February 21, 2016

SECOND EDITION

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016 | Falgun 9, 1422, Jamadiul Awal 11, 1437 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 306 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages plus 4-page Advertising supplement | Price: Tk10

Route map for Shaheed Minar From Shah bagh

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Chankharpul Doyel Chattar TSC Sarakdip Vice-Chancellor's residence gate Nilkhet police box intersection Home Economics College Gate Azimpur Graveyard North Gate

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Route instructions for those arriving to pay respects at the Central Shaheed Minar and the martyr's graves

The Central Ekushey Observance Coordination Committee has outlined routes people will have to take to go to the Shaheed Minar.  PAGE 7 The marked roads are only for exiting the area

Roads closed

Control Room (DU Physical Education Centre)

Ansarullah Bangla Team den busted Law enforcers yesterday busted a den of banned radical Islamist outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team in the capital’s Mohammadpur area.  PAGE 32

NOTICE President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina observe a moment of silence, paying respect to language martyrs after placing floral wreaths at Central Shaheed Minar midnight today PID the next day. The protests began against a conspiracy by the then Pakistan leaders to declare Urdu as the only state language.

Different political-social-cultur-

‘Many language martyrs still unknown’ The nation observes the 21st February, the International Mother Language Day, today with scores of martyrs still unbeknownst to the nation.

Those who laid down their lives in the Language Movement in 1952 were mostly common people from different walks of life but it was they who moulded our country into what it is today.

But after as many as 64 years, Ahmad Rafiq, the veteran language hero, with deep regret told the Dhaka Tribune: “Many years have passed by but it is very unfortunate that many language martyrs are yet to be identified.”

He recalled a number of in-

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Nation pays homage to the martyrs of the historic 1952 Language Movement today, marking the Language Martyrs Day and International Mother Language Day. People from all walks of life thronged the Central Shaheed Minar in the Dhaka University area at midnight with floral wreaths and sang “Amar Bhaiyer Rokte Rangano Ekushey February” in chorus to pay their deepest respects to the heroes of the Language Movement, who sacrificed their lives for the recognition of Bangla as the state language of the then East Pakistan.

On February 21, 1952, Rafiq Uddin Ahmed, Abdul Jabbar, Abul Barkat, Abdus Salam and a nineyear-old boy named Ohiullah embraced martyrdom when police opened fire on a protest rally demanding Bangla as the state language in front of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Another Shafiur Rahman died

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APPROACH ROUTE TO CENTRAL SHAHEED MINAR FOR FEBRUARY 21 ce Lab From Scien

Nation pays rich tribute to language martyrs

INSIDE

cidents in this regard.

Dr Ahmed said: “I could clearly recall a man known as Chheraj Miah who told me that a boy was bullet-hit near Manashi Cinema Hall in front of him. The boy requested him to inform his family in Tantibazar area about his being injured. Chheraj searched for his house in the area but failed to find the location as he did not know the boy’s name.”

The language hero also recalled another such incident: “I saw a bullet-hit youth named Fazlul Haque Ameni next to a Alia Madrassa just opposite the Dhaka Medical College near Dhaka University Gymnasium field. He was immediately taken away by the  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

al-professional organisations have chalked out various programmes, including seminars and cultural functions, to observe the Amar (immortal) Ekushey and Interna-

tional Mother Language Day in a befitting manner.

President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina led  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Today, February 21, is International Mother Language Day and a newspaper holiday. However, the Dhaka Tribune will be published tomorrow under special arrangements.

The Dhaka Tribune brings out a 4-page advertising supplement on broadsheet along with its regular publication

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

Security tightened in city n Tribune Report Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia while visiting the Shaheed Minar yesterday said security has been tightened in the capital for today.

Particularly four-tier security steps were taken around the Central Shaheed Minar for peaceful observance of the International Mother Language Day.

He said the whole area would come under CCTV camera surveillance.

After the president, the prime minister and other VIPs have paid their homage after midnight, other people would be allowed to enter the Shaheed Minar premises through Palashi intersection and exit through Chankharpul and Doyel Chattar intersections after 12:45am, he added.

Asked about the threat on February 21 following the recent recovery of huge amounts of bombs and explosions in Badda and Mohammadpur area, the commissioner said they had taken the measures after assessing the risks.

Pointing at some media reports that BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s motorcade to Central Shaheed Minar could face obstruction, Asaduzzaman Mia said: “We are servant

of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. It is our duty to arrange security for every citizen of the country.”

“If anyone feels insecure, we will ensure security for him/ her on the basis of intelligence reports,” he added.

No criminal would be able to launch any attacks on the Central Shaheed Minar premises by breaking their security cordon, the DMP boss said. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

‘Many language martyrs still unknown’ East Pakistan Rifles. After a few days I looked for his name in the register of the DMCH emergency unit but I could not find his name.”

“It is very unfortunate that those who were killed on those days would never be known. The nation would never know the names of the martyrs of those days.”

I am sure that at least 12 people were killed on those days, he said.

He blamed the then government and journalists for not investigateing those murders.

Dr Ahmed said it was the responsibility of the governments of in-

dependent country to find out the number but they had never been interested.

Asked if they can record those names he said they could not do that as they were on the run because of the cases filed against them for their involvement in the Language Movement.

Apart from this, people then were not so much conscious of preserving history. Even the liberation war history could not be preserved properly, he said.

When contacted, Language Movement researcher and Jatiya

Mukti Council Chief Badruddin Umar told the Dhaka Tribune that he had also witnessed such incidents on February 21.

“It was on a Nawabpur Road Crossing at Bangshal where a youth got bullet-hit and I rushed to the spot after a while but I could not find him as the ruling party men took the bullet-hit boy away,” he said.

Both the language hero and the Language Movement researcher said the nation had lost the real spirit of the day.

Once the day was observed to re-

Nation pays rich tribute to language martyrs

Awami League President Sheikh Hasina and the party’s central leaders place floral wreaths at Central Shaheed Minar early today to pay respect to Language Martyrs PID the nation to paying homage by placing wreaths at the Central Shaheed Minar at one minute past midnight, according to the state news agency BSS. In a message, on the eve of the day, President Abdul Hamid said: “I extend my sincere felicitations to all the people of different languages of the world along with the Bangla-speaking people.”

“The great Language Movement is a historic and significant event in our national history. This movement was aimed at establishing the rights of our mother tongue and side by side it was

to protect our entity and own culture as a nation too,” Abdul Hamid said.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called upon all to protect the dignity of the constitution and take a fresh vow to work together for the uplift of lot of the common people.

“Let us arouse ourselves with the spirit of the immortal Ekushey sinking all petty differences. Let us vow to protect the dignity of our constitution and democratic journey.

Let us take a fresh vow to work together for the uplift of lot of the common people,” she said in a message on the eve of Martyrs and Interna-

tional Mother Language Day 2016.

The prime minister extended her good wishes to the Bangla-speaking people and people of all languages and cultures across the world on the occasion of the glorious Martyrs and International Mother Language Day. Marking the day, the Shaheed Minar premises were decorated with paintings, buntings and Bangla verses upholding the spirit and sacrifice of the Language Movement.

Tight security was ensured at and around the venue to avert any untoward incident.

Leaders of different political parties, teachers, students, diplomats and representatives of various organisations, among others, paid their homage to the martyrs at the Shaheed Minar.

The day is also observed across the world as the Unesco recognised February 21 as the International Mother Language Day on November 17, 1999.

The day is a public holiday in Bangladesh. The national flag is hoisted at half-mast at all educational institutions and government, semi-government and autonomous offices. l

store the spirit to do something better with a pledge to move forward.

But now-a-days the day is observed only to shed tears for losing some best sons of the soil. The day was not the same as it is today. The day is a lesson that teaches us to overcome all kinds of obstacles and this is the spirit of the day, Badruddin Omar noted.

Dr Ahmed said it is often seen that the new generation who the nation would rely on in future are standing at the foot of the Shaheed Minar wearing shoes. l

Rejoinder The Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment issued a rejoinder yesterday saying a Dhaka Tribune story titled “Malaysia shuts its doors to foreign workers,” published on February 20, misinterpreted a quote of the ministry’s acting secretary Shamsun Nahar.

The quote in question read “The Malaysian government has made the announcement to calm local pressure groups who are opposed to recruiting foreign workers” in the story.

The rejoinder also said the acting secretary did not term the Malaysian government’s move an “eyewash.”

“This type of news items create confusion in readers’ mind and can tarnish the image of the government in home and abroad,” the rejoinder said.

The story tells that just a day after signing an MoU with Dhaka on allowing 1.5 million Bangladeshis to find work in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur has backtracked on its words and decided to suspend recruitment of all foreign workers, including those from Bangladesh. l

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

KL: MoU with Dhaka to remain unaffected n Adil Sakhawat The Malaysian government's decision to suspend recruitment of foreign workers from all countries will not affect the validity of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Malaysia and Bang-

ladesh, Malaysian Human Resource Minister Richard Riot has said.

The Malaysian minister made the statement on Saturday, reports the country's national news agency Bernama.

Malaysia on Friday decided to suspend recruitment of all foreign work-

'Lack of govt initiatives threaten indigenous languages' n Kamrul Hasan Bangladesh is yet to recognise languages of the indigenous communities in the country.

Several government frameworks to protect them are moving slowly. Indigenous language researchers say in many cases, no project was undertaken to protect the languages.

International Mother Language Institute's Director General Prof Jinnat Imtiaz Ali said they were conducting research on ethnic languages and hoped the results would clear confusions within six months.

Researchers said they were waiting for the report as they felt it would clarify what the government would do to protect the languages. They said the significance of International Mother Language Day is not to let any language go extinct.

But indigenous languages in Bangladesh are facing threat due to government negligence and existing government frameworks were limited to starting multilingual education only, they alleged.

It is estimated that people speak about 6,000 tongues at present. In Bangladesh, there are about 40 languages. According to a report by Save the Children UK, Bangladesh Programme, a joint publication of Khagrachhari Hill District Council, Zabarang Kalyan Samity, and Save the Children, identified Tripura, Chakma, Marma, Achik (garo), Sadri (Oraon), Santal language as endangered language. They have their own alphabets.

Dhaka University's linguistic department faculty member Sourav Sikder said at least 14 languages including Pangkho, Khumi, Sura, Chak, Malto were on the verge of extinction. “But to protect them, the government must introduce multilingual education system and facilitate ethnic and indigenous people to practice their culture in their own language.”

Language Movement researcher Badruddin Umar told the Dhaka Tribune: “Government activities make it clear that it is not trying to preserve the languages. The Santal language, largely spoken in Indian provinces near Bangladesh, is endangered in our country, although it has its own alphabet.”

Indigenous language researcher Sanjeeb Drong said Dalu, Rai, Koch, Sen, Borman, Kurukh, Mushohor, among others, were extinct. “Munda is endangered and so are Khasia, Achik (Garo), Hajong. Many, whose mother tongue is Koch, are speaking Garo,” he added.

Researchers said government frameworks to protect indigenous languages encountered several problems including infrastructure. "Beside, the whole project was implemented very slowly,” they said.

Mathura Bikash Tripura said the government did nothing except initiating multilingual eduction system. “Textbooks in indigenous languages are yet to reach students. Indigenous communities arrange cultural programs to promote and protect their languages. But even the International Mother Language Institutions has failed to take any effective project.”

He lauded the institution's project to survey languages.

“The government will confirm its action plan after the survey. I hope it will prioritise little spoken languages as they are endangered,” he added.

DU linguistics Prof Imtiaz Ali said the Ethnic Language Survey would identify indigenous languages and help understand their origins. Data collection is complete and the typoligical work will start soon.

“The survey is divided in 10 parts. The first volume will be done in June. Five volumes will focus on languages and others on ethnic groups,” he said. “The scientific documentation will end all controversy around languages spoken in Bangladesh.” l

ers, including those from Bangladesh, just a day after signing an MoU with Dhaka on allowing 1.5 million Bangladeshis to find work in the country.

The Southeast Asian country’s Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced the suspension of recruiting foreign workers

and called on employers to recruit locals instead.

"It clearly reflects the government's priority in providing employment opportunities for local workers.

Terming the Malaysian government's decision to freeze on

foreign workers' intake a positive move, Richard Riot said: "Further details on the decision to freeze foreign workers recruitment will be announced by the government."

However, Bangladeshi authorities are yet to receive any official statement from Malaysia in this regard. l

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

Mother tongue first, says PM n Tribune Report

Underscoring the importance of learning mother language first, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday urged all to be more aware to uphold the dignity of Bangla.

“I call upon to all uphold the dignity of our mother language, achieved in exchange for blood,” she said while addressing the distribution ceremony of Ekushey Padak 2016 at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital yesterday.

“Our children must learn other languages,” the prime minister said. “But it will be real education if they first learn their mother language and then others. Our society will have to be conscious in this regard.”

‘As a nation, we have unique tradition, characteristics and literature, arts and culture’ Yesterday, the prime minister formally handed over the Ekushey Padak 2016 to the country’s 16 eminent personalities in recognition of their outstanding contributions to their respective fields.

Of the recipients, Justice Kazi Ebadul Haque, Dr Sayeed Haider, Syed Golam Kibria (posthumously), and Dr Jasim Uddin Ahmed were given the award for their contribution to the language movement.

Jahanara Ahmed for acting, Pandit Amaresh Roy Chowdhury for classical music, Shahin Samad for music, Amanul Haque for dance, Kazi Anwar Hossain (posthumously) for painting, Mafidul Haque for Liberation War, Toab Khan for journalism; ABM Abdullah and Maung Than Sein for research, and Jyotiprakash Datta, Hayat Mamud and Habibullah Siraji for contribution to language and literature.

Noting that many mother languages are losing their importance as people choose other languages for daily interactions, Hasina said: “We must not forget our mother language. As we have to learn other languages, we have to practise our mother tongue, too.”

The prime minister said: “We will have to move ahead

with self-confidence and thus further develop and prosper this country so that the Bangali nation has its due place on the global stage with its head high. Ekushey February (February 21) is not a mere day… it flourishes our spirit and teach us not to bow down our head to injustice.”

She suggested the Ministry of Cultural Affairs project the history of February 21 in various languages of the world, reported UNB. Noting that Bangalis have gained their hard-fought independence in 1971 following the path of February 21, Hasina said: “As a nation, we have unique tradition, characteristics and literature, arts and culture. We will have to retain it and teach our future generation to follow it.”

Recalling with great respect the sacrifices of language martyrs, she said it was Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who had proposed forming Rastrabhasha Sangram Parishad in 1948 which had initiated the struggle for gaining Bangla as the state language.

Citing that there could not be anything above mother language, she said: “We will have to give due respect to our Bangla language so that the nation could be built in such a way.”

About honouring eminent personalities with Ekushey Padak, Hasina said although this is a humble endeavour to recognise their contributions, the real aim is to encourage the future generation so that they could follow these personalities and thus love the country, its people, literature and culture, and engage in research and cultural practice.

Highlighting various steps of her government for ensuring further excellence of Bangla language alongside playing role for protecting other languages, she said her government had established the International Mother Language Institute in the capital where research works are carried out on the origin of languages, their development, preservation and practice.

Cultural Affairs Secretary Begum Aktari Momtaz delivered the welcome address at the function, while Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor chaired the event.

Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam conducted the function and read out the citations of the awardees. l

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with the recipients of Ekushey Padak 2016 at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital yesterday FOCUS BANGLA

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

BOOK FAIR 2016

AMAR EKUSHEY

Language Movement books on demand Book Names

Author

Genre

Publishers

Priyo Panchish Golpo Amader Bilu Mama Economy of Bangladesh Bublider Ek Bikel Josnay Ek Prachin Nouka Samprodayik Mon Dharmoniropekkho Mukh

Purabi Bose Shahabuddin Nagari Abul Maal Abdul Muhit Anisul Hoque Sayed Riazur Rashid Imanul Haque

Short Story Juvenile Research Juvenile Novel Essay

Chandradwip Suchipatra Somoy Prokashan Ghasphoring Behula Bangla Katha Prokash

The day will start with a poetry recitation starting at 8am. In the afternoon, a discussion titled “Abashon: Bishwey O Bangladeshey” will take place at the fairgrounds. Professor Emeritus Anisuzzaman will preside the discussion. l

Special programmes for today

Special programmes will take place today at the book fair in observance of Language Martyrs’ Day. The fair will be opened for visitors at 8am today and will stay open until 8pm.

Visitors look through the collection of books at a stall in Amar Ekushey Boi Mela 2016 yesterday RAJIB DHAR

n Nure Alam Durjoy Books and other works on the Language Movement of 1952 as well as the Liberation War of 1971 have been one of the popular choices at Amar Ekushey Boi Mela 2016.

At least 12 new books on the Language Movement have been released at the book fair this year Attendants at different stalls on both the Bangla Academy and the Suhrawardy Udyan premises said readers have been especially keen on the new titles on the subject.

“We have had quite good sales of these books besides other titles. It is mostly serious readers who are buying them,” said Mitia Osman Tisma, publisher of Agamee Prakashani.

Yesterday saw a crowd similar to the one on the day before, and publishers and stall owners said they were quite happy with the sales.

Many visitors at Suhrawardy Udyan were seen looking for books on the Language Movement and the Liberation War. Afrin Nuzhat, a Class 10 student, was one of them.

“I have been looking for books on the Language Movement and the Liberation War. These events have been covered in my textbooks, but there are not much details,” she told the Dhaka Tribune.

At least 12 new books on the Language Movement have been released at the book fair this year until yesterday.

Language Movement veteran Ahmad Rafique’s book “Bhasha Andoloner Dinlipi” has been published by Maddoma Media and Publications.

Agamee Prakashani brought Rafiqul Islam’s “Bangladesher Shahitye Bhasha Andolon o Muktijuddho,” while Mayurpankhi brought his “Bangla Bhasha Andolon.”

