19 March, 2016

SECOND EDITION

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

|

Chaitra 5, 1422, Jamadius Sani 9, 1437

|

Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 333

|

www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

INSIDE ‘Hacker group was noticed in 2015’ A US based cyber security firm that is looking into the $101 million heist from Bangladesh Bank in February has said the group suspected in the crime has been active since at least late 2015.  PAGE 3

PM: Govt to develop country following Bangabandhu’s ideals

After closed-door session Maia Santos-Deguito, RCBC Jupiter branch manager, and her lawyer emerge from the executive session of the Senate blue ribbon committee, which is looking into the laundering of $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank GRIG C MONTEGRANDE/INQUIRER.NET

Plot thickens in Philippines as witnesses trade blame n Tribune Desk Maia Deguito, the RCBC branch manager in the centre of Bangladesh Bank digital heist, had offered one of her employees five million Philippine peso, apparently in exchange for his silence on the withdrawal from the branch of the $81 million stolen from Bangladesh’s central bank.

Romualdo Agarrado, a former officer of Philippines' Rizal

Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) branch on Jupiter Street in Makati City, testified this before a senate committee on Thursday, reports Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Agarrado, formerly a customer service head of RCBC’s Jupiter business centre and now a reserve officer at the Manila office, testified at the Senate blue ribbon committee that Deguito made the “offer” at the Forbes Park home of another bank officer on February 12.

The offer was made apparently after Agarrado witnessed P20 million in cash withdrawn from the supposed bank account of William Go — one of five bank accounts where the stolen $81 million was deposited — being loaded into the car of Deguito and her leaving the bank with the money.

Agarrado’s testimony further pinned down Deguito for her involvement in the money-laundering scam. RCBC officials are accus-

ing the branch manager of being behind the facilitation of the withdrawals of the stolen money.

However, the resigned assistant manager of the RCBC branch yesterday came to the defence of manager Deguito and cried harassment from RCBC executives.

In an interview over local radio dzBB, Angela Torres belied the claims of Agarrado.

“Almost all of Mr Agarrado’s

Mustafizur likely to play against Australia

n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

Uddin Khan from n Minhaz Bangalore

After twice failing to oust the government from office through street agitation, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party is convening its sixth national council today with a view to reorganising itself.

But the grass roots of the party doubt there will be a qualitative change to the party as a result of it.

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

The absence of Bangladesh pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman has been a concern so far in the 2016 World Twenty20. The left-arm paceman was out of action in the three qualifiers of the global showpiece event

A poet with no regrets

A young poet writes about Rafiq Azad’s life and poetry. This short piece was written on March 12, the day Azad passed away.  PAGE 17

‘Gas explosion’ damages Banani building

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

BNP mulls supersized committee to heal rifts In a bid to make as many people happy as possible, the beleaguered party is mulling a major expansion to its national executive committee, which senior-level party sources said could exceed 500 members.

The decision to upsize the committee was made at Thursday's standing committee meeting and, if approved in council, will be in

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday reiterated her firm resolve to develop the country following the ideals of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.  PAGE 5

and was also missing in the Super 10 opener against Pakistan.

But yesterday, the Bangladesh camp breathed a sigh of relief after Mustafizur attended his first net session ever since picking up a side-strain injury in the Asia Cup T20 earlier this month.

The Bangladesh team reached Bangalore last Thursday and  PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

A massive fire, suspected to have been caused by a gas leak, burned down a major portion of a residential building in the capital’s Banani Road 23 yesterday.  PAGE 32

2nd Round

Sport Page-28

News

Plot thickens in Philippines as witnesses trade blame statements in the Senate hearing yesterday [Thursday] were lies.

The cash was not put in a paper bag, instead it was placed in a box and was loaded to William Go’s Lexus. Agarrado was not telling the truth when he said that the money was loaded to Ms Maia’s car,” Inquirer quoted Torres as saying.

Offer recounted

Agarrado, in his Senate testimony, recounted how the P5 million offer was made to him by Deguito.

