s denial to perform in the concert, the organiser denied the stage to both parties on the the event Facebook page. On the other hand, Shafin Ahmed, the lead vocal of Miles,

told BBC Bangla that Miles decided not to perform in the concert. Ahmed said, “The Facebook profile in question is entirely my personal one. As a concerned citizen of Bangladesh, I have the right to say or write about matters even if they seem detrimental to our country. During cricket matches, I had to say something to support my country. It was not against India, rather it was sheer patriotism. But when Miles performs in a concert abroad, the same matters are affecting them differently.” “When people are being killed on the borders, or an unbalanced distribution of water between two countries cause a certain portion of one country to dry up and look like desert, I reckon I have right to say something about it.” “Plenty of artistes from the neighbouring countries take part

The Intern HBO 9:30pm 70-year-old widower Ben Whittaker has discovered that retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Seizing an opportunity to get back in the game, he becomes a senior intern at an online fashion site, founded and run by Jules Ostin. Cast: Anne Hathaway, Robert De Niro, Rene Russo, Anders Holm, Andrew Rannells, Adam DeVine

in various programmes, and we always greet them kindly. After such a long time, Miles

received the chance to perform in Kolkata, and the act of trying to halt the band’s performance is nothing but a sign of rude mentality,” he added. Some rock fans in Kolkata

have been campigning for the past couple of days on whether their remark against India still gave them the right to perform in the concert. On Twitter, campaign “Boycott Miles” claims that two members of Miles, Hamin Ahmed and Shafin Ahmed, have been constantly posting hate comments against India since the Cricket World Cup in 2015. l

Daisy Ridley quits Instagram after harassment n Showtime Desk Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley deleted her Instagram account following online harassment over a photo she shared of herself Monday, after the 2016 Teen Choice Awards. The Star Wars: Force Awakens star posted a message to her social media platforms, including Facebook. Ridley captioned the photo saying she was moved by the teenage family members of victims who were killed in the Orlando, San Bernardino and Newtown shootings.

A Facebook post with the same caption and photo was also shared, and has since been deleted. “Thinking about how lucky I am like......... Serious bit: as I sat in the audience yesterday [Teen Choice Awards] tears were streaming down my face at the tribute to those that have been lost to gun violence. I didn’t get a great picture of the incredible group that came onstage but they were so brave. It was a true moment of togetherness." Ridley, who starred as Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens,

soon deleted the post after commenters attacked her for speaking against gun ownership and accused her of hypocrisy due to the violence in The Force Awakens. Ridley is not the first celebrity to step away from social media due to an onslaught of vicious negativity. Ghostbusters reboot star Leslie Jones personally talked to Twitter founder Jack Dorsey after she took a break from the platform because she was bombarded with hateful, racist comments around the time the film was coming out. l

X-Men Origins: Wolverine Star Movies 7:10pm A look at Wolverine’s early life, in particular his time with the government squad Team X and the impact it will have on his later years. Cast: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Lynn Collins, Kevin Durand Ghost Rider HBO 9:30pm Stunt motorcyclist Johnny Blaze gives up his soul to become a hellblazing vigilante, to fight against power hungry Blackheart, the son of the devil himself. Cast: Nicholas Cage, Eva Mendes, Brett Cullen, Peter Fonda, Matt Long

Deep Blue Sea WB 11:15pm Searching for a cure to Alzheimer’s disease a group of scientists on an isolated research facility become the bait as a trio of intelligent sharks fight back. Thomas Jane, Michael Rapaport, Samuel L Jackson, Jacqueline McKenzie, Stellan Skarsgard l