TEMPERATURE FOREC AST FOR TODAY

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Dhaka

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Ahmed Publishing House brought Abul Quasem Fazlul Huq’s “Rashtrobhasha Andoloner Dalilpatra” and Anupam Prakashani brought Dr Mahbubul Haque’s “Bhashar Lorai Thekey Muktijuddho.”

Nalonda brought MR Mahbub’s two new books – “Rashtrobhasha Andolon” and “Bhasha Sangramer Smriti” – while Pial Printing and Publications brought “Amar Smrititey Bhasha Andolon” written by Jahanara Tofael.

Agamee Prakashani brought a book on both the Language Movement and the Liberation War, titled “Muktijuddho o Bhasha Andoloner Gaan,” written by Monayem Sarkar.

“Preservation of Endangered Languages of Bangladesh” has been brought by Adorn Publications, written

by Towhid Bin Muzaffar, Haroonuzzaman and Talim Hossain.

Jatiyo Shahitya Prakashani published “Bhasha Andoloner Dalil Sangkalan” and “Ekusher Guliborshon, Muktijuddho Ebong Bangabandhur Charisma,” written by Nurul Anwar.

Chittagong

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YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 6:27AM

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16ºC Rajarhat

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Fajr: 5:09am | Zohr: 12:12am Asr: 4:20pm | Magrib: 5:59pm Esha: 7:27pm Source: IslamicFinder.org

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

Accidents kill three in Chittagong

Mizanur Rahaman, n FM Chittagong

‘Tree Man’ undergoes first surgery at DMCH n Abid Azad

A woman and two children were killed in separate accidents in Chittagong. The deceased are Shaheen Akhtar, 30, Jiku, 15, and Jahedul Islam Jidan, 11.

Police said Shaheen was burnt to death at Rangunia upazila while Jiku and Jidan were killed in road accidents at Hathazari and Patia.

Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) Police Outpost’s Nayek Jahangir Alam said Shaheen sustained severe burns following a gas explosion at home. She died while being brought to CMCH. In a separate development, Jiku and his father were injured when a truck rammed an auto rickshaw headon at Hathazari’s Kolabagan. They were taken to CMCH where Jiku died.

Jidan was killed after being run over by a microbus at Patia’s Munsef Bazar, police said. l

The Bangladeshi “Tree Man” Abul Bajandar yesterday underwent a successful surgery at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s burn unit.

A nine-member medical board which was assigned for his treatment began the operation around 11am Saturday and it continued till 1pm.

Abul’s mother Amena Begum said her son is now better.

After the surgery, Burn Institute Coordinator Dr Samanta Lal Sen said: “The first surgery of Abul was successful. He will undergo the second operation after three weeks.”

Md Abul Kalam, professor and head of the Department of Burn and Plastic Surgery and Project, is

NSU holds 19th convocation

President Abdul Hamid speaks at the 19th convocation of NSU on February 18

n Tribune Report The 19th convocation ceremony of North South University was held at its own campus on February 18.

President Abdul Hamid, also the chancellor of the university, presided over the convocation ceremony and conferred degrees to 2,130 students.

The convocation speech was delivered

by Dr Rita Rossi Colwell, distinguished professor of University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University, USA. Chairman MA Kashem and other members of the Board of Trustees of NSU, Prof Dr

COURTESY

Gour Gobinda Goswami, vice-chancellor incharge, and deans of four schools took part in the ceremony.

Valedictorian Tayebah Mohammad Sharif Hossain, along with eight others from undergraduate and graduate programmes, received the chancellor’s and vice chancellor’s gold medals. All of them were female students.

This year 1,593 and 537 students graduated from undergraduate and graduate programmes respectively.

In the second session of the ceremony, a cultural programme was held for the graduating students followed by a convocation dinner. l

AL names 739 UP candidates n Abu Hayat Mahmud The Awami League has named chairman candidates for the first phase of Union Parishad (UP) elections scheduled for March 22.

Office Secretary Abdus Sobhan Golap sent the list of 739 candidates to the media on Fri-

day night.

The party’s nomination board finalised candidates at a two-day meeting on February 16-17, chaired by Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

It also selected 10 candidates for contesting re-elections at 10 municipalities on March 20. l

leading the board.

Dr Samanta Lal Sen, earlier said: “First we will operate on his thumb and index fingers and if the surgery is successful, we will try again.”

Earlier, Health Minister Mohammed Nasim said that the government would bear all costs of Abul Bajandar’s treatment until he returns to a healthy and normal life.

Abul, 26, who was admitted to DMCH on January 30, has been suffering from an extremely rare genetic skin disease epidermodysplasia verruciformis, also known as “Tree Man Disease.”

The disease is caused by a defect in the immune system.

It causes abnormal susceptibility to human papilloma viruses (HPVs), which eventually leads to the overgrowth of scaly macules

and papules, especially on the feet and hands.

Abul is the fifth person in the world reported to be suffering from the disease.

The others are Ion Toader, Dede Kosawa, Zainal and Ivan. Dede and Zainal hail from the same area in Indonesia. Ivan is from Netherlands but his father grew up in Indonesia while Toader is a Romanian.

Except Toader, the other three have genetic roots in West Java.

The problem with “Tree Man Disease” is that there is still no cure.

The warts can be surgically removed but they will grow back, sometimes faster, as in the case of Dede Kosawa, who appeared in a Discovery channel documentary “Treeman: Search for the Cure.” l

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Martyrs' graves

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Azimpur Graveyard North Gate

n Tribune Report Stinky polluted water of the Shitalakhya River hardly come to the use of the local residents.

Though they regularly pay bills to WASA, they do not have access to the supply of clean water.

With substandard water supply (and that too not regular), it is becoming impossible to use it for basic activities such as bathing or cleaning utensils.

With no respite from the authorities, complaints are not being lodged as officers are usually absent from their desks, citing meetings in the capital.

Lack of initiatives from Bangladesh Water Development Board is pushing the river into a slow decay.

Waters of these rivers emit foul stenches and they have become inept for traveling due to its rising thickness.

It is alleged that WASA supplies water to nearby residents from the river, leading to diarrhea and other diseases.

An official of WASA camp office said that flow of industrial wastes from nearby RMG and dyeing factories is causing contamination of the water.

They are being fined on a regular basis, he added, but to no avail.

According to sources, lack of an effluent treatment plant (ETP) is hindering the salvation of the river water.

Although water supply remains constant in the late hours of the night till dawn, it carries a stench and dark texture, which makes the water unusable.

According to water expert Dr Ainun Nishat, 13 percent of WASA’s water supply comes from the Shitalakhya and Buriganga.

The way it is collected from the Shitalakhya and Buriganga remains unpurified, he said.

The purifying chemicals WASA use, he added, causes a strong smell to come from the water, which also irritates the eyes upon contact.

But a WASA engineer brushing aside the allegations cited water pilferage as the cause of pollution of the water.

According an earlier report, a section of experts say the toxic water that goes down the drains from those factories finally end up in the river. The toxic wastes include chemical dyeing, detergents, ammonia, lime, sulphate, sulhuric acid, soda, bleaching powder and many other harmful materials. l

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

APPROACH ROUTE TO CENTRAL SHAHEED MINAR FOR FEBRUARY 21 nce From Scie

Water of Shitalakhya River unfit for use

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News

1 Chankharpul

Route instructions for those arriving to pay respects at the Central Shaheed Minar and the martyr's graves The marked roads are only for exiting the area

Roads closed Control Room (DU Physical Education Centre)

Route map for visiting Shaheed Minar n Tribune Report

The Central Ekushey Observance Coordination Committee has outlined routes people will have to take to go to the Central Shaheed Minar and Azimpur graveyard to pay tributes to language martyrs.

Roads adjacent to the High court, Doyel Chattar, Bangla Academy, TSC, DU VC’s residence, Nilkhet police box and New Market crossing can be used to enter the graveyard’s northern gate.

Visitors will have to use the graveyard’s main gate and follow

roads at Palashi Mor, Fuller Road, Salimullaha and Jagannath Hall to get to the Shaheed Minar.

Those unwilling to go to Azimpur will have to enter via Nilkhet police box, Shahbagh, Science Lab intersection and take the Fuller Road to reach the Shaheed Minar.

People coming from Chankhurpul, Chawkbazar, and Bakshibazar will use the road in front of Buet.

To return from Shaheed Minar, people have to take the frontal road of DU central playground. Vehicles will not be allowed around the Shaheed Minar. l

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News

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

12th century temple structures on verge of extinction Hossain, n Anwar Chapainawabganj The 12th century Shiva mandirs, ancient temple structures, built during the Sen era of 11561206 AD in Bholahat upazila of Chapainawabganj, stands on the verge of extinction.

Locals alleged that the temple was gradually falling apart down due to negligence by authorities.

The authorities have never taken any steps to preserve this ancient structure that has huge archaeological and historical value.

The temple is 19ft 10 inches in height, 19ft in length and has a width of 13ft. It has outer walls of brick structure covered with terracotta artworks depicting mythological tales and religious events.

Today it almost resembles a thatch hut, with a tree growing through it. Part of its roof has collapsed.

Cow dung cakes cover the lower half of the temple’s walls on the outside.

Deep cracks have developed on the walls of the 12th century structure while weeds have covered most of its body. Most of the terracotta tiles that once decorated the body of the temple have eroded. Others have been lost over the years.

Journalist SI Sharif said: “A lot of weeds have grown inside and outside of the temple. The idols of several deities damaged. No body has come until to save it.”

Thieves have stolen bricks,

Two firearm traders held Correspondent, n Our Chapainawabganj Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested two alleged firearm traders with a foreign pistol and ammunition from Moharajpur area in the town early yesterday.

The arrested were Selim Hossain, 25, and Somel Ali, 28.

On a tip-off, a team of the elite forces carried out a drive in the area under Sadar upazila of the town around 1.30 am and arrested them with a pistol, two magazines and a bullet.

Quoting the confessional statement the sources said the arrested were professional firearms businessmen.

A case was recorded with the police station concerned in this connection.

The arrested were handed over to police with the seized firearm and ammunition. l

The 12th century Shiva Temple in Bholahat of Chapainawabganj lies uncared for years. The picture was taken recently DHAKA TRIBUNE

terracotta tiles and other valuable things from the temple situated only 200 yards away from Bholahat police station.

Some locals blame the local authorities for never having taken

any steps to preserve this ancient structure.

Others make good use of the temple’s abandoned stage.

Local use the Shiva temples walls to dry these cakes for fuel.

Some others have encroached the land on which the temple stands.

They have built mud huts on the land of the archaeological site. One attaching house shares the temple wall, clearing putting pressure on

Speeding up sensitive activities to promote nutrition standard n Tribune Report

Speakers at a function recently underscored the need for speeding up the sensitive activities to promote the nutrition standard in the district through active participation and coordination.

In this context, all the concerned should be more cordial, dedicated and would have to come forward with the mentality to ensure nutrition for all particularly the poor to build a healthy nation, they opined, reports BSS. The opinion came at a District Nutrition Coordination Meeting organized by civil surgeon (CS) office at his conference room of the town with the financial support of Children’s Investment Fund, European Union Humanitarian and Civil Protection and Unicef.

The overall objective of the meeting was to establish a coordi-

nation forum for nutrition at district level with partners working in health and relevant sectors.

With CS Dr. Nirmalendu Chowdhury in the chair, the meeting was also addressed, among others, by superintendent of Gaibandha Modern Hospital Bidhan Chandra Majumder, deputy director of department of agriculture extension AKM Ruhul Amin, executive engineer of DPHE M. Amirul Islam Chowdhury, district nutrition support officer of Unicef Mohammad Kamruzzaman, field coordinator of CIP Bangladesh Enamul Haque, and journalist Sarker M. Shahiduzzaman.

An emphasis should be given to provide nutrition food to the pregnant and lactating mothers and the breast milk would be fed to the children six months at a stretch after their born, the speakers said.

To provide the nutrition food to all necessary measures would be

taken to produce nutrition foods in field level at large scale through motivating the farmers; they said adding that much awareness would also be created to all about nutrition.

Earlier, deputy director of family planning department Dewan Morshed Kamal presented district nutrition profile through multi media projector and urged all to reduce the eating of carbohydrate food and increase the micro nutrient food to keep fit well.

Many recommendations and suggestions were also shared and adopted during the open discussion session aimed at reducing under weight child rate from 41 percent to 33 and stunning rate from 42 percent to 38 side by side with upgrading exclusive breastfeeding rate to 50 percent.

CS Dr. Nirmalendu Chowdhury in his presidential speeches sought whole hearted cooperation of all to implement nutrition plan. l

the structure of the 12th century building.

Dr Majharul Islam Toru, a local historian and associate professor at the Chapainawabganj Govt.

College, affirms that the temple was built during the Sen era of 1156-1206 AD. Devotees of Shiva built the temple to worship him.

He claims that this Shiva Temple of Bholahat is one of the most beautiful Hindu temples in the northern part of the country.

Local miscreants are taking advantage of the lack of vigilance by the local police or upazila administration over this archaeological site, he added.

Some locals complain that the aesthetic value of the temple, not to mention its religious significance, has been seriously damaged by the use of its walls to dry cow dung cakes.

They urge the government to take immediate steps for the preservation of the 12th century temple.

Badrul Alam, field officer of the Archaeology Department of Rajshahi Division, said the preservation for the ancient Shiva Temple was not listed as a job for the department.

However if the locals raise a strong demand for its preservation, the archaeology department may be able to take steps to consider their demand, he mentoned.

Dr Mazharul Islam, professor Chapainawbganj Govt College, said: “The temple should be saved from ruination for giving information to the generation.” l

Cop killed by colleague’s bullet Correspondent, n Our Rangamati

A police man was killed by a bullet suddenly came out of the gun of his colleague at New Sukhi Nilganj Police Lines in the district headquarters yesterday.

The deceased was Purno Barua, son of Shekhar Barua of Raojan.

Police sources said Purno Barua and Swarup Barua were on duty at Nilganj police lines. In the afternoon, a bullet came out suddenly from Swarup’s gun and hit Purno.

Purno was rushed to Rangamati Sadar Hospital where on duty doctor declared him dead.

Rangamati Sadar Hospital’s on duty doctor Dr Wahedur Rahman said Purno received the bullet near his kidney and died due to excessive loss of blood. l

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DT

Career

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

Who’s watching n Mahadi Hasan Sagor During my last two years of career as a digital marketer, handling more than 20 clients of different sizes and industry background, the question I faced most frequently from almost all of my clients was “What to measure?” which is then followed by a set of similar statements or confused notions.

The questions often took the following forms:

become frustrated due to the wrong performance of the wrong measure (Type II error) whereas others remain content for the time being with the better performance of a wrong measure (Type I error).

Sounds complicated, doesn’t it? It indeed is!

To solve this dilemma, let’s have a look at the major KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) of digital marketing and the essence of each. Let us compare the different

In Bangladesh more than half of the people liking different social media interaction points (Posts, Status Updates, Pages etc.) like them for no reason

1. How do I understand my campaign is performing well?

2. What should I pay for: number of likes or number of impressions?

3. Which is a better performance indicator: CPM or CPC? 4. How do I know the people liking my posts actually like my products?

5. Finally, how do I calculate the return against spending?

At this point I feel it is necessary to shed some light on this issue, as digital marketing is gaining more and more popularity day by day. First of all, the answer lies not in a single word rather varies extensively across clients’ brand positioning, objectives, and budget. Consequently, it leads to two situations: Most of the clients

situations each different KPI is significant in.

Likes

“Like” may potentially be the most preferred measure to most of our brand managers for Facebook campaigns which is deemed a key barometer of the audience’s acknowledgement of their preference towards the brand.

Unfortunately, in our country this gives a very wrong measure. If the targeted audience is flawed and unlikely to convert to your actual customers, those inflated likes are a mere waste of your hard earned money. From a case study of 20 different campaigns, we at GEEKY Social Ltd. have found that in Bangladesh more than half of the people liking different social media

interaction points (Posts, Status Updates, Pages etc.) like them for no reason. They hardly notice what they like. There are even Facebook users in country whose only activity in Facebook is to click the like button in random posts.

Now don’t shoot down on your agency after hearing all this! These are not “Fake Likes” rather “Dumb Likes”. Just make sure you don’t become too excited with the big figure of ‘Likes’ as they may not be

supported by a significant number of responses against your specific calls for actions.

Engagements

The advanced level marketers find “engagement” to be a very useful measure for digital campaigns.

Before explaining how important it is, let me first clarify what engagement means. Engagement is the sum total of Likes, Comments and Shares resulting from your post. Here, engagement is an important measure if you really care about being a digitally engaged brand. However, this is also an ineffectual measure if all your engagement is basically the sum of those dumb likes and dumb thumbs-ups (such as Nyc & (Y) ).

Rule of Thumb

In the context of choosing between likes and engagements, we recommend that you optimise your campaign for engagement only if you are confident about your targeting and there is a specific call for actions. To measure if your campaign is engaging well, count only what you are expecting from your campaigns. For example, if

you are expecting people to share your post, then count only the number of shares. If you want phone calls from your campaign, count only the actual calls you’re getting.

Reach

Other group of advanced marketers gives attention to the total number of people it is reaching. To me total number of REACH is definitely a good measure for any digital

campaign only if the answer to these questions is ‘YES’. a) Is your brand name quite known in the market? b) Can people recognize your logo in a subconscious state of mind? c) There is no specific call for action apart from raising awareness? d) Do you want to show your post to the maximum number of people within your budget?

If the answer to any of these questions is a nig ‘NO’, then REACH is probably not the right measure for your campaign.

Impression

First of all, REACH and IMPRESSION are not the same thing. Reaching 5 unique people 5 times during your campaign will give you 25 impressions and 5 reaches. Mostly the matured marketers use this measure. Don’t rush to thinking you are matured enough just because you optimized your last campaign for impressions when you had a low budget for a larger audience set. Optimizing for impressions is not a good choice if you are to target a big population with a low budget. Posts optimized for impressions are served multiple

times to the available audience within available budgets. So, why waste money trying to reach the same audience again and again if you have many people to reach at your first go? Impression is a good measure when you have a big enough budget for a small target set and want to take their mind share away from your competitors.