He said he helped count the P20 million cash order made by Angela Torres, Deguito’s aide, on February 5. The money was withdrawn from the account of William Go, who later accused Deguito of opening the account without his knowledge and consent.

The money was placed in a box and brought to the room of Deguito, who at the time was talking to someone on the phone, Inquirer reported Agarrado as saying.

He said he saw the P20 million being loaded by a bank messenger, Jovie Morales, into the car of Deguito.

“I clearly saw it because I was sitting in front of the glass main door,” Agarrado said, of the money being loaded into the branch manager’s car.

Don’t tell auditors

On February 11, Agarrado said there were recall orders for funds sent to the branch by the head office and he informed Deguito about this. But the branch manager just “stared blankly” at him, Agarrado said.

Later on, Agarrado said Deguito called him and Torres, and told them she had to process the transaction.

“I would rather do this than me being killed and my family,” he quoted Deguito as telling them.

On the same day, internal auditors of the bank went to the branch to question its personnel and before he was interviewed, Agarrado said he had the chance to talk to Torres.

He told Torres he saw the P20 million loaded into Deguito’s car but the latter told him not to tell the auditors or Deguito would be in trouble.

“Thus, I no longer brought this matter up when I was being interviewed by the internal auditors,” Agarrado said in his affidavit which the RCBC submitted to the Senate blue ribbon committee.

However, in her radio interview, Torres said Agarrado’s allegations were untrue, and claimed that she was receiving threats from the bank’s executives.

“I know the transaction because it transpired in our branch. What

Mr Agarrado said that the cash was loaded to Deguito’s car [was not true]… The RCBC was over-acting to do this to us. I don’t know why RCBC is doing this to us.”

Denying that she had personal gains in the transactions, Torres said she was willing to testify before the Senate to speak of nothing but the truth.

P5M for retirement

In his testimony, Agarrado said he was invited by a reserve officer, Adrian Yujuico, and other colleagues to the latter’s Forbes Park home for dinner and was surprised to find out that Deguito was also there.

“Branch manager Maia told me that her lawyer was asking how much my retirement benefits would be, and she said that I should compute the same. She then asked me, is P5 million enough for you?” Agarrado said in his affidavit and which he repeated in his Senate testimony.

He said Morales, the bank messenger who was with them at the dinner, tapped his shoulder and said the P5 million was “OK.” In his testimony, Agarrado said he was surprised and confused by the offer. He said he later realised the big picture.

The last time he communicated

BNP mulls supersized committee to heal rifts serted into the party charter. The meeting also decided to form 15 issue based sub-committees.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia is scheduled to inaugurate the party council at 10am today at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh.

She is expected to outline the party’s strategy in her inaugural address.

Party senior vice chairman Tarique Rahman is also expected to address the council via video conference.

The standing committee’s expansive mood has set the tone for much of what is expected to transpire today.

According to meeting sources, there will be changes to the preamble of the party’s charter adding clauses to curb militancy and ensure the security of the lives and property of minorities.

The standing committee also said apart from the BNP chairperson’s adviser, a BNP advisory forum compromised of intellectuals, teachers and professionals would be formed, with each member having vice chairman status.

The number of party vice chairmen will increase from 17 to 35.

The party chairperson’s advisers will number more than 50.

The meeting suggested that there be nine joint secretary generals, 11 organising secretaries and 22 assistant organising secretaries.

Meeting sources said standing committee member Jamiruddin

Sircar proposed to make Tarique Rahman co-chairman of the party and to fix his duties but the committee did not entertain these proposals.

A proposal to dissolve the senior joint secretary general post was also shot down by the standing committee at its meeting on Thursday.

Unresolved grievances

Some party members told the Dhaka Tribune that they feared that dedicated, competent and experienced leaders and activists would be ignored in the committee formed by the council.

The rank and file of the BNP said they are hoping that the party’s old hands and new blood will be able to come together to reinvigorate the party. The party’s last council was held on December 8, 2009.

A Paltan area BNP activist said he stood by party chairperson Khaleda Zia but added that if senior party leaders fail to cooperate with her then it will undermine the committee.