Back Page

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016

WORK ON BANGABANDHU AIRPORT TO BEGIN IN 2018 PAGE 12

KNOW YOUR OLYMPIANS PAGE 25

MILES CANCELS CONCERT IN KOLKATA PAGE 31

PDB passing turbulent times n Aminur Rahman Rasel

The day-to-day activities of Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) has been stuck in a limbo since an initiative was taken to form a new company for power distribution. For the past three days, a section of PDB employees have been staging demonstrations, demanding the cancellation of the new company and the resignation of Nasrul Hamid, the state minister for power, energy and mineral resources. Stakeholders expressed concerns that the entire sector might face a disaster if the situation prevailed. The new distribution company was made functional with some of the PDB zones through the signing of a memorandum of understanding, as well as a power purchase and sales agreement. As per the agreement signed on August 1, the Rajshahi and Rangpur zones of PDB were now going to be run under the new company – North West Zone Power Distribution Company Limited. The PDB wants to transform itself into a corporation like Petrobangla. For that purpose, the PDB recently advertised for Expressions of Interest (EoI) from consultancy firms; five have submitted EoIs so far. Requests for Proposal (RFP) will now be sent to these firms and later one company will be selected to chalk out the plan for transforming the PDB. After turning the PDB into a corporation, all the power sector companies including Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited (Desco) and Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited (DPDC) will be brought under that corporation. Meanwhile, agitated employees of Jatiyo Bidyut Sramik League met with Nasrul Hamid in the state minister’s office, where they demanded that plans for the new company be scrapped. The state minister, however, reportedly replied that the new company would not be cancelled. Talking to reporters, Nasrul Hamid said the PDB would now only work as a power producing company, while the distribution tasks would be given to new companies. Mohammad Jahirul Islam Chowdhury, a leader of Jatyio Bidyut Sramik League, said the state minister has asked for more time until Saturday. If the new company is not cancelled by that time, new agitation programmes would be announced, Jahirul said. l

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina speaks at the signing ceremony of the Annual Performance Agreements for the 2016-17 fiscal year at her office

Sri Lanka success whets international appetite for mangrove conservation n

Thomson Reuters Foundation, Kalpitiya

Sri Lanka’s pioneering nationwide program to save its damaged mangrove forests is bearing fruit a year on, prompting the US conservation group backing it to look for another island country to launch a similar effort. Duane Silverstein, executive director at California-based Seacology, a non-profit that protects island habitats, said he was planning to visit a candidate island state in the Caribbean in the next month. “This project, if it happens, is most definitely inspired by the success (in) Sri Lanka,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, declining to name the potential project site as negotiations were ongoing. From the late 1980s into the 1990s, the destruction of Sri Lanka’s mangroves had official sanction, as the government handed out public land to large companies to clear for shrimp farms along the northwest coast.

“We were helpless - there was nothing we could do. Earth movers would come in and clear tracts overnight that had taken hundreds of years to grow,” said Douglas Thisera, director of conservation at the Kalpitiya-based Small Fishers Federation of Sri Lanka (Sudeesa), which is partnering on the mangrove scheme. Hundreds of acres of ecologically important mangroves in northwest Puttalam district - around 40 percent of the area’s forests were cleared and replaced by large ponds, Thisera said. But the threat ended last year when Colombo designated more than 37,000 acres (some 15,000 hectares) of coastal mangroves as protected, making it illegal to cut down the delicate forests. “It should have been done a long time back,” said Thisera, popularly known as the “Mangrove Master”, surveying large craters left by shrimp farms dotting the Puttalam lagoon now abandoned due to disease or business failure.

Improving local lives

Mangrove trees grow in saltwater, forming a vital part of the natural cycle in coastal lagoons. Fish and other marine creatures like prawns use the deep roots as breeding areas. The forests protect coastal communities from abrupt tidal shifts and storms, while slowing shore erosion. Mangrove swamps also store carbon, helping to curb planet-warming emissions - another reason to keep them intact. Sri Lanka’s countrywide protection initiative, praised as the first of its kind in the world, has gained momentum in the past year, experts say. “Sri Lanka is showing the world that it is possible to conserve mangrove forests while also improving the lives of local people, restoring wildlife habitats, and helping to ameliorate climate change,” said Dhammika Wijayasinghe, secretary-general of the Sri Lanka National Commission for Unesco, at the opening of a flagship mangrove museum on July 26.

FOCUS BANGLA

Police want immediate access to bank account info n Asif Showkat Kallol Bangladesh Police want access to bank accounts for proper and prompt investigation of money laundering and terrorist financing cases in the country. They recently made a request to the Finance Ministry which has already sought opinion of Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) of Bangladesh Bank on the matter. Upon BFIU’s suggestion the Finance Ministry has also sent a letter to the Law Ministry for its opinion. Law Minister Anisul Huq told the Dhaka Tribune that the ministry was scrutinising the request. At present, the police have to take permission from Bangladesh Bank and the court before launching any investigation into a bank account. But the recent rise of money laundering and militancy has led the police to seek immediate access to bank accounts information so they can promptly deal with the matter. “Banks are responsibile for preserving information on accounts of their clients,” said an official at the Bank and Financial Institutions Division. l

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com