For a new brand, which requires creation of massive brand awareness, maximum number

of possible impressions should be your prime KPI for any digital campaign.

Finally, if you have a specific call for action, only that particular action is your KPI. On this note brand managers need to make sure that their call for action and path of execution is clear enough for their audience. When you are aiming to create brand awareness for a new product or brand, try to get maximum number of impressions.

If you don’t want to be wiped out from your customer’s mind share, do make efforts to reach them all eventually. l

Sagor is a social and digital marketing expert. He co-founded the 360-degree social and digital marketing company GEEKY Social Limited in 2014 and is currently the Managing Director of the company. He can be reached at sagor@ geekysocial.com

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Feature

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

Language struggles around the world

n Sakib Sarker Here we are again at the month of language movement and the 21st of February has finally arrived. The 21st of February has been officially declared International Mother’s Language Day for a while now.

It is fitting that we should know more about other people’s struggle around the world for their languages.

Here are 5 languages that are being threatened by cultural hegemony:

Tamil Nadu language movement

India is diverse and hundreds of languages exist within the borders of the modern Indian state.

Naturally, the Indian government wants to forge a national identity through common culture. But an attempt to establish the Hindi language as the primary official language did not go over well within India, particularly in the state of Tamil Nadu.

The movement started before independence, when the Congress announced that teaching Hindi will be compulsory in secondary schools. This sparked massive protests in Tamil Nadu in 1937.

Interestingly, this tells us that Jinnah was not at all unaware that attempting to make Urdu the national language may not be received well. In its most recent iteration in 2014, there was a backlash in Tamil Nadu when the

Indian Home Ministry ordered that government officials should primarily use Hindi in social media.

Non Mandarin Chinese speakers

The Speak Mandarin Campaign by the government of Singapore ensued huge negative reactions from the speakers of Non Mandarin Chinese languages.

Although not a movement perse, the Chinese Singaporeans are opposed to this campaign.

However, the government arrogantly pressed on. The campaign is alive and well, and has its own website.

Hawaiian

The European missionaries in the Hawaiian island caused the native Hawaiian language fight for its place. At one point (in 1893) a de facto ban was imposed on the native language by imposing English as the primary language of instruction in schools. The Hawaiian language is still suffering from the assault. With only two-thousand native speakers remaining, the thriving language is now threatened for its existence.

The British Isles Languages

Even though the English, the Scotts, Welsh, Irish, all are Britons,

the Imperial adventures of the English enabled them to shove the language down more openings than most of us are aware of. The dominance of English has had huge effects on its immediate neighbours. The Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Irish languages (among others) suffered heavily from the cultural onslaught. These fully formed and modern languages are now spoken by a minority, as English is primarily spoken. The government, having realised that such practices are not civilised, stopped mandating the use of English and instead trying to preserve these languages. But

considerable damage has been done.

Kurdish

Kurdish people are spread across different national borders in the Middle East (Syria, Iraq, Iran, Turkey). Their language has come under assault by pretty much every majority with whom they live. The most hostile has been perhaps Turkey. Although the situation has improved, there are still heavy restrictions on the use of Kurdish and the language is severely discriminated against. l

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Editorial 11

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

INSIDE

Same in any language A nation’s language (languages, for some of the more fortunate ones) is its identity, and in that regard, no other language could be more appropriate than Bangla for us as a people -- beautiful yet broken, simple yet frustrating PAGE 12

The spirit of Ekushey We’re taught that being able to speak English is a great achievement, and this ‘mixed’ language is often considered to be smart. We are not taught as children to be proud of our own mother tongue, and to take credit in speaking it in all its glory PAGE 13

Live the spirit of Ekushey

Death of a peacemaker Preventive diplomacy also helps war-torn societies navigate through the difficult path of reconciliation and peace-building. The major contribution of Agenda for Peace was to redefine the role of peace-keeping operations. He proposed for new departures in peacekeeping, which would be different from the traditional peace-keeping operations PAGE 14

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.

T

his year’s International Mother Language Day is being marked by a month-long exhibit outside the United Nations in New York.

A sculpture designed by Khurshid Alam Saleem and made by Mrinal Haque features the four language movement martyrs and a mother figure symbolising liberty and the importance of preserving identity and language for all peoples.

It is a reminder that the Bengali language movement of Amar Ekushey being commemorated by the nation today has universal significance.

There is much we can still all do to live up to the promise and spirit of Ekushey.

As a society which still has high rates of adult illiteracy, we must accomplish more to improve literacy.

To help our culture flourish in an age of ever-increasing global interaction, we must also do more to interact with and promote our linguistic culture on the international stage.

We also need to do more to acknowledge linguistic minorities within Bangladesh. Although small as a percentage of the total population, Bangladesh’s linguistic minorities are highly diverse, and make a rich contribution to our nation’s heritage.

Non-Bengali communities and indigenous peoples living in CHT face major obstacles in promoting and keeping their heritage alive and vibrant. They need more support for initiatives to promote their native languages, and deserve help in protecting and promoting their culture.

Supporting language in all its diversity is important to give life to the call for recognition of people’s basic rights made by the Language Movement martyrs.

Recognition of and support for minority languages matter not only to protect the cultural heritage and rights of indigenous and minority communities, but also to help enrich Bangladeshi culture as a whole.

As a society, we must do more to support and promote language in all its diversity

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DT

Opinion

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

Same in any language What does Bangla really do for us?

Our language is our soul

BIGSTOCK

n Rubaiyat Kabir

W

hat exactly do we celebrate on February 21 every year? Is it to commemorate the ultimate sacrifice made by a handful of college kids in preserving our right to speak one particular language over another?

To bask in the glory of having the world finally recognise our nation’s struggle for linguistic

A nation’s language (languages, for some of the more fortunate ones) is its identity, and in that regard, no other language could be more appropriate than Bangla for us as a people -beautiful yet broken, simple yet frustrating

emancipation? Or is it nothing more than an annual guilt-trip over how we’re not paying the appropriate amount of respect to that language -- the same language that we use to whisper words of affection to a loved one, to express trepidation at the thought of losing them, to curse at our thirdworld miseries, to shoo away the unfortunate when they show the audacity to bother us for our loose change?

A nation’s language (languages, for some of the more fortunate ones) is its identity, and in that regard, no other language could be more appropriate than Bangla for us as a people -- beautiful yet broken, simple yet frustrating.

Contrary to the delusions of those whose conception of time allows them to believe that a human life can last over 2,000 years, Bangladesh has been around for quite a long while. 45 years to be exact. And what exactly does our nation have to show for those 45 years since its birth other than collective lines of age?

Apathy. Betrayal. Corruption.

Disappointment.

They are all the same in any language. And no amount of false patriotism or self-delusion will be enough to wash away the

indelible stain they have left on us as a nation, as a community, as a people.

What reason do we have to be proud of a language that can have a voice be silenced for simply speaking, the truth or otherwise? How can we even think about respecting that language’s integrity when the simple act of a man apologising for past mistakes can be twisted and mis-interpreted as an admission of guilt for the highest form of sin imaginable in a free state? What kind of a language needs to be “translated” to its own native speakers in order for them to better understand “the truth”?

Questions are all I can offer today, I’m afraid.

Look at me. Sermonising about the fallacies of Bangla as a language by writing about it in some other man’s tongue -- an utter betrayal of the spirit of our liberation! Shock! Gasp! Egad!

But even though I have all but abandoned a language for which better people shed blood in the past, my tongue only summoning it when the need arises, I do so in keeping with the spirit of how we have become as a people.

What has Bangla ever done for me? Being proficient in English allowed me to stay competent in

my education. Pretending to have mastered it continues to allow me to earn a wage. Can Bangla speak of having done anything even remotely useful for me? Can it?

Well?! Speak up, Bangla! I can’t hear you!

Perhaps it’s best that it doesn’t -- I’d prefer keeping a healthy distance between myself and the pale joke that it has become. I have to watch what I say, after all.

If I were any more of a cynic (and a time traveller), I would have suggested those young students back in 1952 to save their breaths and tell them that all their effort will have been in vain -- the future is bleak regardless of what language will be used to write it.

But then … something happens … when I come back home after a rough day of squabbling with the hoi polloi, rest myself on the couch and put my feet up on the coffee table in our living room, turn on the television, give my dog a lazed scratch on her head, and holler at the general direction my mother happens to be at the time, “Ammu, chabanor kichhu aase?” …

I realise what a big mistake I would be making. l Rubaiyat Kabir works at the Dhaka Tribune.

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DT

Opinion

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

The spirit of Ekushey We should remember the spirit of Ekushey every day, not just once a year

n Nibir Mostafa Khan

I

would like to start by paying my respects to all the heroes who were involved in the Bengali Language Movement of 1952. Many of those heroes sacrificed their lives in an attempt to establish Bangla, their mother tongue, as the state language of then East Pakistan, which to this day remains the only incident in the world where people sacrificed themselves for their mother language.

However, it would be a huge mistake to limit their contributions to only that, because, in many ways, their movement was a colossal factor in paving the way for a sovereign and independent Bangladesh. May their spirits live on forever.

I personally feel that we are not doing enough to commemorate this occasion. Yes, obviously, we celebrate February 21 every year with astounding grandeur, but that is totally beside the point.

An event this huge, and especially one that deals with something as sensitive as our mother tongue, deserves to reside in our hearts and minds eternally rather than in empty actions only once a year.

I say this not because I am frustrated, but because of all the things I feel that we do, which totally go against the spirit of Ekushey.

First of all, I would like to discuss the way we treat the monument which was built to memorialise the Language Movement, the Shaheed Minar.

All year round, it is neglected and unkempt. Phuchka stalls and cotton candy vendors surround the monument. There are chips wrappers, street food leftovers, and dirt of all kind around it.

It seems as though there is nobody to take care of it. Be that as it may, we, the public, who so meticulously and pay their respects in that very vicinity on February 21, decide to loiter around Shaheed Minar, sometimes sitting or standing on the stairs, or the podium, with their shoes still on.

It’s disrespectful to say the least. But come February 21, all the dirt is cleaned and the monument is made to be impeccably clean.

And on February 22? Back to the way it was.

I stumbled upon two videos on Facebook. The first video shows a journalist from a TV channel asking several people about what exactly happened on February 21.

Why is the sanctity of the Shaheed Minar not respected on other days?

RAJIB DHAR

We’re taught that being able to speak English is a great achievement, and this ‘mixed’ language is often considered to be smart. We are not taught as children to be proud of our own mother tongue, and to take credit in speaking it in all its glory

Answers ranged from “there was a war” to “I don’t know” or “sorry.”

No one got it right. It may seem like only the negative answers were displayed. I don’t think that was the case, but even if it were, it still means that those people really don’t know what happened.

They could be blamed for their ignorance, but so could the authorities of the education and media sectors.

Why hasn’t there been enough content about 1952 in academic books? Why, in all these years, have we not had a movie on the Language Movement? Or a TV series? Why do we only have telefilms on the subject matter of February 21? And even those telefilms focus on the effect of the Language Movement on the present day rather than the accurate history.

I would like to applaud the music sector on this end, because there are quite a few new songs written about the topic, and they’re quite good. But obviously,

music can’t portray history as perfectly as theatre or films or any visual representation can.

The second video shows an American woman, apparently in her 50s, speaking fluent Bengali, simply expressing her disgust towards the fact that we Bangladeshis incorporate words from other languages in our day to day speech. And in her dialogue, she did not use a single English word.

Obviously, she wasn’t talking about the words that have been adapted into Bengali over the decades or even centuries, like “sampan” or “rickshaw,” but she was talking about the words that clearly have a Bengali translation.

The fact that we do this isn’t a big surprise, considering that we are being culturally encroached upon by a few different cultures at once, mostly an Indian one.

It is infiltrating through dubbed cartoons and Hindi soaps.

But during our speech, we tend to include more English words

than Hindi, because from an early age, we’re taught that being able to speak English is a great achievement, and this “mixed” language is often considered to be smart.

We are not taught as children to be proud of our own mother tongue, and to take credit in speaking it in all its glory.

In addition to that, in the last few years, a disturbing trend of writing Bengali using the English alphabet has become increasingly common. But it was well dealt with by the tech savvy young Bangladeshis, who came up with an easy way of typing Bengali, and the annoying trend is on the decrease.

The last subject I want to touch upon, that I feel is almost insulting towards the spirit of Ekushey, is probably not as common as my last few points. The question I want to ask is that, after 64 years, why are we letting the mother tongues of other minority ethnicities living in Bangladesh die out slowly?

Is it not similar to what the Pakistanis were doing to us? Obviously, Pakistan was oppressing us in many other ways, and the comparison is a poor one in that sense, but are we not imposing our mother language on them?

According to UNESCO, there are three languages (namely Koda, Kurux, Pnar) in Bangladesh that are “severely endangered,” which is the last stage before extinction.

Additionally, there are multiple languages which are vulnerable and definitely endangered.

The government must ensure that kids receive some courses or lessons on or in their mother tongue, at least, at the primary level before it is too late.

At the end of the day, all we can hope is that the new generation of Bangladeshis will be aware of their own culture despite all these drawbacks we currently have, and in turn, teach their children about Bengali heritage through creating means that they themselves did not have while growing up, or improving on the means that they did have.

Hopefully then, we will start doing the things that we should have been doing all along, like implementing the true spirit of Ekushey in our daily lives rather than just once a year. l Nibir Mostafa Khan is a freelance contributor.

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DT

Opinion

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

Death of a peace-maker Boutrous Boutros-Ghali never wavered from his task of achieving peace on Earth

n Mohammad Atique Rahman

T

he former secretarygeneral of the United Nations, Boutros BoutrosGhali, died on February 16, 2016 at the age of 93 in his hometown near Cairo in Egypt.

Mr Boutros-Ghali was the sixth secretary-general of the UN. He served the office of the UN secretary-general from January 1992 to December 1996.

Peace is fragile. When he ascended the office of the UN, perhaps peace was the most fragile thing in the world to achieve, protect, and restore. The end of the Cold War in 1990 and in the aftermath breakdown of former Yugoslavia, the outbreak of genocide in Rwanda, civil wars in Sierra Leone, Somalia, Haiti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, and Mozambique, brought two fundamental realities in front of the international community to deal with: Peace and security in the future.

Firstly, the range of potential and active actors of conflicts has expanded from state to nonstate actors, including ethnic tensions, organised criminal and violent networks, and warlords.

Therefore, the threat to peace is not only the military one outside the border, rather peace is more susceptible to threats emanated within the country.

securing peace in post-conflict countries was no longer based on the military solution. Instead, it emerged as a critical issue, and requires political, social, and economic solutions to deal with numerous threats to peace, to protect recurrence of conflicts, and ensure lasting peace.

Boutros-Ghali in this turbulent and gruesome time came up with a historic “Agenda for Peace” to restore peace. The issue of international peace and security is the cornerstone of the UN. The preamble of the UN commits the international community “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” With that commitment, his “Agenda for Peace” brought forth some important guidelines and issues for future UN peace missions.

What should the UN do for restoring peace?

The UN Security Council in 1992 was concerned about strengthening peace-making and peace-keeping activities. In response to that, newly appointed Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali prepared a report called “An agenda for peace: Preventive diplomacy, peace-making, and peace-keeping.” In his report, he observed that, although the concept of peace is easy to grasp, it is more complex to secure.

To deal with this situation, he

Preventive diplomacy also helps war-torn societies navigate through the difficult path of reconciliation and peace-building. The major contribution of Agenda for Peace was to redefine the role of peace-keeping operations.

He proposed for new departures in peacekeeping, which would be different from the traditional peace-keeping operations

The world witnessed the outbreak of ethnic war, internecine/civil war and prolonged warfare, dirty warfare tactics -- including the policy of scorched land, ethnic cleansing, and mass genocide instead of regular warfare between countries.

Secondly, the concept of

proposed wider peace support activities at four levels. He proposed “preventive diplomacy,” which can be initiated to prevent existing disputes from escalating into conflicts. Secondly, he proposed “peace-making,” to initiate the peaceful settlement of international disputes by bringing

together hostile parties for peace agreement.

Thirdly, he proposed for deployment of more robust and multi-dimensional peacekeeping forces in the conflict zones. And finally, he proposed to the international community to adopt post-conflict “peacebuilding” mission to identify and support structures to strengthen lasting peace in order to avoid a recurrence of conflict in war-torn societies.

Why is the Agenda for Peace important?

The four recommendations of the Agenda for Peace by BoutrosGhali are still relevant even after 26 years since its inception.

Since then the UN has been committed to moving from a policy of “reaction” to the policy of “prevention.”

The UN secretary-general provides his “good office,” ie his personal intervention of sending diplomatic envoys to the parties in conflicted areas to prevent escalation of disputes into war.

As of now, the UN’s preventive diplomacy has been performing responsibilities in Afghanistan, Nepal, Lebanon, Somalia, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, and the Central African Republic.

Preventive diplomacy also helps war-torn societies navigate through the difficult path of reconciliation and peace-building.

The major contribution of Agenda for Peace was to redefine the role of peace-keeping operations. He proposed for new departures in peace-keeping, which would be different from traditional peacekeeping operations. Traditional peace-keepers were deployed between warring parties, which are already abiding by a ceasefire.

He proposed for moving to the second-generation multidimensional peace-keeping operations.

Boutros-Ghali also tried to redefine the role of blue beret soldiers on ground in the middle of conflicts. He also proposed that if peaceful means fail, UN peacekeeping operations should use Chapter VII of the UN charter to maintain or restore international peace and security. Under Article 42 of the charter, the UN Security Council itself had the authority to take military action for that purpose.

Since then, the world has witnessed the unprecedented scales of UN peace-keeping operations all over the world.

In the beginning of 1992, there

Boutros-Ghali understood the fragility of the conditions for peace were 12,000 military and police personnel working as peacekeepers, which rose to 80,000 by the end of 1994. Also, the number of peace-keeping missions increased. In the 40 years of the Cold War, 13 UN peace-keeping operations were launched. But from 1988 to 1994, there have been a total of 21 UN peace-keeping operations.