Feni district BNP leader Akbar Hossain said the new committee will have to be a force for unity “otherwise the council will backfire and unresolved grievances will create more division.”

Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, a standing committee member of the party, said: “We hold posts but do not carry out our duties. The BNP chairperson is well informed about who has done what and we hope

this will be reflected in the council.”

Because Khaleda and Tarique have already been elected unchallenged to the party chairmanship and senior vice chairmanship, respectively, councillors will now choose the party secretary general and other top posts and pass a set of proposals for the amendment of the BNP’s constitution.

Party insiders, however, said the councillors will empower Khaleda to pick the other office bearers and members of the national executive and standing committees.

They said only the BNP chief could name the party’s new secretary general and said she may take time naming the new central committee and standing committee members.

A number of senior-level party insiders said it was almost certain that current BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir would be made the full-fledged secretary general at the council.

At the party’s standing committee meeting on Thursday night, it was decided that no one would be allowed to hold more than one post at any level of the party.

Party insiders said new faces would be included in the party’s highest policy-making body – the standing committee.

The 19-member committee currently has 16 members. Of them, Shamsul Islam and Sarwari Rahman have long been ill and Rafiqul Islam Miah has become inactive in politics.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

with Deguito was on March 5 when he texted her to tell the truth. She replied by saying she was not hiding and she was telling the truth.

Deguito has declined to answer queries of senators on Agarrado’s testimony but repeatedly said she would talk freely in a closed-door session.

Deguito’s insistence on an executive session prompted Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile to threaten her to be cited for contempt.

In the end though, they talked to Deguito in an executive session and allowed the Bangladesh ambassador, Maj Gen John Gomes, to be present as an observer.

Deguito, 4 others summoned

Philippines Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday summoned Deguito to answer the criminal complaint filed against her and several others by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).

Aside from Deguito, also summoned are Michael Francisco Cruz, Jessie Christopher Lagrosas, Alfred Santos Vergara, and Enrico Teodoro Vasquez. Cruz, Lagrosas, Vergara and Vasquez are allegedly fictitious names according to the AMLC. Deguito and the others are required to appear before the DOJ on April 12 and 19. l

Three posts are vacant after the deaths of Khandaker Delwar and RA Gani, and the execution of war criminal Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.

Festive mood

The party’s Nayapaltan headquarters was in a festive mood yesterday as thousands of party leaders and activists thronged the office.

The roads and footpaths in front of the party office were filled with hawkers and vendors.

Senior leaders and street activists alike were visiting party headquarters to network and jockey for good positions in the party.

Visiting the spot, it was seen that nearly everyone there was greeting each other and shaking hands. Inside the party office, delegates and councillors were collecting their cards and passes.

A short lecture was being given to volunteers about ushering the crowds and another team was being trained on maintaining food coupons.

BNP central leaders estimate that the total number of attendees – delegates, councillors, invited guests and the media – could exceed 50,000 people.

Around 3,000 councillors will join the council that begins today at 10am.

The first part of the council will end in the morning and will be followed by lunch. A closed-door session of the council will start at 3pm. l

Mustafizur likely enjoyed a rare day-off yesterday.

The majority of the players and the team management attended the Friday prayers and went for shopping in the evening, with the exception of Mustafizur and Tigers pace bowling coach Heath Streak.

The duo visited the M Chinnaswamy stadium in the afternoon where Mustafizur bowled four overs in the nets. According to Streak, the Satkhira lad is likely to return to the playing XI against Australia this Monday.

Former Zimbabwe captain Streak though did inform that if there is even a slight risk, Mustafizur will have to wait for a few more days to make his bow in the event.

“We are preparing him for the Australia game. But we will make a final decision on him on the matchday after he goes through a fitness test. He looks good at the moment but we will have to wait till the matchday to get hundred percent confirmation,” Streak told the media in Bangalore yesterday.

“He is bowling close to his full pace but what now matters is him getting back the confidence. He has not bowled for like three weeks now so we are working to get his rhythm back,” said the former Zimbabwe all-rounder.

In the past, the Chinnaswamy stadium has witnessed big totals due to its short outfield.