As of 2015, the UN has conducted 71 peace-keeping operations all over the world.

Currently the UN is conducting 16 multi-dimensional and hybrid peace-keeping operations. At present, a total of 106,245 UN peace-keepers are deployed.

Among them, 90,889 are troops, 13,550 are police personnel, and 1,806 are military observers.

The multi-dimensional peacekeeping operations are now working for peace-building as well.

They now work for preventive deployment, interposition, surveillance and early warning, guarantee and denial of movement by enforcing no-fly zones, restoration of law and order, the custody and possible destruction of deadly weapons, repatriating refugees, advisory

REUTERS

and training support for security personnel, monitoring elections, and advancing efforts to protect human rights. Therefore, they have a mandate to consolidate peace, and advance a sense of confidence among people living in conflict zones.

Although Boutros-Ghali’s Agenda for Peace faced several limitations at the practical level, it is the first road-map for peace of its kind that the UN and the international community have been trying to follow since its inception. In fact, his report was the beginning of adoption of humanised and context-specific actions for restoring peace by implementing preventive diplomacy, peace-making, and peace-building in conflicted zones around the world.

Boutros-Ghali died at the age of 93. The world community still has a lot to do to make his dream come true. Rest in peace, Boutros Boutros-Ghali (1922-2016), a great peace-maker. l Mohammad Atique Rahman is Assistant Professor, University of Dhaka, and a Doctoral Research Fellow, Ghent University, Belgium.

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

INSIDE

Wealth tax collection on the rise n Tribune Report

ERF honours journalists for best reporting The Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) yesterday awarded six economic reporters for their best business reporting. PAGE 16

The collection of wealth surcharge, known as wealth tax, continued to rise since its introduction.

In fiscal year 2014-15, the National Board of Revenue garnered Tk254.26 crore with 22% rise from the previous fiscal year, the latest official data showed.

The collection in FY2013-14 was Tk208.39 crore.

The wealth tax is imposed on the basis of net assets the taxpayers declare in their income tax returns.

As per the Income Tax Ordinance 1984, an individual with Tk2.25 crore value of net asset is required to pay 10% surcharge on the asset.

Fiscal Wealth surcharge years collected

Growth

2012

Tk65cr

2013

Tk101cr

55%

2014

Tk 208cr

105%

2015

Tk254cr

22%

The wealth surcharge was introduced in FY2011-12 and the collection increased every year since then.

Data showed the collection in FY2011-12 totalled Tk65 crore and then jumped to Tk101 crore in the following year.

However, NBR officials said the number of wealth taxpayers was still “very low” compared to the actual number of wealthy people

in the country.

They said individuals having assets like cars and houses were almost twice the number of existing taxpayers, but bringing them under tax net had always remained a challenge.

Officials said most of the taxpayers undervalued wealth in their income tax returns.

According to them, the wealth value is calculated by most taxpayers on the basis of registration value though the actual market value of the asset is higher.

The wealth surcharge rate is 10% for taxpayers who have Tk2.25 crore-Tk10 crore value of wealth, 15% surcharge for net assests up to Tk20 crore, 20% for up

BTCL cuts broadband internet packages

IMF’s Lagarde: G20 should focus on policy spillovers

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said that G20 finance ministers and central bank governors should focus on global economic spillovers from their policy decisions when they meet in Shanghai next week. PAGE 17

n Tribune Report

Seeking evidence of the slowdown Worries about a global slowdown will keep investors focused on early indicators of stress next week, looking for signs that resilient domestic demand in Europe and the US can sustain growth in spite of emerging markets struggles. PAGE 18

Capital market snapshot: Past Week DSE Broad Index

4,587.7

0.1% ▲

Index

1,125.4

0.6% ▲

30 Index

1,766.2

0.4% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk

22,461.6

20.5% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol

531.9

8.5% ▲

CSE All Share Index 14,168.4 30 Index

12,735.5

0.2% ▲ -0.2% ▼

Selected Index

8,609.9

0.2% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk

1,422.8

15.5% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol

43.3

-4.7% ▼

to Tk30 crore and 25% for above Tk30 crore.

In the current budget, the government set the minimum surcharge at Tk3,000 for the rich.

According to a survey by the Economic Research Group in 2012, the number of people with Tk2 crore or more value of wealth is 1.05% of the current number of taxpayers.

There are now about 1.75m taxpayers identification number (TIN) holders in the country. Of them, around 1.2m pay tax regularly.

NBR has decided to carry out a survey on the country’s multi-millionaires to find their real number so the tax-evaders among them can be brought under tax net. l

Farmers busy preparing famous red-skinned potatoes of Bogra, just harvested, to supply across the country. The picture was taken at Sherpur of the district yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

BSEC: Disclose board decisions in 30 minutes or face action n Tribune Report Listed firms must disclose their board decisions within 30 minutes after the closure of their board meeting and all other price sensitive information need to be made public in two dailies and one online newspaper, securities regulator said.

It warned of tough action if the order is not complied with. Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) published a gazette notification on February 15 tightening the corporate disclosure norms.

“Disclosure of outcome of board meetings must be made 30 minutes within the closure of the meeting of board of directors,” said the BSEC. After taking decisions, the listed firms will have to send the decisions immediately to the BSEC and stock exchanges through fax, messenger and courier

services (in case), said the BSEC. It said the listed firms will have to mention date and time of the board decisions, which need to be mandatorily disclosed through stock exchange platforms for the benefit of investors.

“These disclosures need to be made public as soon as possible, but not later than the given time limit,” an official said, asking not to be named.

The BSEC had earlier decided that disclosure guidelines will be changed into disclosure regulations, which provide for stricter actions. l

Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL) has decreased the price of broadband internet packages which would be effective from today.

Ahead of the International Mother Language Day, the stateowned company announced its new internet price packages yesterday. At the same time, it withdrew BCube users’ data limit.

BTCL decided to reduce its price of BCube packages by 35% that included both talk time and broadband internet offer. Data services will remain unlimited for new BCube packages.

From now on, 4GB limit BCube super saver subscribers (BCube infinity 256 package), 10GB limit BCube standard subscribers (BCube infinity 512 package) and 25GB limit BCube premium subscribers (BCube infinity 1000) will enjoy an unlimited data offer. l

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

ERF honours journalists for best reporting n Tribune Report The Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) yesterday awarded six economic reporters for their best business reporting.

The awards were given in four categories.

Monzur Ahmed of the daily Prothom Alo and Obaidullah Rony of the Daily Samakal jointly bagged the award in the banking category.

Fakhrul Islam and Sujoy Mohajan, both from the Prothom Alo, got the award in consumer rights and capital market category respectively.

Under macroeconomic category, Sohel Parvez of The Daily Star, received award while Alamgir Hossain of Jamuna Television won the award under TV reporting category.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith handed the awards at a ceremony titled ERF Nights held at the Sonargaon hotel in the city.

Shamsul Huq Zahid, deputy editor of The Financial Express and Shahiduzzaman, editor of the News Network were given the gratitude awards for their contributions in founding the ERF. Wahiduddin Mahmud, a noted economist of the country, was awarded the lifetime achievement award for his contribution to the economy.

Addressing the ceremony, Finance Minister said: “I feel proud of being a part of the current pace of the economic development in Bangladesh and would like to

ERF award recepients pose for photograph with guests at Sonargoan Hotel in Dhaka yesterday thank Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for giving me the opportunity at the fag end of my life.”

“I am very lucky. I used to dream that the country would march

forward. Today, Bangladesh is no longer a basket case,” he added.

Rehman Sobhan, a prominent economist, urged the finance minister to create budgetary resources

to encourage investigative reporting in the country.

He also called upon the government to make all the projects related information, its progress and es-

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

calating costs available by putting on the website.

ERF President Sultan Mahmud and General Secretary Sajjadur Rahman spoke on the occasion. l

Bangladeshi projects short-listed Stocks stay flat for Aga Khan architecture award n Tribune Report

n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Several Bangladeshi projects are among the 20 short-listed projects for Aga Khan Award for Architecture for 2016.

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture, declared after every three years and the winners get US$1 million prize money and this year it will be declared in the last quarter of the year. Three Bangladeshi projects, so far, won the award.

“Bangladesh has global standard architectures that can work in any international projects,” said Farrokh Derakhshani, director of Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

Derakhshani, who recently visited Dhaka to attend the Dhaka Art Summit, said: “I do believe [that they have international standard] and that’s why we hired a Bangladeshi architecture to do the project titled Aga Khan Academy.”

The Aga Khan Development

Network is going to build the high profile and international standard academy on 20 acres of land in Dhaka and its design is still underway, he said.

Bangladesh has global standard architectures that can work in any international projects Derakhshani reminded that parliament building and Grameen Bank Housing project won the award in 1989 while another project in which two Austrian and German architects built a house with earth and bamboo in Dinajpur got the

award in 2007.

Sharing his experience at the Dhaka Art Summit, he said: “A good number of architectures displayed their works at the exhibition.”

Referring to famous architects Mazharul Islam and Bashirul Haque, he said: “There are some good architect schools in Bangladesh.”

Architecture is important to improve quality of life as the children who live in good house, and good neighbourhood and better building schools are better educated than those who do not enjoy those facilities, he added.

Derakhshani, who has been involved in the profession for over four decades, stated that there should be coordination among different public institutions like public works, WASA, municipality corporations and electricity departments to provide better service to the society. l

Stocks were flat for the two weeks in a row as cautious investors continued to book short-term profit in persisting extreme volatility.

However, some corporate earnings news that poured in the market during the week has continued to keep the market afloat.

During the week, the benchmark of Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, was up marginally 6 points or 0.2% to settle at 4,587. In two weeks, it rose meager 16 points The blue-chip comprising index DS30, however, rose 6 points or 0.4% to 1,766. The DSE Shariah Index, DSES, gained 6 points or 0.6% to 1,125.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index, CSCX, closed at 8,609, moving up 20 points or 0.3%.

The DSE daily average turnover was Tk450 crore, up 20% over the previous week’s Tk373 crore. Half of the trade value came from engineering, fuel and power and pharmaceuticals which accounted for

21%, 15% and 14% respectively of the week’s total turnover.

IDLC Investments said cautious investment mindset made the investors follow passive strategy and look for profit opportunities amid surging volatility in the market.

It said participants were mostly engaged in profit booking from micro caps throughout the week.

Some news-driven trading behaviour was also observed during the week as Reliance Insurance gained 7.3% after its impressive annual declaration. Bangladesh Steel Re-rolling Mills continued its gaining streak after its lucrative earnings declaration last week as well as grabbed the highest turnover of the week.

Lanka Bangla Securities said through its flat movement again last week, the market is still indicating to remain in the consolidation phase with a base around 4,580-mark.

Losers outpaced gainers in the week as out of 330 issues traded, 202 closed lower, 99 higher and 29 issues remained unchanged on the DSE. l

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

IMF’s Lagarde: G20 should focus on policy spillovers n Reuters, Washington IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said that G20 finance ministers and central bank governors should focus on global economic spillovers from their policy decisions when they meet in Shanghai next week.

“The G20 I think, is going to have to focus on spillovers, on spillbacks and on the combination of various policies in play at the moment,” Lagarde told reporters after she was re-elected to a second five-year term as the crisis lender’s leader.

Lagarde said that at the moment, the “asynchronicity” of US, Japanese and European monetary policies needed to be reviewed and practices better coordinated. She also said that G20 ministers should examine the interactions of their countries’ fiscal policies and structural reform moves.

By better coordinating these policies, the major economies can improve market confidence and limit the spillovers on the rest of the IMF’s 188 member countries, she said. Currently, many oil- and commodity-exporting countries are experiencing financial difficulties as the Chinese economy slows.

“Are we in a 2009 moment, I don’t think so. Are we in a moment where coordination is needed?

Yes,” Lagarde said, referring to the deepest part of the recent financial

Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) attends the session “The Global Economic Outlook” during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum REUTERS crisis and widespread recession.

G20 finance ministers and central bank governors will meet in Shanghai on Feb 25 and 26 amid markets roiled by cheap oil and commodity prices and uncertainty over China’s growth rate.

Lagarde added that China’s transition to a more consumer-driven economy “will not be a walk in the

park” and will bring economic difficulties and turbulence, but that she believed Chinese leaders understood their influential place in the global economy as they make restructuring decisions.

She said she has urged Chinese leaders to communicate their policy intentions more clearly.

“What is critical, for one, is a

good and solid communication.

This is something that I have said before and this is something that I believe is being heard” by Beijing, Lagarde said.

The former French finance minister, 60, was the only nominee as the IMF’s chief for the fiveyear term starting July 5. She was re-elected by board consensus. l

Japan business mood subdued amid fears of global slowdown n Reuters, Tokyo Confidence at Japanese manufacturers remained largely subdued in February and the mood was seen deteriorating over the coming three months, a Reuters poll showed, highlighting concerns about slowing global growth and turbulent markets.

In a sign of the stiff headwinds dragging on growth in the world’s third-largest economy, service-sector sentiment also soured though it was expected to stabilize somewhat in the near term, the Reuters Tankan showed.

The monthly poll, which strongly correlates with the Bank of Japan’s quarterly tankan survey, suggested the economy remains underpowered after declines in exports and consumer spending led

to a contraction in output in the fourth quarter.

The Reuters Tankan sentiment index for manufacturers inched up to 7 in February from 6 in January, helped by gains in food processing and precision machinery industries, while cars, steel and oil refineries sagged. It is seen falling to 4 in May. “The results showed gradual worsening of corporate sentiment as declines in demand have become more evident after markets turned into a risk-off mode,” said Mari Iwashita, chief market economist at SMBC Friend Securities.

“There’s no driver of growth. If domestic demand remains lackluster on top of weak exports, that could mount pressure on not just the BOJ but the government to respond by taking fresh stimulus steps,” she said.

The poll of 513 big and mid-sized Japanese companies between Feb. 1-16, of which 265 responded, was taken at a time when heightened global risk aversion shook up the yen. The safe-haven Japanese currency rose sharply, hurting exporters’ morale as the dollar fell to a 15-month low below 111 yen JPY= last week.

Headwinds

Japan’s economy contracted by an annualized 1.4% in October-December as private consumption and exports slumped. While analysts expect a moderate recovery, stagnant wages, depressed consumer prices and faltering global growth have raised fresh doubts about Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cocktail of stimulus policies aimed at quashing years of deflation.

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17

Business

Even the central bank’s shock adoption of negative interest rates late last month has hardly helped turn around business sentiment, as it failed to boost Tokyo stock prices or weaken the yen.

“Demand from China has slowed a lot and there are signs of demand for some semiconductor-related parts declining,” a manager at a rubber maker said in the survey.

An electric machinery producer said: “Our business results stand at the previous year’s levels but have somewhat fallen short of our estimate. Yen rises could aggravate the situation.”

The service sector index fell to 21 from 27 in January, weighed by retailers and wholesalers. The index is seen unchanged in the next three months. l

Russia: Half of global oil glut may disappear if output deal works

n Reuters

The global oil market is over-supplied by around 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd), but that glut could be halved if a deal to freeze oil production at last month’s levels takes effect, a top Russian energy official said on Friday.

Leading OPEC member Saudi Arabia, non-OPEC member Russia, Qatar and Venezuela this week agreed to freeze output at January levels if others joined in. Iran welcomed the move but stopped short of pledging to act itself and it is unclear whether the freeze will actually happen.

“If the agreement is properly fulfilled and it definitively enters into force then around half of that excess supply may be removed from the market,” Alexey Texler, Russia’s first deputy energy minister, told reporters in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.

“Even without Iran there will be an effect from the agreement. But Iran ... might also be interested in such a deal,” he said, noting Tehran had a choice of increasing output at a time of falling prices, or joining the production freeze and potentially getting a higher price for current volumes.

“We are optimistic,” he added.

Russia and OPEC were both pumping oil at near record volumes last month, with Russia reaching another post-Soviet high of 10.88 million bpd.

“We are talking about freezing January production levels. It would be higher than the annual average for 2015 by around 1.5%,” Texler said. Oil production in Russia last year averaged 10.72 million bpd.

Other countries

The first mooted global oil pact in 15 years will depend on other producers, but it remains unclear which other countries need to sign up for the deal to be implemented.

Asked if Russia will talk to the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Norway, Texler said: “Any country may join. But we are realists and, in general, we understand which countries it will be. Many of those you named, obviously, will not do that.”

He added that some producers, still, were uniting round the idea.

Texler did not name them.

“We consider such an agreement useful and necessary. It will allow us to forecast the output volumes of key market players, and such an agreement will allow to continue the market process of influencing expensive projects.”

The Russian oil industry would “move forward” at a price of $35-40 per barrel this year, Texler said. Earlier on Friday, he said that investment in the Russian energy sector was likely to be lower this year than in 2015. l

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

Seeking evidence of the slowdown n Reuters, Frankfurt Worries about a global slowdown will keep investors focused on early indicators of stress next week, looking for signs that resilient domestic demand in Europe and the US can sustain growth in spite of emerging markets struggles.

Surveys on manufacturing and consumer sentiment on both sides of the Atlantic will offer clues about how much the strain of weak trade, investment and wage growth are spilling into advanced economies.

The euro area and the U.S had both been expected to weather the global dip relatively unharmed, but the OECD poured cold water on those hopes this week, when it slashed its GDP forecasts for nearly all the major economies. Germany, Canada and the US saw some of the biggest cuts.

The European Central Bank also pointed to fresh growth risks this week, but it argued that most of them came from outside the euro zone. The domestic recovery was progressing as expected, supported by growing consumption, the bank said.

“So far, the data by and large point to resilience,” UBS said in a note to clients. “However, we noticed a weakening of some of the most sensitive indicators in January.”

“The earliest signs of weakness will likely emerge in confidence indicators of the highly export-orientated industrial/manufacturing sectors, above all in the manufacturing PMIs and the German Ifo index,” UBS said, referring to reports due early next week.

Fresh lending and money supply figures, another set of early indicators of trouble, are also due next week. Investors will want to know if last month’s poor figures were oneoffs or signs of trouble brewing.

Us confidence

US consumer confidence data due on Tuesday is expected to show a

A screen showing stock information is seen at a brokerage house in Nanjing, Jiangsu province slight dip, but durable goods orders are expected to show an increase and a PMI report due today is expected to indicate manufacturing remains resilient.

“Despite the macro data doing well, pessimists often try to convince me that we are on the road to a full-blown credit crisis, which will push the economy into a recession,” Deutsche Bank economist Torsten Sløk said about the United States.

“But if this is true, why did the data for January show an acceleration in consumer spending, a decline in the unemployment rate, an acceleration in wage inflation, and an increase in consumer confidence?”

The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last meeting were far from

pessimistic, and San Francisco Fed President John Williams said the economy was “looking pretty good,” arguing for gradual rate hikes.

The biggest risk to the recovery is the financial market turmoil. That appears to have abated in recent days, but it carries the risk of tighter lending that could drag on growth.

“While a decline in energy prices can be considered as akin to monetary stimulus or a tax cut, this time around price declines have been so large that markets have begun discounting higher default risks for banks, resulting in sovereign CDS spreads to widen as well,” SEB economist Lauri Halikka said.

“Given also increased uncertainty regarding the global eco-

nomic outlook, capital outflows from China and tighter financial conditions, bank lending, investment and consumption may all weaken,” it added.

China reported another set of dismal trade figures recently, indicating that its economy continued to slow. That raised expectations of further government measures and revived talk that another yuan devaluation my come.

Chinese exports fell by 11.2% in January from a year earlier, their seventh straight month of decline.

Imports tumbled 18.8% for the 15th month of decline. Both were far worse than expected.

But capital outflows are even more worrying. They suggest Chi-

REUTERS

nese authorities may need to step in to arrest the exodus, a move that could have reverberate throughout Europe and the United States.

“China’s central bank is losing forex reserves at an alarming pace,” Commerzbank economist Ulrich Leuchtmann said.

Although the government has implemented a set of measures, they may not be enough to slow the outflow.

“If this mix of measures does not work out, the government will soon face a tough decision: It will either have to let the yuan depreciate sharply or impose explicit restrictions on capital flows,” Leuchtmann said. “China’s exchange rate policy will thus keep markets on edge.” l

CORPORATE NEWS Hamdard University holds technology fair

n Tribune Business Desk

Faculty of Science, Engineering & Technology of Hamdard University Bangladesh has recently organised a day long festival titled “Science & Technology Fair 2016” at its campus, said a press release.

Managing director of Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Bangladesh and founder of Hamdard University Bangladesh, Dr Hakim Md Yousuf Harun Bhuiyan was present at the fair as chief guest. l

Prime Bank Cup Golf Tournament has concluded on Friday followed by a prize giving ceremony at Kurmitola Golf Club, said a press release. Principal Staff Officer of Armed Forces Division, Lieutent General Md Mahfuzur Rahman was present on the occasion as chief guest, along with director of Prime Bank, Mafiz Ahmed Bhuiyan

Rakeen Development Company (BD) Limited has recently arranged a three-day fair in Mirpur to showcase its business deals, said a press release. The company’s managing director, SAK Ekramuzzaman was present at the fair, among other officials of the company

| launch |

Creative accelerator for social business launches its public operations

YY Goshti is a creative accelerator for social businesses that became one of the winners of the EMK Small Grant Program 2016. The accelerator program started its official journey through the official unveiling ceremony held at EMK Center, which was attended by young entrepreneurs, students, development professionals, media and other stakeholders.

YY Goshti is program that targets social business entrepreneurs.

The project aims to find six young entrepreneurs with promising social business ideas. The YY Goshti team will work with them for four months providing them with live-in training, exposure visits, workshops, mentorship etc.

The core of this venture is based on an immersive social business experience. Firstly, the entrepreneurs will be required to develop a Social Business Idea.

They are required to apply through our online application procedure.

After the initial screening, six teams will be selected for the Boot Camp. This all inclusive training session will conclude with a Pitch Day where the entrepreneurs will have to pitch their ideas in front of an audience of veteran entrepreneurs, investors and stakeholders. Two social business ideas will finally be awarded with seed funding and workspace that will shape their ideas into a viable social business, thereby helping

| appointment |

Raymond So becomes the new chairman of AFAA Raymond So has been elected as the new chairman of the Asian Federation of Advertising Association (AFAA) at its 19th general body meeting held

recently in Taipei. Representing the Taipei Association of Advertising Agencies (TAAA), Raymond So will preside over the executive committee of AFAA for four years.

Srinivasan K Swamy of the Advertising Council of India (ACI) has become the vice chairman. The other four members of the new Executive Committee are Ramesh Narayan (Advertising Council of India), chief strategy officer; Lee Soon Dong (Korea Federation of Advertising Associations), chief revenue officer; Bharat Avalani (Malaysian Advertisers Association), chief knowledge officer; and Harris Thajeb (Komisiperiklanan Indonesia) chief marketing officer. l

19

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Biz Info

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

| event |

For food connoisseurs Warm Greetings from Le Méridien Dhaka!

We are proud to present LE MERIDIEN DHAKA MEDITERRANEAN NIGHTS, in association with Standard Chartered Bank. This week-long food festival will be directed by guest chef Khalil Alsaies, flown in all the way from St. Regis Abu Dhabi, promising you the refined tastes of the Middle East, Turkey, Morocco, and Tunisia, etc. Be re-introduced to our Mediterranean specialty

restaurant Olea with a feast fit for the princes and princesses by reserving your table now!

LE MERIDIEN DHAKA MEDITERRANEAN NIGHTS February 25 – March 2, 2016 18:00 – 00:00 OLEA TK4,200 per person Table: +88 01990 900 900 Join us on an epicurean expedition of the grandest delights that the Mediterranean region has to offer.l

them break free from the generic growth method.

During the launching ceremony Lamiya Morshed, executive director, Yunus Centre, Shaila Khan, assistant country director, UNDP and MK Aaref, director of EMK Center and Shazeeb M Khairul Islam, founder of YY Goshti were the distinguished speakers. This whole program is sponsored by EMK Center, while supported by Social Business Youth Alliance Global, Prito Reza Productions and Socialyzen.

For More information, please write to Namista Tabassum, Director, YY Goshti atnamista@ sbyaglobal.org l

| event |

A week of celebration and nostalgia at Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden

Draped in a cloak of lights, balloons and décor, the 10th birthday of Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden was a gala affair which commenced from February 11-18. Guests paid tribute to the milestone by flocking at the hotel throughout the week and taking part in the celebrations while enjoying a galore of offers and waivers.

The first step into the lobby serenaded guests with a tide

of warmth and finery leading them to the atrium which was resplendently decorated with balloons all the way from the ceiling. A gargantuan ice carving illuminated in blue charmed spectators and added to the already translucent blue ambience, symbolic to the Radisson Blu brand, bathing the lobby in an ethereal glow.

Outside guests were received with welcome drinks and flower badges

while in-house guests were treated with various complimentary gifts.

The aura of celebration proved to be contagious, as guests were seen in increasing numbers flooding the five outlets of the hotel.

Coincidentally, the new honourable managing director, Brigadier General Sohail Saifdin Sabir, psc (Retd), general manager, Christoph Voegeli, and hotel staff also bid farewell to the former managing director, Brigadier General Jahangir Alam, psc (Retd) who completed an impressive tenure of six years. Memories were recollected and shared in images with guests on a large projector, narrating the prolific and flourishing journey of Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden.

For more information, please visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ RadissonBluDhaka/ or call directly at +88 02 9834555. l

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Ready money (4) 5 Annoying children (5) 9 Garb (6) 10 Female deer (3) 11 Actual (4) 12 Burdened (5) 14 Beseech (5) 16 Halt (4) 19 Comfort (4) 21 Foot lever (5) 24 Grey (5) 27 Destiny (4) 29 Regret (3) 30 Mouth of a volcano (6) 31 Time in grammar (5) 32 Water grass (4)

DOWN 1 Fish (4) 2 Consumed (3) 3 Fastener (6) 4 Land elevation (4) 5 Coming too late (7) 6 Say further (3) 7 Digit (3) 8 Inward feeling (5) 13 Fuss (3) 15 Perfume (7) 17 Roof of the mouth (6) 18 Separated (5) 20 Monkey (3) 22 At a distance (4) 23 Company of cattle (4) 25 Prosecute (3) 26 Female bird (3) 28 Golf mound (3)

Downtime CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 13 represents M so fill M every time the figure 13 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.

A B C DE FG H I J K L MN O P Q RST UVWXYZ

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

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World 21

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

INSIDE

Curfews in north Indian state as caste violence flares

Harper Lee: Enigmatic to the last, an author who inspired millions Harper Lee, who wrote one of America’s most beloved literary classics, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and surprised readers with a second book about racial injustice in the US South after living a largely reclusive life for decades, died at the age of 89 on Friday.

PAGE 22

June date set for Britain’s historic EU referendum after clinching deal Prime Minister David Cameron called a June 23 referendum on membership of the European Union on Saturday as he sought to rally his divided Conservative Party behind a deal which he said would guarantee Britain’s prosperity and security in the bloc.

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Bush’s road to S Carolina a tale of unforced errors and miscalculations Before Donald Trump’s put-downs and the stumbles in presidential debates, and before the profound frustration of voters became so unmistakably apparent, Jeb Bush appeared to be best positioned to win back the White House for Republicans in 2016.

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n AFP, New Delhi, India Indian authorities issued shooton-sight orders and deployed thousands of troops in a northern state neighbouring New Delhi Saturday, after escalating caste protests left at least one dead, officials said.

Television images showed mobs wielding sticks rampaging through the streets in northern Haryana state, setting fire to a local government minister’s house and railway stations, damaging train tracks and blocking two key highways.

A week-long protest by the state’s dominant Jat caste, who are demanding quotas for government jobs and in education, turned violent Friday as police fired on protesters with local reports saying four had died.

Jats, a comparatively affluent caste group, want the same special allowances that are afforded to lower castes facing societal discrimination, but other groups oppose the call.

Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar appealed for calm Saturday afternoon and urged people not to damage public property.

“I appeal to the people especially the youth to stop the protests. Nothing will be gained by destroying property,” Khattar said in a televised interview.

Indian protestors stand near a burning truck during violence after rival caste groups clashed during a mass rally over access to jobs and education in Rohtak on February 19 AFP With protests spreading across the state, more than 5,000 army and paramilitary troopers patrolled the streets to impose a round-the-clock curfew in eight districts.

The army was forced to use helicopters to reach parts of the state after protesters blocked two highways connecting four northern states with the capital.

Jat leaders defiant

Protesters damaged railway tracks and started fires at stations lead-

ing 600 trains to be cancelled since Friday, a spokesman for Indian Railways said.

“Three rail stations were burnt down and several kilometres of track have been damaged,” Neeraj Sharma told AFP, adding that services would remain suspended until the situation was brought under control.

Indian home minister Rajnath Singh Friday held meetings with security officials before dispatching additional troops to the state and appealed to

protesters for peace.

But Jat leaders threatened to continue their protests after talks with Haryana’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state government remained inconclusive.

The protests echo caste violence that swept the western state of Gujarat in August last year, leaving several dead.

That state saw weeks of protests by the privileged Patidar or Patel caste, who demanded special treatment to put them on an equal footing with lower castes. l

FACTBOX

Why the jat community is up in arms Authorities in Haryana called in the Army in a few districts, including Rohtak, on Friday evening after the agitation by jat protestors turned violent.

The jat protestors, who have been demanding reservation in jobs and educational institutions, torched several police and private vehicles in Rohtak.

Here is why the Jat community is up in arms.

Here’s why ... Ü Jats make up 29% of Haryana’s population. They’re politically and economically well off. They’re better off in terms of education too.

The demand to be declared OBC will help them corner the 27% OBC reservation in government jobs

Supreme Court on jat Quota

Ü A special backward class quota; basis: economic status

Ü The Supreme Court said “social backwardness” key to determine backwardness — caste alone cannot be reason to grant reservation. Ü If Haryana were to add a jat quota to the existing OBC (27%) +scheduled castes & scheduled tribes (22.5%), it would defy Supreme Court cap of 50% reservations

Why did they reject it?

Jat stir goes back to 1990s

Who are the jats? Ü A north Indian martial and farming community not traditionally considered ‘backward’.

What did the CM offer them?

Ü They want to be in the OBC category

Jats have agitated to be on the OBC list of the Centre & states, since VP

Singh’s Mandal report of 1991. Ü 1997: Their demand in Haryana, UP and MP to be in central OBC list rejected by the National Commission for Backward Classes Ü 2002: The panel commissions a survey to review jats’ backwardness in six states, including Haryana and UP. Ü Haryana’s surveys of jats compare them to higher castes, not the lower ones Ü 2005: Congress’s Bhupinder Singh Hooda promises them a quota; he becomes CM Ü 2014: Hooda includes jats & four other castes under 10% specially backward class (SBC) quota Ü July 2015: Specially backward class quota set aside by high court after SC refuses to accept the recommendations Ü In March 2015, SC rejects Centre’s

decision to include jats from 9 states in central OBC list: Haryana, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal, MP, Delhi, Rajasthan, UP & Uttarakhand.

What happened on Friday? Ü Protesters break into home of state minister Captain Abhimanyu, try to set it on fire; burn his cars Ü One killed when policemen fire on protesters who blocked a road near the Rohtak-Delhi bypass, burned a police jeep and other vehicles. Ü Protestors block highways, rail tracks. Train services to MP, Rajasthan disrupted Ü 40 trains passing through Haryana over two days cancelled Ü Army called in eight districts Ü Bus services stopped on many routes

Source: TIMES OF INDIA

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

TRIBUTE

Harper Lee: Enigmatic to the last, an author who inspired millions n Reuters

Harper Lee, who wrote one of America’s most beloved literary classics, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and surprised readers with a second book about racial injustice in the US South after living a largely reclusive life for decades, died at the age of 89 on Friday.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” was published in 1960 as the civil rights movement was heating up and its unflinching examination of racial hatred in the South made it especially poignant. Its theme could be summed up with the advice that Atticus Finch, the noble lawyer, gave his young daughter, Scout: “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

A statement from Tonja Carter, Lee’s attorney in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, said Lee had “passed away early this morning in her sleep” there and that her death was unexpected. She would have a private funeral but no date was announced.

It had appeared that Lee’s sole literary output would be “To Kill a Mockingbird,” especially since she acknowledged she could not top the Pulitzer Prize-winning book.

That was what made the publication 55 years later in July 2015 of “Go Set a Watchman” such an unexpected and somewhat controversial literary event.

In the first book, Finch, the adored father of the young narrator Scout, stood up to a white lynch

mob and unsuccessfully defended a black man wrongly accused of raping a white woman. But in “Watchman,” an older Atticus had racial views that left the grown-up Scout greatly disillusioned.

Lee reportedly had written “Go Set a Watchman” first but, at the suggestion of a wise editor, set it aside to tell a tale of race in the South from the child’s point of view in the 1930s.

For many years, Lee, a shy woman with an engaging Southern drawl who never married, lived quietly and privately, always turning down interview requests. She alternated between living in a New York apartment and Monroeville, where she shared a home with her older sister, lawyer Alice Lee. After suffering a stroke and enduring failing vision and hearing, she spent her final years in an assisted living residence in Monroeville.

“When I saw her just six weeks ago, she was full of life, her mind and mischievous wit as sharp as ever,” her agent, Andrew Nurnberg, said in a statement. “She was quoting Thomas More and setting me straight on Tudor history.”

The movie version of “To Kill a Mockingbird also became an American classic. It won the Academy Award for best picture in 1963 while Gregory Peck, who played Atticus and would become Lee’s good friend, was named best actor.

Changing racial views

Nelle Harper Lee was born April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, the youngest of four children of A.C. and Frances

Harper Lee

AFP

Finch Lee and a descendant of Civil War General Robert E. Lee. Like Scout, Lee grew up a tomboy.

Lee had studied law at the University of Alabama but, six months before finishing her studies, she

7 facts about ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ author Harper Lee Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” became one of the most beloved books in US literary history.

Here are seven facts about Lee, who died at the age of 89: Ü She went by Harper, her middle name, because she was afraid her first name, Nelle, would be mispronounced as “Nellie,” not “Nell.” Ü Lee based the “To Kill a Mockingbird” character Dill on childhood friend Truman Capote, who in turn used her as the basis for a character in his “Other Voices, Other Rooms.” Ü “To Kill a Mockingbird,” published in 1960, won the Pulitz-

er Prize the following year, but Conrad Richter’s “The Waters of Kronos” beat her out for the National Book Award. Ü Lee’s fans were stunned to learn 55 years after publication of the novel of a long-stashed manuscript written before “To Kill a Mockingbird” and even more stunned that Atticus, the hero of the first book, was portrayed as a segregationist in “Go Set a Watchman.” Atticus was based on Lee’s father. Ü Lee and actor Gregory Peck became friends during the filming of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” She remained close to his family and Peck’s grand-

son, Harper Peck Voll, is named for her. Ü “To Kill a Mockingbird” created a cottage industry in her hometown, Monroeville, Alabama, with a museum dedicated to it, although Lee filed a lawsuit claiming it was selling unlicensed merchandise, such as “To Kill a Mockingbird” beverage coasters. Ü Actresses Sandra Bullock (“Infamous” in 2006) and Catherine Keener (“Capote” in 2005) portrayed Lee in movies about the writing of Capote’s “In Cold Blood.”

Source: REUTERS

went to New York in the early 1950s to pursue a literary career while working as an airline reservation clerk.

In 1956 friends Michael and Joy Brown gave Lee a special Christmas

gift, a year of financial support so she could work full time on “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

An estimated 30 million copies of the book were sold. It would become required reading in many American schools but the American Library Association said it was frequently challenged by those who did not like its subject matter.