The short boundaries will pose a stiff challenge of the Tigers bowlers’ credentials, given that the Australian batsmen prefer power cricket and big hits right from the word go. Bearing this in mind, Streak said his charges will need to perform to the best of their abilities so that they do not repeat the mistakes from the Pakistan encounter where the Tigers bowlers leaked 201 runs in 20 overs.

“Here, the wicket is great for batting. He (Mustafizur) will have to adopt the condition quick if he plays the next game. Bangalore has always been a venue with high-scoring matches. It will be a challenge for all the Bangladesh bowlers. All of them will have to be on toes,” Streak explained.

“It is a very good opportunity for our batsmen to score runs. The wicket is good to bat on. Some of our players have played here before, with the [Bangladesh] A team.

Sabbir [Rahman] has scored runs. I hope they will bring confidence for the two matches here,” said Streak, alluding to their match against India at the same venue this Wednesday. l

FILE PHOTO

DT

2

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

3

DT

News

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

‘Hacker group was noticed in 2015’ n Asif Showkat Kallol

A US-based cyber security firm that is looking into the $101 million heist from Bangladesh Bank in February has said the group suspected in the crime has been active since at least late 2015.

Cyber intelligence firm FireEye, hired to look into the crime, submitted an interim report to the central bank authorities on March 16 that outlines what the firm has found so far about the possible source of the attack.

FireEye said they have noticed the group’s activities on other networks within the financial industry. However, they are yet to

connect these actors to a specific known cyber attack group, either in the advanced persistent threat (APT) or the Financial Motivated Groups (FIN) category.

APT groups primarily collect information that can provide insight into a targeted company’s operations or into its sensitive customers. FIN groups attempt to seek out account data and other data that can be monetised.

“FireEye Intelligence currently tracks this cluster of activity as an uncategorised threat group, which is a suspected Financial Motivated group,” the report said.

The report said FireEye had seen this group carry out activities

which follow a “general APT style methodology,” wherein they gain access to a network, utilising legitimate access and stolen credentials to spread malware across the network.

“The group generally installs tools such as screen scrapers, key loggers, passive back doors, and proxy aware backdoor to identify application processes to exploit or learn business processes that would aid the attacker in achieving their objectives,” the report said.

However, their activities had not been known to be destructive in nature.

Once the actors complete their objectives within the victim net-

work, FireEye has seen them securely delete their tools and logs to hide their tracks.

FireEye said they had also noticed this group utilise the RC4 encryption algorithm extensively as well as depending on Secure Sockets Layer for command and control communications.

The central bank has sent the FireEye report to the finance minister for necessary action.

Former Bank and Financial Institutions Division Secretary M Aslam Alam told the media on March 14 that hackers were in full control of the central bank’s SWIFT servers for 48 hours, on February 5 and 6.

Larger security breach

The Bangladesh Bank hacking was part of a much larger breach that FireEye is currently investigating.

The malware it found on the bank’s network was specifically designed for a targeted attack on the bank’s SWIFT servers, the report said.

It also said that 32 compromised devices and hardware were identified in the bank’s network that were vulnerable to attacks and “more could be found as the investigation continues.”

The report also remarked that the malware was deployed by the attackers were complex and sophisticated. l

Still no trace of IT specialist Zoha n Arifur Rahman Rabbi

The family members of IT specialist Tanvir Hassan Zoha, who went missing on early Thursday, are in the dark about his fate.

They claimed Zoha, who was reportedly involved in investigation into the Bangladesh Bank digital heist, was abducted from the capital’s Kachukhet around 1am. His wife Kamrun Nahar Chowdhury said the last time she had spoken with her husband was around 11:30pm on Wednesday. Zoha’s mobile phone has been switched off since 12:15am Thursday.

Kamrun told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday: “More than 24 hours have passed but his whereabouts remains unknown. We are worried about him and want him to return home safely.”

She said they had contacted the law enforcers several times but did not get any updates. “We are going to lodge a general diary over the abduction of my nephew,” Zoha’s uncle Mahbubul Alam said.