Lee also played a key role in researching another great American book by Truman Capote, her childhood friend and the inspiration for the frail, precocious Dill in “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

In 1959 she accompanied Capote to Holcombe, Kansas, to work on “In Cold Blood,” the chilling account of the murders of a farming family. Her mannerly, down-home approach undoubtedly smoothed the way for the flamboyant Capote.

There was speculation that Capote helped her write “To Kill a Mockingbird” but in his 2006 biography, “Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee,” Charles J. Shields disputed that. He also said Lee’s contribution to Capote’s “In Cold Blood” was greater than believed.

Lee’s sister said the authors eventually fell out because Capote was jealous of Lee’s Pulitzer, which she won in 1961.

In 2006 Lee wrote a piece for O magazine about developing a childhood love of books, even though they were scarce in Monroeville.

“Now, 75 years later in an abundant society where people have laptops, cell phones, iPods, and minds like empty rooms, I still plod along with books,” she wrote. l

Haper Lee in quotes: 10 of the best The author of To Kill a Mockingbird has passed away, aged 89. Here are 10 of the most memorable quotes from her classic novel – about tolerance, love friendship, and justice ¤ You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view ... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it. ¤ You can choose your friends but you sho’ can’t choose your family, an’ they’re still kin to you no matter whether you acknowledge ‘em or not, and it makes you look right silly when you don’t. ¤ Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I’d have the facts. ¤ Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.

¤ Things are never as bad as they seem. ¤ Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. ¤ I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what. ¤ People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for. ¤ The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience. ¤ I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.

Source: THE GUARDIAN

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

June date set for Britain’s historic EU referendum after clinching deal n Reuters, London Prime Minister David Cameron called a June 23 referendum on membership of the European Union on Saturday as he sought to rally his divided Conservative Party behind a deal which he said would guarantee Britain’s prosperity and security in the bloc.

After spelling out detail of the deal - clinched at an EU summit in Brussels - to his senior ministers, Cameron said he had secured the cabinet’s blessing to recommend to voters that Britain stay in the bloc it joined in 1973.

“I believe that Britain will be safer, stronger and better off by remaining in a reformed European Union,” Cameron said outside his Number 10 Downing Street residence in London.

One of Cameron’s closest political allies, Justice Secretary Michael Gove, and five other cabinet members will campaign to leave.

They signed a poster for the Vote Leave out campaign saying “Let’s take back control.”

While the rebellion illustrated the depth of the division over Europe within his ruling Conservative Party, Cameron’s most senior ministers including interior minister Theresa May and finance minister George Osborne backed EU membership.

London Mayor Boris Johnson, who has charmed some voters with a buffoonish persona that masks fierce ambition to succeed Cameron, has yet to make his position clear. A source told Reuters

that Johnson might show his hand on Sunday.

The agreement Cameron reached in Brussels granted Britain an explicit exemption from the founding goal of “ever closer union,” offered concessions on the welfare rights of migrant workers and safeguards for the City of London.

A British exit from the EU would rock the Union - already shaken by differences over migration and the future of the euro zone - by ripping away its second-largest economy, one of its top two military powers and by far its richest financial centre.

Pro-Europeans warn an exit could also trigger the break-up of the United Kingdom by prompting another Scottish independence vote. The $2.9tn British economy would face years of uncertain negotiations over the terms of a divorce.

Opponents of EU membership say Britain would prosper outside what they say is a doomed Germany-dominated bloc that punches way below its weight on the world stage.

Conservatives divided

The issue of Europe has divided the Conservatives for three decades and played a major part in the downfall of Cameron’s two Conservative predecessors, Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

Opinion polls show that a significant number of Britons have yet to make up their mind, though perceptions that the EU has failed to deal with the migrant crisis may

Immigration There are new powers to exclude people believed to be a security risk – even if they don’t have prior convictions, and stronger powers to ban and deport criminals.

The deal will also deny free movement to nationals of countries outside the EU who marry EU nationals, in a

Migrant benefits The deal includes a watered-down version of the “emergency brake” Cameron had been seeking throughout the negotiations.

Rather than a four-year ban on in-work benefits, its allows benefits to be phased in over four years. This compromise followed heavy resistance from eastern European states.

To apply the brake, Britain would need EU approval to apply the brake.

But it has already received confirmation it can apply with “full expectation of approval.”

Taliban blow up girls’ school in Pakistani tribal area Militants said Saturday they had blown up a girls’ school in Pakistan’s restive northwest, the latest in a string of attacks on educational institutions. Azam Tariq, a spokesman for the ‘Sajna’ arm of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the school had been targeted because it was run by the military and the group was opposed to female education.

-REUTERS

INDIA

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron speaks outside 10 Downing Street in London on February 20 REUTERS be turning some towards a ‘Brexit’.

Cameron is due to make a statement to parliament on Monday, triggering the start of the campaign for the referendum.

The cabinet meeting, the first to be held on a Saturday since the 1982 Falklands War, will formalise government support for staying in the EU and Cameron has said ministers will then be free to campaign on whichever side they want.

Cameron acknowledged that Gove would campaign to leave, saying he was disappointed but not surprised. He suggested other Conservatives may also join the “out” camp.

Gove joined Christopher Grayling, leader of the House of Commons, Iain Duncan Smith, a former Conservative Party leader,

employment minister Priti Patel, culture minister John Whittingdale and Northern Ireland minister Theresa Villiers in support the leaving camp.

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, an influential figure in Britain through his ownership of a clutch of UK newspapers, congratulated Gove.

“Congratulations Michael Gove,” Murdoch said on Twitter.

“Friends always knew his principles would overcome his personal friendships.”

The message from the 84-yearold executive chairman of News Corp and 21st Century Fox Inc raises the prospect of some of the media tycoon’s British newspapers possibly campaigning for an EU exit. l

David Cameron’s EU deal: What’s in it and what does it mean? bid to stop so-called sham marriages.

SOUTH ASIA

India, Nepal PM meet to repair ties

FACTBOX

David Cameron finally struck his long-negotiated EU deal late last night. It includes changes on benefits to EU immigrants, stronger British sovereignty and protections surrounding the Eurozone.

Here’s a rundown of the key points:

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Child benefits Cameron wanted to stop migrant workers claiming benefits for children in other EU countries.

He didn’t get that – but he has secured an agreement to ‘index’ the rate to the child’s home country. In most cases, that’s a lower rate than the UK.

Eurozone The deal means that countries not in the euro will not be called on to fund euro bailouts, like those paid to Greece in recent years. It will also see them reimbursed for central EU funds used to prop up the euro.

Cameron’s deal also outlaws discrimination against companies and

individuals on the basis of their home currency, which he hopes will help British companies trade in Europe.

Sovereignty Cameron wanted a recognition that “ever closer union” didn’t mean “political integration.”

He didn’t get that, but he did secure an agreement to amend existing treaties to make it clear that the references to ever closer union “do not apply to the United Kingdom.”

The deal also introduces a “red card” system, where EU legislation can be reconsidered with support of 55% of the 28 member nations. l

Source: THE INDEPENDENT

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Nepal’s new premier KP Sharma Oli in New Delhi on Saturday, with the leaders pledging to work together to mend ties strained by a months-long border blockade. The two countries also signed nine agreements including a $250m grant for reconstruction following a devastating quake last year and memoranda of understanding to improve Nepal’s roads and power infrastructure.

-AFP

CHINA

Removes stocks regulator head after market woes China has removed the head of its securities regulator following a turbulent period in the country’s stock markets, appointing a top state banking executive as his replacement, as leaders move to restore confidence in the economy. The official Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday that Xiao would be replaced by Liu Shiyu, chairman of the Agricultural Bank of China and a former deputy governor of China’s central bank.

-REUTERS

ASIA PACIFIC

Indonesian police arrest 41 suspected Islamic militants Indonesian police said Saturday that they have arrested dozens of suspected Islamic militants in two separate raids on the main island of Java, as authorities get set to tighten anti-terrorism laws following last month’s deadly attacks in Jakarta. -AP

MIDDLE EAST

Al Qaeda militants seize southern Yemen town Dozens of al Qaeda militants took control of the southern Yemeni town of Ahwar on Saturday, residents said, consolidating the group’s control over much of the region.

At dawn this morning the al Qaeda gunmen clashed with the Popular Resistance forces, killing three of them. Al Qaeda attacked the sheikh in charge of the area and after he escaped set up street checkpoints and planted their black flag on government buildings.

-REUTERS

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

USA

Trump calls for boycott Apple Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called on Friday for a boycott of Apple Inc products until the tech company agreed to help the US government unlock the cellphone of one of the killers in last year’s San Bernardino, California, shooting.

Trump made the off-the-cuff comment at a town hall-style event at a country club, a day before the state’s nominating contest.

-REUTERS

THE AMERICAS

Venezuela sending new proposals to OPEC, nonOPEC producers Venezuela is sending new proposals to leaders of OPEC and non-OPEC countries to stabilize the oil market, President Nicolas Maduro said on Friday afternoon, without providing details. The latest move by pricehawk Venezuela comes days after leading OPEC member Saudi Arabia, non-OPEC member Russia, Qatar and the South American country agreed to freeze output at January levels if others joined in.

-REUTERS

UK

Scotland would seek independence referendum If England votes to leave the European Union against the wishes of Scotland then pressure would swiftly rise for a second independence referendum, the former nationalist leader of Scotland said on Saturday. Nicola Sturgeon, the current leader of the Scottish National Party and of Scotland’s devolved government, has said she supports staying in the EU, and polls show that a majority of the 5m Scots would also back that view. -REUTERS

EUROPE

EU leaders dismiss Greek threat to block summit European leaders played down a Greek threat on Friday not to sign off on final agreements at an EU summit on migration and Britain’s membership of the bloc unless Athens wins assurances that EU states will not shut borders. The Greek gambit came after Austria infuriated EU peers on the eve of the summit by insisting on capping the number of migrants it takes - a move that threatened to clog up the route for migrants leaving Greece to head for Germany. -AFP

AFRICA

Uganda’s Museveni wins election Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni extended his 30-year rule on Saturday, winning an election that international observers said lacked transparency and his main opponent, who was placed under house arrest, denounced as a sham.

-REUTERS

INSIGHT

Bush’s road to S Carolina a tale of unforced errors and miscalculations n Reuters, Charleston, SC Before Donald Trump’s putdowns and the stumbles in presidential debates, and before the profound frustration of voters became so unmistakably apparent, Jeb Bush appeared to be best positioned to win back the White House for Republicans in 2016.

He amassed a $150m war chest in 2015, surrounded himself with some of the best minds in the party, had a famous last name and attracted the support of the party establishment.

Now with his polling in single digits, strategists say his presidential ambitions may rest in large measure on the outcome of Saturday’s South Carolina Republican primary. He needs to do well to show he can perform strongly in the Super Tuesday primaries on March 1, when a collection of mostly southern states will vote.

The Bush campaign dismisses what they see as a rush to write him off, saying he plans to go to Nevada for campaigning on Sunday and will participate in a debate in Houston on Thursday. To be sure Bush has shown signs of

momentum in recent weeks, with stronger performances in debates where he struggled earlier in the campaign and a better finish than Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, his fiercest rival for the Republican establishment vote, in the New Hampshire primary..

From the start, they said, Bush appeared to misjudge the mood of the Republican base. In December 2014, for instance, Bush gathered his senior aides and a small group of national political operatives for a meeting in Miami to talk about his coming candidacy. A survey to gauge the national mood of the party was dismissed by Bush and his aides as unnecessary. Such polling, a participant said, would have made clear to Bush the rebellious sentiment of the conservative base of the party.

‘Low energy’

Viewing Trump as a summer fad who would fade given his outrageous comments, the campaign was slow to respond to the billionaire when he first blasted Bush last August as “low-energy.” Bush maintained his above-the-fray strategy and focused on his policy proposals instead of mixing it up with Trump.

Trump relentlessly and bluntly attacked Bush in speeches and on

BUSH SINKS DESPITE HEAVY SPENDING Despite millions of dollars of spending by Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush’s campaign and Super PAC, Right to Rise USA, his poll numbers among Republicans have sunk since he declared his candidacy in June.

CUMULATIVE SPENDING 100,000,000

POLLS 20% 67359038

80,000,000

67359038

46097372

40,000,000

16.5

12.6 10.4

10%

9.9 6.6

17951586 13345985 13345985 8519745 4603392

20,000,000

J-M ‘15 Jun

15.4

61547610

60,000,000

0

15%

Jul

Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan-16

8.0

5%

0% J-M ‘15

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec Jan-16

Source: Reuters analysis of Federal Election Commission campaign finance date; Reuters/psos polls

Twitter, portraying him as tired, weak and out of touch with the party. Trump has mentioned Bush on Twitter hundreds of times, far more than any other Republican candidate.

When the “low energy” attacks on Bush started to take hold and his poll numbers began dropping, he went out of his way to insist he had plenty of energy to be president, talking of working 16-hour days, putting in feistier appearances on the stump and hitting back at Trump hard.

Behind the scenes, though, donors said they fretted that too much time had gone by before he took the problem seriously.

Some confidants of the for-

mer Florida governor seethed for weeks at Trump’s taunts and urged the campaign to shift to a more aggressive posture.

“Defining him as weak denied him the ability to make the argument that by resume, competence and experience he was the most fit to command,” said Schmidt.

When Bush launched his campaign in June, he was the clear frontrunner among Republicans, polling at nearly 18% in a crowded field. Roughly six weeks later Trump had taken a commanding lead with 26% and Bush had dropped to around 12%, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling. Today Bush is at 8% nationally. Trump stands at 38%. l

FACTBOX

5 numbers driving the race in Nevada and S Carolina Continuing our US Presidential election feature, where we dig in to the latest polls and loop in other data streams — like advertising figures, election results, voter registration trends and other measures that tell the story of the 2016 campaign.

117,599 | the number of Democratic caucus goers in Nevada in 2008 Harry Reid worked hard to secure Nevada’s position as a key early state in the presidential nominating process – but headed into their third cycle, the first-in-the-West caucuses haven’t caught on just yet.

In 2008, nearly 118,000 Democrats turned out on a Saturday morning to vote for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton (Clinton won more votes, but Obama won more delegates), shattering turnout records.

But even that was only 9% of all registered voters.

One thing to watch: which caucus draws more voters, Democrats on Sat-

urday, or Republicans next Tuesday.

There are more registered Democrats in Nevada than Republicans.

In the two other Democratic-leaning swing states that have already voted this year, Iowa and New Hampshire, more voters participated in the GOP contests than in the Democratic ones.

$1.6m | The amount Hillary Clinton spending on advertising in Nevada this week In the weeks leading up to Iowa or New Hampshire, Bernie Sanders outspent Hillary Clinton on the airwaves, in some cases by a nearly two-to-one margin.

But not in Nevada. In just the five days from Feb. 16-20, Clinton is spending $1.6m on television and radio advertising in Nevada, according to data compiled by The Tracking Firm. Sanders is spending $1.2m.

$1.9m | The amount Marco Rubio and his allies are spending on advertising in South Carolina this week Rubio is the top spender among Republicans over that same Feb. 16-20

8.5

time frame, with the Florida senator and groups supporting him shelling out nearly $2m.

Cruz and his allies come in second, spending $1.4m, while Trump is spending only $571,000.

This doesn’t count other groups playing in the race, like the conservative Club for Growth, which is spending a little over $600,000 on anti-Trump spots, or the Jeb Bush-supporting Right to Rise PAC, which is spending $229,000 on spots hitting Rubio and John Kasich.

29% | Trump’s share of the white evangelical Christian vote in South Carolina, according to a NBC News/ Wall Street Journal/Marist poll Evangelical Christians are thought to be Cruz’s base, but even in the NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll out Friday that showed Cruz nipping at Trump’s heels in South Carolina, Trump still edged Cruz among white evangelical voters, 29% to 26%t. Rubio and Bush trailed the two front-runners among white evangelicals, with 14% and 13 %, respectively.

White evangelicals made up 59% of the Marist poll sample – a little less than their representation in the 2012 primary exit poll (64%).

48% & 50% | The approximate share of adults in Nevada and South Carolina, respectively, who live in wireless-only households Americans’ abandonment of landline phones has been a major impediment for pollsters, who’ve long depended on being able to contact willing participants at home.

But now roughly half of US adults live in households with no landline and one or multiple wireless phones, and some of the public polls are struggling to adjust.

The next two states on the primary/caucus calendar, Nevada and South Carolina, have higher rates of wireless substitution – 48.4% in Nevada and 49.5% in South Carolina – than the nation at large, according to new data released this week by the National Center for Health Statistics. l

Source:POLITICO

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INSIDE

Baz smashes fastest century in last Test Brendon McCullum blasted the fastest Test century to rescue NZ before Australia were reduced to 57 for one by the close of day one of the second Test yesterday.

The New Zealand captain scored a brilliant 145, with his first 100 coming from 54 balls. PAGE 26

Clarke out for ‘rusty’ 48 in comeback Former Australia captain Michael Clarke scored what he described as a "rusty" 48 in his comeback match in Sydney club cricket yesterday. Clarke was dropped twice early batting at No. 3 for his old team Western Suburbs against Randwick-Petersham. PAGE 27

Cup holders Arsenal held by dogged Hull Holders Arsenal’s long unbeaten run in the FA Cup continued but they were frustrated by Hull City yesterday, drawing 0-0 in a dreary fifth-round tie at the Emirates Stadium. Arsene Wenger’s side piled on late pressure but could not find a way. PAGE 28

Del Potro downs Chardy, reaches SF Injury-nagged 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro advanced to the ATP Delray Beach Open semi-finals on Friday by defeating French fifth seed Jeremy Chardy 6-2, 6-3. The 27-year-old earned a yesterday berth against 61st-ranked Sam Querrey. PAGE 29

Bangladesh limited-over captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza welcomes back Shakib al Hasan, who joined the national camp in Mirpur yesterday following his Pakistan Super League campaign MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Mustafiz living his dream in Bangladesh colours n Minhaz Uddin Khan Pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman could only dream of playing in Bangladesh colours when the Tigers roared into the final of the Asia Cup for the very first time in 2012.

Bangladesh, motivated by a total team effort in the regional competition, performed wonders, reaching the grand finale riding on victories over sub-continent rivals Sri Lanka and India. Mustafiz was only 17 back then and was residing at his uncle’s house as he was attending the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s pace foundation camp at that time.

However, a drastic change in fate saw Mustafiz turn the tables around and register stunning performances in the international cricket arena. It was little wonder therefore, when he was earmarked as one of the key members of the Bangladesh Asia Cup Twenty20 squad.

The event will be Mustafiz’s maiden multi-nation tournament and the Satkhira cricketer is hellbent on making the best use of

The opportunity is big for me.

Coach (Chandika Hathurusingha) and selectors kept me in the team and I want to thank them for that. I hope I will be able to give my best for the team the opportunity, heading into the World T20 next month in India.

“The opportunity is big for me.

Coach (Chandika Hathurusingha) and selectors kept me in the team and I want to thank them for that.

I hope I will be able to give my best

for the team,” Mustafiz told the media at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.

Last June, Mustafiz made a flying start to his ODI career, against India in a three-match series. The left-arm paceman created a stir, becoming the first bowler in ODI history to pick up 11 wickets in the first two matches.

Given that Bangladesh will take on powerhouse India in the main round opener this Wednesday, expectations are high that the southpaw will repeat his heroics from last year. Mustafiz however, said very little when queried to share his thoughts on the India clash.

“It is good that it (opening match) is against India. But, it is the same thing again. If I get a chance, I will try to do well,” he said.

Termed as the “wonder boy of world cricket”, Mustafiz said he does not have any particular plans for the tournament, rather, “I will do things according to the situation and what my team demand.

For now, I just want to play the way I always do.” l

ASIA CUP T20 QUALIFIERS

Afghans revive campaign with thrilling win n Cricinfo

Afghanistan reinvigorated their hopes of qualifying for the main round of the Asia Cup T20 with a thrilling three-wicket win over Oman in Fatullah yesterday. The star of the show was Dawlat Zadran, who clubbed two consecutive sixes in the final over bowled by left-arm spinner Ajay Lalcheta as Afghanistan chased down 166 with three balls to spare.

Oman, seeking a repeat of their performance over Hong Kong, opted to bat and were powered by the opening combine of Zeeshan Maqsood (52) and Jatinder Singh (23). Adnan Ilyas, the No. 3 batsman, built on the firm base to score an enterprising 27-ball 54 comprising three fours and four sixes.

But his dismissal in the 17th over proved to be the difference.l

BRIEF SCORE Oman 165/4 in 20 overs (Ilyas 54, Maqsood 52, Naib 2-24) Afghanistan 168/7 in 19.3 overs (Noor Ali 63, Stanikzai 34, Mehran Khan 3-18, Bilal Khan 3-33) Afghanistan won by three wickets

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Baz smashes fastest century in last Test n Reuters, Christchurch Brendon McCullum blasted the fastest Test century to rescue New Zealand before Australia were reduced to 57 for one by the close of day one of the second Test yesterday.

The New Zealand captain scored a brilliant 145, with his first 100 runs coming from 54 balls, as the hosts were dismissed for 370 after tea at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

Trent Boult then had the dangerous David Warner caught at second slip by Martin Guptill for 12, before Joe Burns (27) and Usman Khawaja (18) saw the Australians through to the close.

New Zealand had no right to be in the position they were at stumps after being sent in to bat by Steve Smith on a green wicket and reduced to 32 for three inside 20 overs.

“After losing the toss anything could have happened,” McCullum told reporters.

“The wicket had plenty in it all day and we decided the best form of defence was for us to try to attack.

“It’s not always going to come off but today we got a bit of luck along the way and as we sit here at the end of day one we’re firmly in the Test match.”

McCullum, playing his 101st and final Test with his team trailing 1-0 in the two-match series, led the

SCORECARD

NEW ZEALAND R B M. Guptill c Burns b Pattinson 18 22 T. Latham c Smith b Bird 4 40 K. Williamson c Smith b Marsh 7 69 H. Nicholls lbw Hazlewood 7 12 B. McCullum c Lyon b Pattinson 145 79 C. Anderson c Voges b Lyon 72 66 B. Watling c Burns b Bird 58 57 T. Southee c Hazlewood b Lyon 5 6 M. Henry c Khawaja b Lyon 21 12 N. Wagner c Nevill b Hazlewood 10 23 T. Boult not out 14 10 Extras (lb2, w5, nb2) 9 Total (10 wickets; 65.4 overs)

370

Fall of wickets 1-21 (Guptill), 2-23 (Latham), 3-32 (Nicholls), 4-74 (Williamson), 5-253 (McCullum), 6-266 (Anderson), 7-273 (Southee), 8-297 (Henry), 9-333 (Wagner), 10-370 (Watling)

IN NUMBERS 183.54

McCullum’s strike rate in his 79-ball 145 - the second highest in innings of 100 or more runs. Only Viv Richards’ strike rate of 189.75 in his 58-ball 110 not out is higher.

FASTEST-EVER TEST CENTURIES

106

Sixes for McCullum in Tests, the most by any batsman. When he started this innings he was on 100, the joint highest with Adam Gilchrist.

54

Balls Brendon McCullum (NZ) v Australia at Christchurch in 2015-16

5.63

56

balls Misbah-ul-Haq (Pak) v Australia at Abu Dhabi in 2014-15 Viv Richards (WI) v England at St John’s in 1985-56

New Zealand’s run rate in their total of 370 - the second highest by any team in a total of 350 or more. Only England’s 447 for 3 against Bangladesh in Chester-le-Street in 2005 was marginally better, at 5.73.

57

2

Balls Adam Gilchrist (Aus) v England at Perth in 2006-07

Number of New Zealand batsmen who have scored a century in their career’s final Test match, including McCullum.

67

Balls Jack Gregory (Aus) v South Africa at J'burg in 1921-22 counter-attack that began before lunch and reached its bludgeoning best in the afternoon session.

The height of the onslaught came after McCullum was caught in the gully by an acrobatic Mitchell Marsh when on 39, only to be recalled as television replays showed fast bowler James Pattinson had over-stepped.

Already bristling with aggression, the second life flicked a switch for McCullum and he went into all-out attack mode, reaching his century 24 balls later with his 16th boundary. l

9.76

Run rate in the 179-run stand between McCullum and Corey Anderson for the fifth wicket - highest in a partnership of 150 or more runs.

69.18

Percentage of runs which came in boundaries for New Zealand - 256 out of 370. They hit 46 fours and 12 sixes. The percentage is the third highest in a total of 350 or more in Tests.

3

New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum hits a six over long on against Australia on the first day of the second Test at Hagley Park Oval in Christchurch yesterday AP

McCullum unaware about record n Reuters, Christchurch

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum broke the world record for the fastest Test century held jointly by his idol Viv Richards yesterday without ever being aware he was about to make cricket history.

McCullum, 34, who is playing his 101st and final Test, struck the ball with brutal brilliance to reach his

12th century from 54 deliveries on the opening day of the second Test against Australia at Hagley Oval.

West Indian Richards set the previous record of 56 balls against England in Antigua in 1986 and the mark was then equalled by Pakistan’s Misbah-ul-Haq against Australia in Abu Dhabi in 2014.

“I had no idea,” McCullum told a news conference after scoring 145 in

New Zealand’s 370 all out after they had been reduced to 32 for three in the 20th over on a lively pitch.

“I was trying to hit every ball for four or six. Viv was my idol growing up so it’s nice to be able to go past him on this occasion.

“But he was a cracking player, he was an incredible cricketer. I’m almost a little bit of embarrassed to go past him, to be honest.”l

100 BALL-BY-BALL

.4.16.4 4612.4.4.1......1.1....41.64..4 4 4..2.4 424..64 4 4

R B 27 22 12 65 18 33 0

Total (1 wicket; 20 overs)

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SHAUN POLLOCK

Every Test cricketer, at some stage feeling frustrated in the change room, has thought I should have just tee’d off...”Brendon McCullum”

TOM MOODY

The greatest challenge a batsman has as his career unfolds is to retain that youthful fearless approach, McCullum owned that NO FEAR style!

AARON FINCH

Extraordinary cricket being played by NZ! McCullum in T20 mode!!

Unreal little bro. Amazing!!@BLACKCAPS @lukewright204@grantelliottnz boys loving watching it.

LUKE WRIGHT

What a day. @TeamQuetta into the final, then watching Brendon McCullum smash it everywhere on a green one!!@ MccullumNathan @grantelliottnz

Fall of wickets 1-25 (Warner) Bowling Southee 7-1-21-0, Boult 6-1-18-1, Henry 6-2-18-0, Anderson 1-1-0-0

TWITTER REACTION

NATHAN MCCULLUM

Bowling Hazlewood 18-5-98-2, Pattinson 15-2-81-2 (w1, nb1), Bird 14.4-4-66-2, Marsh 8-1-62-1 (nb1), Lyon 10-0-61-3 AUSTRALIA J. Burns not out D. Warner c Guptill b Boult U. Khawaja not out Extras (0)

New Zealand batsmen who have scored more centuries than McCullum’s 12. Martin Crowe made 17, and Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson 13 each.

DAMIEN FLEMING

Brendan #McCullum out for a sensational 145 off 79 balls.#NowBackToNormalTestFields #AUSvNZ The sold-out Hagley Oval stands to applaud Brendon McCullum's record-breaking ton in Christchurch yesterday

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

Hull paid me extra 15,000 pounds a week in error-Bullard n Reuters

QUICK BYTES Zia clinches Int’l Rating Chess title Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman emerged as the unbeaten champion in the Latif Travels International Rating Chess Tournament which concluded at Abul Maal Abdul Muhith Sports Complex in Sylhet yesterday.

International Master Minhaz Uddin was also undefeated but finished as the runners-up. Zia and Minhaz both earned 7.5 points each following the end of the ninth round and were tied for the championship title. In the tiebreaking system, Zia sealed victory with highest Buchholz score. GM Abdullah al Rakib finished third while FM Mohammad Javed came fourth. The tournament was organised by Sylhet District Sports Association with support from Bangladesh Chess Federation.

–TRIBUNE REPORT

Siddikur joint 59th in Maybank C’ship Bangladesh golf sensation Siddikur Rahman carded one-overpar 72 for the second time in a row as the third round’s play in the $300,000 Maybank Championship Malaysia came to an end yesterday.

At the Royal Selangor Golf Club in Kuala Lumpur, the Bangladesh golfer moved down to joint 59th spot. Siddikur began the day with two consecutive bogeys in the opening two holes. He later overcame the early stumble by hitting two birdies in the 10th and 13th holes.

–TRIBUNE REPORT

Car picture puts Bendtner offside Danish bad-boy Nicklas Bendtner has fallen offside at VW-sponsored Wolfsburg, and will cop a fine, after breaking club rules by posting a picture of him climbing into a luxury Mercedes. The picture, posted on social media site Instagram, shows Bendtner climbing into the vehicle with the text: “On my way to another session”.

–AFP

Nadal through to semi-final in Rio Former world number one Rafael Nadal reached the Rio Open semifinals without even hitting a ball Friday as Aleksandr Dolgopolov withdrew injured from their lasteight tie. Nadal is playing at the low-key clay court event in a bid to find his form ahead of a tilt at an unprecedented 10th French Open crown in June.

–AFP

A picture made available by Dubai Tennis Championships Media Office on Friday shows Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic posing for a picture at a water park in Dubai AFP

Clarke out for ‘rusty’ 48 in comeback club match n AFP, Sydney Former Australia captain Michael Clarke scored what he described as a "rusty" 48 in his comeback match in Sydney club cricket yesterday.

Clarke, 34, who bowed out of the game in August after the disastrous Ashes series in England, was dropped twice early batting at No. 3 for his old team Western Suburbs against Randwick-Petersham.

He was finally dismissed leg before wicket trying to work a ball through fine leg to Sam Doggett just two runs short of a half-century.

Clarke was dropped at second slip before he had scored and later was put down again at second slip while on 30 in his 135-minute innings, which included seven fours.

“It was nice, I enjoyed it. I batted for a good length of time and the body feels pretty good,” Clarke told

reporters at the ground.

“My goal here is to come and try and contribute. Fortunately I made

a few runs, I always want some more, but I’ll worry about anything past that after this game.

“I didn’t really have too many goals to be honest, it was more just to come back and play, walk out to the middle and as you would’ve seen there was certainly a bit of rust there.

“I didn’t feel great, but it was nice to spend some time in the middle and score some runs.”

One of the outstanding batsmen of his generation, Clarke said before his comeback game that he “missed the game”, and wanted to have a crack at making his mark in T20s.

While Clarke played in 115 Tests and 245 one-day internationals, he only took part in 34 T20 internationals during his first-class career.

Clarke is due to return on Sunday for the remainder of the club match with Randwick-Petersham.l

Former Hull City midfielder Jimmy Bullard, who is now retired, says the club “changed his life” by paying him up to an extra 15,000 or 16,000 pounds ($21,546 or $22,982) a week by mistake.

Bullard joined Hull on a 4-1/2 year deal from Fulham for a transfer fee of five million pounds in January 2009 when both teams were in the Premier League.

Bullard was quoted in British newspapers on Friday recalling that when the time came to sign his contract he found he would be paid 55,000 pounds a week, rather than the 40,000 agreed.

“I saw on the paperwork it said 50,000 pounds so I’ve passed it under the table to my agent and my agent’s gone: ‘Yeah, that’s a misprint, sign it’,” the 37-year-old said.

“As I signed it I blew it (the ink) dry and then I read under it as well, another 5,000 or 6,000 in appearance (money). I’m celebrating to this day. Thank you Hull City for changing my life. I’m dropping cash everywhere, I’m bleeding cash,” added the former footballer.”

The club was not immediately available to comment.

He played 18 league games for Hull, who are top of the Championship and hoping to win promotion back to the Premier League this season, before joining Ipswich in August 2011. l

Errani to face Strykova for WTA title in Dubai n AFP, Dubai Italy’s Sara Errani and Czech Barbora Strycova will clash for the title at the Dubai Tennis Championships yesterday after both battled through at an event reeling after early exits for all seeds.

Errani reached her second final on Friday, defeating Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-4. Strycova outlasted Caroline Garcia of France 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in a battle of momentum shifts lasting for two and a quarter hours.

Errani leads the series 5-1, earning wins in her last four matches with Strycova dating to 2010.

Errani, ranked 22nd, took almost two hours to hold off the 21stranked Svitolina, finishing with 31 unforced errors and just a dozen winners. The Italian will play her 19th final, bidding for a ninth singles title. “It was really tough today, it was hot,” she said. l

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

Zidane turns mind to Liga chase n Reuters, Madrid

Cup holders Arsenal held by dogged Hull n Reuters, London

An elated but pragmatic Zinedine Zidane has quickly turned his mind from the Champions League victory against AS Roma to Real Madrid’s seemingly impossible task to catch Barcelona in La Liga.

“We are going to rest well and think about the Malaga game. [Today] we will try to do everything to get what we need to get,” Zidane said in Rome. “When we win, we all win and that is important. We have to keep going because we are at the start of all of this.”l

FIXTURES

Rayo Vallecano Malaga Athletic Bilbao Granada Atletico Madrid

v v v v v

Sevilla Real Madrid Real Sociedad Valencia Villarreal

Hazard wants to stay but I do not, says Hiddink n Reuters, London Chelsea’s interim manager Guus Hiddink will not remain at the club beyond the end of the season, he said on Friday.

The Dutch coach is convinced, however, that last season’s player of the year Eden Hazard will stay, despite recent transfer speculation linking him to PSG and Real Madrid.

“He’s very keen to be here, he’s happy here, his family’s happy here and he recently extended his contract,” Hiddink told.

The Belgium international netted 19 club goals in all competitions last season, but has scored only once for Chelsea this campaign.

“He has to step up, he knows that,” Hiddink said ahead of Chelsea’s FA Cup fifth round tie at home to Manchester City today.

Asked about his own future, Hiddink, who became interim manager after Jose Mourinho was sacked in December, said he had no intention of changing his mind about stepping down at the end of the season.

“What we agreed, we stick to that,” he said.l

Arsenal's Theo Walcott in action with Hull City's Curtis Davies during their FA Cup fifth-round match at Emirates Stadium in London yesterday REUTERS

Holders Arsenal’s long unbeaten run in the FA Cup continued but they were frustrated by stubborn Championship leaders Hull City yesterday, drawing 0-0 in a dreary fifth-round tie at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsene Wenger’s side piled on late pressure but could not find a way past the massed ranks of Hull’s defence and will need a replay in their quest to become the first club in the modern era to win the competition three years in a row.

Despite overwhelming possession, the closest Arsenal came to breaking the deadlock was Joel Campbell’s free kick that was tipped against the post by Hull’s Eldin Jakupovic and Theo Walcott was also denied by the inspired goalkeeper. l

Pellegrini ready to spurn FA Cup chance n AFP, London

Managers threatening to play a weakened team in the FA Cup has become a familiar sound in recent seasons and Manuel Pellegrini joined the chorus ahead of Manchester City’s fifth-round tie away to Chelsea today.

At both ends of the Premier League, the financial incentive to

either qualify for the Champions League or avoid relegation has led to many managers drawing on their extended squads for FA Cup ties.

Pellegrini’s men will be in

FIXTURES

Blackburn v West Ham Chelsea v Man City Tottenham v Crystal Palace

action just a day before they travel to Ukraine ahead of the first leg of their Champions League last16 tie against Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday, with City bidding to reach the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite club competition for the first time.

Elsewhere, Chelsea defender Gary Cahill backed his side to cope if regular centre-back partner John

Terry remains sidelined.

The Blues’ skipper missed the 2-1 Champions League defeat by Paris St Germain on Tuesday, a result that ended their 12-match unbeaten run.

The other all top-flight FA Cup tie this weekend involves two London clubs, with high-flyers Tottenham Hotspur at home to Crystal Palace.l

Bologna end Juve’s 15-match winning run n AFP, Rome Bologna held on for a scoreless draw to end champions Juventus’s 15-match winning streak in Serie A on Friday.

The Old Lady of Turin had not failed to win in the league since a 1-0 reverse at Sassuolo at the end of October and turned an 11-point gap to the top of the table into a onepoint advantage over Napoli with a 1-0 success against their nearest rivals last weekend.

However, Juve travelled to a Bologna side who were themselves in

the midst of a resurgence since former Italy coach Roberto Donadoni took over the reins in October after Delio Rossi was sacked.

Bologna were 18th then and have since risen to ninth.

Already a week ago, Juve showed signs of tiredness despite beating Napoli and their efforts seemed to catch up with them in Bologna.

Coach Massimiliano Allegri will be especially concerned with Juve hosting Bayern Munich in the Champions League last 16, first leg on Tuesday.l

Juventus' Paul Pogda (C) in action against Bologna's Ibrahima Mbaye (L) during their Italian Serie A match at Renato Dall'Ara Stadium on Friday REUTERS

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

DAY’S WATCH

Del Potro downs Chardy to reach Delray semis n AFP, Delray Beach

FOOTBALL TEN ACTION 12:00PM A-League 2015/16 Melbourne City FC v CC Mariners 5:00PM I-League 2016 East Bengal v Salgaocar 7:35PM Shivajians v Shillong French Ligue 1 10:00PM Caen v Stade Rennais 2:00AM Lille v Olympic Lyon

SONY SIX The Emirates FA Cup 8:00PM Blackburn v West Ham 10:00PM Chelsea v Man City 1:40AM Italian Serie A: Roma v Palermo

SONY ESPN Spanish La Liga 5:00PM Rayo Vallecano v Sevilla 9:00PM Malaga v Real Madrid 11:30PM Athletic Bilbao v Real Sociedad 1:30AM Atletico Madrid v Villarreal

STAR SPORTS 4 German Bundesliga 8:30PM Leverkusen v Dortmund 10:15PM Hannover 96 v FC Augsburg

CRICKET TEN CRICKET 6:30PM Eng Tour of SA: 2nd T20I

TENNIS TEN SPORTS 8:00PM Rio Open: Final

BADMINTON STAR SPORTS 4 12:00PM Asia Team Championships

HOCKEY STAR SPORTS 1 Hockey India League 3:20PM 3rd Place Playoff 6:50PM Final

KABADDI STAR SPORTS 2 Pro Kabaddi League 8:20PM Vizag v Bengaluru 9:30PM Jaipur v Pune

Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro returns a shot against France's Jeremy Chardy during their men's quarter-final in the Delray Beach Open tennis tournament in Delray Beach, Florida on Friday REUTERS

Injury-nagged 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro advanced to the ATP Delray Beach Open semi-finals on Friday by defeating French fifth seed Jeremy Chardy 6-2, 6-3.

The 27-year-old Argentine wildcard entrant earned a yesterday berth against 61st-ranked Sam Querrey, who rallied to dispatch fellow American Tim Smyczek 6-7 (1/7), 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.

Bulgarian fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov will face American Rajeev Ram in the other semi-final.

Del Potro, ranked 1,042nd in the world after missing most of the 2014 and 2015 seasons with a left wrist injury, underwent surgery last June and had not played an ATP match since last March until this week.l

Top-ranked Spieth bombs, McIlroy in the hunt n AFP, Pacific Palisades World number one Jordan Spieth crashed out of the Northern Trust Open Friday with fellow American Jason Kokrak leading by a single shot and Rory McIlroy firmly in the mix after the second round.

Reigning US Open and Masters champion Spieth bounced back from the worst opening round of his career with a three-under par 68 - 11 shots better than Thursday

- but still missed the cut.

Spieth said that sloppy iron play and not enough practice time on the driving range was his downfall but he vowed not to brood over his disappointment at the Riviera Country Club.

It was just the third missed cut in the 22-year-old Texan’s past 20 worldwide starts and the first time he has missed one since last year’s Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston.

Long-hitting Kokrak surged up the leaderboard with a seven-under 64 to finish at 10-under 132 after 36 holes in the $6.8 million US PGA Tour event. Chez Reavie fired a 67 and is alone in second at nine-under 133.

American Dustin Johnson, who finished second to Bubba Watson at Riviera in 2014 and lost a sudden-death playoff to James Hahn last year, shot a 66 and was tied for third with Watson (68) and Troy

Merritt (66) in the event, which concludes the tour’s west coast swing.

World number three McIlroy had another solid round with a two-under 69, leaving him tied for seventh at six-under 136, four adrift of Kokrak.

Spieth was hoping to use the event as a stepping stone ahead of defending the Masters title at Augusta National. But a disappointing eight-over 79 in the first round put him 12 shots back of McIlroy. l

Morris repeats dose as SA win thriller n Reuters, Cape Town Chris Morris again proved the scourge of England’s bowlers after smashing 14 off the final over to power South Africa to a thrilling three-wicket victory in the first Twenty20 at Newlands on Friday.

The visitors, though, had a chance to tie the scores and send the match to a "super over" when paceman Reece Topley fluffed a straightforward opportunity to run out Kyle Abbott off the last delivery.

Having earlier compiled a modest total of 134 for eight, England strangled the run-rate on a wicket that both sides found difficult to score on and looked set to win after leaving South Africa needing 15 runs from Topley’s last over.

Number eight batsman Morris, however, clubbed a six and a four to lead the home team over the line.

He also hit a swashbuckling half-century in the fourth game of

the one-day series last Friday to scramble a one-wicket triumph.

England were put in to bat in the opening match of a series of two Twenty20s and blazed their way to 50 in six overs for the loss of opener Jason Roy (15). Leg-spinner

BRIEF SCORE ENGLAND 134 for 8 (Buttler 32*, Tahir 4-21)

SOUTH AFRICA 135 for 7 (du Plessis 25, Jordan 3-23) South Africa won by three wickets Imran Tahir was the chief destroyer for South Africa as he equalled career-best figures of four for 21.

Faf du Plessis (25) led South Africa’s reply from the front but excellent bowling spells from Jordan (323) and Ali (2-22) appeared to swing the contest England’s way until Morris produced his late cameo. l

South Africa all-rounder Chris Morris plays a shot during their first T20I against England at Newlands, Cape Town on Friday AP

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Showtime

| review |

Frightening beasts of a machete.

Fukunaga’s script is based on Uzodinma Iweala’s 2005 novel of the same name, and follows a West African boy, Agu (Abraham Attah), who’s torn from his family by militants and eventually inducted into a mercenary unit by a charismatic, unnamed Commandant (Idris Elba). This is a film much more concerned with the business of indoctrination than the details of whatever conflict Agu is involved in. It seems that the country concerned could easily be Sierra Leone, Liberia or Nigeria but none is named.

and younger sibling are detached from him, for good, most likely, as they try to flee the conflict zone never to appear again in the movie. Abandoned and walking through the jungle, he’s picked up by a child militia commanded by Elba’s unnamed soldier. Rather than dismiss or kill him, in the film’s most telling moment, the Commandant instructs his charges to respect Agu’s potential.

Agu is trained with weapons and asked to kill a captured man to take revenge for his father’s life.

He, after some obvious hesitation, uses a cutlass to do what he is

The line between innocence and evil is thinner than the blade of a machete

n SM Shahrukh Beasts of No Nation, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, who is of Japanese-Swedish descent, is a movie that deserves an honorable mention among films made in 2015.

On January 30th, Idris Elba won the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) award for best supporting actor.

Elba, playing the role of fortune hunting, murdering, butchering ‘commandant’ of a group of mostly child soldiers, is superbly efficient in bringing out the ruthlessness such a character demands. He, however, failed to get an Oscar nomination.

Beasts of No Nation is harrowing and is an effective nightmare, and a solid piece of filmmaking. It is hard to watch but impossible to forget. It brings out the ambiguity of ideals proclaimed by all the warring parties in West Africa and sorrowful tale of child soldiers.

The screenplay makes it clear that the rebellions in various parts of Africa are driven by ulterior motives (read fortune hunting) and all the talk of common good or disenfranchised people is basically hogwash.

“Agu (the main protagonist and narrator), who describes himself as “a good boy from a good family,” seems perfectly harmless — a skinny preadolescence whose

capacity for malice doesn’t extend beyond pranks directed at his vain, girl-crazy older brother. But the most heartbreaking thing about Beasts of No Nation is that both Agu and the Commandant are right. The line between innocence and evil is thinner than the blade

The film opens on Agu’s peaceful life in an unnamed village in West Africa, which is quickly shattered by the incursion of a larger civil war that makes him lose his father and elder brother who are both shot along with his grandfather and his mother

told to do by his commandant. He goes into a fast track of losing his innocence. He becomes a child soldier, learning to kill and pillage and gets hooked to ‘brown-brown’, a powerful drug made by mixing gunpowder and cocaine. Amidst all these atrocities, Agu finds a

friend in the mute Strika, another child soldier.

Abraham Attah gives an incredible performance as the young Agu: one can visibly see him transform from an innocent child playing with his friends to a soldier carrying an AK-47. He retains his physiognomy of a little boy but one can see the change of his demeanor, as he goes deeper into the abyss of the mindless conflict.

However, the film has limitations: many of the scenes and the brutal landscape seems generic with ambushes, late-night firefights and urban skirmishes drawn from a tried-and-true genre playbook.

“What we see is awful, but the vagueness of the setting blunts the film’s political and moral impact. It’s also strange that the war-ravaged nation remains unnamed. Imagine a fiercely realistic film about genocidal violence in the 1940s set in a place identified only as Europe.

Mr. Fukunaga compensates by offering a complex inquiry into the psychology of power and the emotional logic of total war.”

But take nothing away from Fukunaga’s efforts and Beasts of No Nation is worth anyone’s while.

(The quoted portions are from A.O. Scott’s review of the movie in The New York Times) l

Judge says no

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

The pool gets bigger n Showtime Desk The runaway hit Deadpool continues to rack up big numbers in the box office. The US box office showed that once again the Rated R comicbook hero can bring in a significant amount, this time with over $50 million. After this past weekend, the film will now have garnered over $240 million in total since its release on Valentine’s Day. Deadpool will become Ryan Reynold’s highest grossing film in his career after his 2013 film The Croods brought in around $187 million. The film has already broken a few records in the Rated R category and doesn’t

n Showtime Desk This past Friday caused quite a stir, especially throughout social media, when pop star Kesha was denied the ending of her contract with Dr Luke. Kesha Rose Sebert disputed over her contract in a courtroom, after sexual abuse allegations towards Dr Luke.

Kesha alleges that Dr Luke had drugged and raped her a decade ago and has committed ongoing abuse. The contract disallows Kesha to record outside of Dr Luke’s purview. Her attorneys

made clear that careers of pop stars in the business are short and if an injuction doesn’t exist, it will only harm her and her career.

After the initial hearing, New York Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich was quite skeptical.

“You’re asking the court to decimate a contract that was heavily negotiated and typical for the industry,” said the judge to Mark Geragos, who is Kesha’s attorney.

Dr Luke’s perspective was made clear by his own legal representatives. They stated that Kesha and her reps are attempting

to extort him in order to escape from her contracts with Luke’s Kemosabe Records lable, housed under Sony. He also denies the sexual abuse and blames her action to becoming frustarted by a stalled career.

After sorting through the mess, Justice Kornreich’s claimed that there was not enough medical evidence, such as hospital records to corroborate to the assuault allegations. “I don’t understand why I have to take the extraordinary measure of granting an injuction,” she conlcuded. l

‘Bela Seshe’ premier show The premier show of bela Seshe was held on February 18.

Nationwide theatrical release is set to be on February 26

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in Dhaka, Bangladesh. On February 18, commodity exportimport agreement between SAARC countries have ensured exchanging Bangladeshi hit film Chuye Dile Mon with last year’s famous Kolkata movie Bela Seshe.

Both films are set for commercial release on February 26 this year across borders.

On this occasion, an exclusive premier show of Bela Seshe was held at Bashundhara Star Cineplex on Thursday, February 18 where delegates from both film industries along with media personalities and celebrities enjoyed the exhibition together. The special guests were Atanu Ray Chowdhury and Provat Raypleased who shared their delightful experince to work as the distributor and producer respectively of Bela Seshe, along with the director duo, Nondita Ray and Shibproshad Mukhopaddhay.

From the local distributor Asiatic Dhonichitra, Sara Zaker, the managing director of Asiatic 3Sixty was present. Also there were delegates from FDC and important cultural personalities at the event. l

look to slow down anytime soon as it remains at the top of the box office for the month of February.

However the film has new company with a dramatic horror in The Witch and Sony’s religious drama Risen. And the Jesse Owens biopic Race will see a moderate gathering with $8 million once the weekend is over. l

WHAT TO WATCH Predators Star Movies 9:30pm Royce is a mercenary; Isabelle is from the military; Nikolai is a soldier from Russia; Stans is a criminal; Mombasa is from the Serra Leoa Militia; Cuchillo is a drug lord; Hanzo is the Yakuza and finally there is Doctor Edwin. This motley group of people is together on a flight when an accident lands them in the middle of a jungle. It is not long before they realize that they are on another planet altogether and are being hunted by alien predators. Will any of them survive to tell the tale?

Cast: Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Laurence Fishburne, Danny Trejo Comedy Nights Live Colors 5:30 Comedy Nights Live is an Indian stand-up comedy television series, which premiered on 31 January 2016, and is broadcast on Colors TV. The series airs on every Sunday nights. The series repl aced Colors TV’s popular show Comedy Nights with Kapil Host: Krushna Abhishek River Monsters: Canadian Horror Animal Planet 9:30pm River Monsters is a British and American wildlife documentary television programme produced for Animal Planet by Icon Films of Bristol, United Kingdom.

Hosted by extreme angler and biologist Jeremy Wade who travels around the globe in search of the most fearsome

freshwater killers. Looking for clues, eyewitnesses and stories about people who were dragged underwater by these vicious predators, he tries to catch the biggest specimens and then release them back to the wild. His aim is to save these rare creatures from extinction and to help people understand the truth behind the horrific attacks on humans.

Host: Jeremy Wade American Sniper HBO 9:30pm Navy S.E.A.L. sniper Chris Kyle’s pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and turns him into a legend. Back home to his wife and kids after four tours of duty, however, Chris finds that it is the war he can’t leave behind.

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Kyle Gallner, Cole Konis, Ben Reed, Elise Robertson C.I.D Sony Entertainment TV 10:30pm CID, is an investigative series consisting of hard-core police procedural stories dealing with investigation, detection and suspense. Dramatic and absolutely unpredictable, C.I.D. has captivated viewers over the last 16 years and continues to keep audiences glued to their television sets with its thrilling plots and excitement.

Cast: Shivaji Satam, Aditya Srivastava, Dayanand Shetty, Gaurav Khanna, Hrishikesh Pandey

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

SAME IN ANY LANGUAGE PAGE 12

MUSTAFIZ LIVING HIS DREAM IN BANGLADESH COLOURS PAGE 25

FRIGHTENING BEASTS PAGE 30

Ansarullah Bangla Team den busted A large cache of powerful bombs and explosives were recovered n Arifur Rahman Rabbi Law enforcement agencies yesterday busted a den of banned radical Islamist outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team in the capital’s Mohammadpur area and recovered a large cache of bombs and explosives.

DB police and DMP’s newly

a bomb disposal team started disposing bombs following evacuating the whole building. Meanwhile, gas and electricity connection of the house were disconnected as well, said the CT chief.

CT Additional Commissioner Monirul Islam said the bombs were powerful enough to demolish a

to three bombs were similar to those bombs.

He said: “Ansarullah Bangla Team had used machete to attack people but it is the first time they were found making bombs.”

During a briefing, Monirul Islam said police were raiding different areas of the capital along with the

two detained members of ABT. Replying to a query whether the Ansarullah men have plan to carry out subversive acts, Monirul said: “We are interrogating them. Details will be made public after the interrogation.”

He also informed that the law enforcers earlier recovered two to

three categories of bombs but this time they found five categories of bombs at the Ansarullah Bangla Team den.

Besides, the team detained 11 persons with illegal VoIP equipment from the opposite flat of the Ansarullah Bangla Team den during the drive on Friday night. l

Police personnel bring out a trunk full of explosive material during a raid on a residential flat in Nabodoy Housing area in Mohammadpur, Dhaka yesterday MEHEDI HASAN formed Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit, also known as CT, carried out the raid early yesterday.

Confirming the recovery CT Additional Commissioner Monirul Islam said his unit and DB police arrested alleged Ansarullah Bangla Team members Kamal alias Shahin and Shah Alam alias Salauddin from Badda around 10pm Friday.

On information extracted from Salauddin, they raided a flat on the top floor of a five-storey building in Nabodoy Housing area at midnight and found the bombs and explosives.

Salauddin and two others rented the flat one and a half months ago to use it as their den.

The team also raided another den of ABT at Ashkona of Dakkhin Khan on Friday midnight. Jihadi books, sharp weapons, bullets and magazines were seized from the spot.

The team started the drive again in Mohammadpur den yesterday morning.

“We will continue the drive as a huge cache of bombs have been found in three rooms of the flat,” Monirul said. He added that the bombs were found on the false ceiling of the rooms.

In the morning, they along with

building.

Monirul said the Badda den was Ansarullah Bangla Team’s headquarters and Mohammadpur den was their bomb making factory.

“We have collected samples from the two dens that will be sent for DNA sampling to identify the criminals,” he added.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of DB Bomb Disposal unit Sanowar Hossain said the explosives recovered from the ABT den weigh about 10 to 15 kilogrammes.

He said the law enforcers recovered six hand grenades and two saucepan bombs and several bombs wrapped in tennis balls.

“Of the explosives, some 3 to 4 kilogrammes are so powerful that if those are blasted about 100 to 150 people within the radius of 30 to 40 yards will be killed,” Sanowar added.

In response to a query whether the bombs have similarity with those found in Hussaini Dalan attack, he said only two

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