On Thursday, family members claimed police had refused to register their complaint. When contacted, Bhashantek police station OC Nazrul Islam said: “We are yet to get any formal complaint from Zoha’s family. We will take necessary steps once they lodge a complaint.”

On the other hand, RAB’s Legal and Media Wing Director Mufti Mahmud Khan told the Dhaka Tribune that they did not arrest Zoha.

“We are ready to take steps if his family seeks our help,” he said.

On Thursday, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said Zoha might have been arrested over the central bank’s fund heist.

At a programme in Dhaka yesterday, he said: “If the law enforcers pick him up, it will be made public within a short time.” l

Gonojagoron Moncho holds a human chain in Shahbagh, Dhaka yesterday demanding effective measures to recover the stolen reserve money of Bangladesh Bank, punishment for the central bank officials responsible for the security of the reserve money, and resignation of the finance minister RAJIB DHAR

CID wants to talk to IT expert Zoha n Kamrul Hasan

Investigators yesterday said that they had almost completed collecting information about the digital heist of $101 million from the Bangladesh Bank account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

They would make the next move after analysing the information and the report to be provided by an IT expert team led by Rakesh Astana soon. Bangladesh Bank had appointed the team for investigation.

CID Special Superintendent Mirza Abdullahel Baqui told the Dhaka Tribune that they had questioned all the suspected persons – from office staff to deputy governor of the central bank who could be involved in the heist.

Meanwhile, a CID source said that they wanted to sit with Tanvir Hasan Zoha, an IT expert working with the government’s Cyber Security Programme who was allegedly picked by unidentified people early Thursday from the capital’s Kachukhet area. His family members alleged that they had been harassed by officers at several police stations when

they attempted to filed a GD. Asked if they would quiz Zoha, Baqui said that they would interrogate anyone who could possibly know anything about the heist.

Soon after the heist came to light, Zoha had told media on several occasions that he had some information about the heist and that he wanted to solve the case in all possible ways.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Thursday said that the law enforcers might have arrested Zoha for the sake of investigation. “But I am not sure about it,” he added.

Baqui said that they were yet to confirm whether the money had been laundered by outsiders or with the help of Bangladesh Bank officials. “We are waiting for the report

by Rakesh Astana on the central bank’s security measures,” he added.

Another source said that Rakesh had already submitted a preliminary report on the matter.

Additional Deputy Inspector General Md Shah Alam, also the commandant of CID’s Forensic Training Institute (FTI), told the Dhaka Tribune that the heist might have been committed by people of four coun-

tries – Bangladesh, Philippines, Sri Lanka and the USA. He said that they had already sent an e-mail to Interpol seeking some information but they were yet to receive answered from the organisation.

“We are now analysing the information. Soon we will be able to determine the persons need to be arrested, interrogated or kept under surveillance,” Shah Alam added.

On behalf of the central bank, its Joint Director (accounts and budgeting department) Jubair Bin Huda filed the case against unidentified p e o p l e with Motijheel police on Tuesday. Later the case was transferred to the CID. A Dhaka court has set April 19 for submission of the investiga-

tion report before it.

Meanwhile, the meeting between officials of the CID and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) which was set to take place yesterday has been deferred till tomorrow.

Baqui yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune that he was not aware of the meeting and learned it through media. He said that the meeting would be held tomorrow.

DIG Saiful Alam, who is co-ordinating the investigation, earlier told the media that an FBI team of the US Embassy in Dhaka would sit with the CID officials on Friday. l

DT

News

4

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

Election officials begin the process of sending ballot papers and other election equipment to the districts of Phase 1 of the union parishad polls yesterday morning. The photo was taken at Bangladesh Government Press DHAKA TRIBUNE

Physician remanded for sexually abusing a child n Tribune Report A doctor was placed under a three-day police remand allegedly for sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy in the city’s Kadamtali area.

Sahebzada Sumon, one of the colleagues of the boy’s mother at a child care hos-

pital in the capital, abused him when he had gone to the hospital with his mother last week. He was arrested yesterday.

The matter came to light when he fell ill two days ago.

After hearing about the incident, the mother filed a case with Kadamtali police on

Wednesday night.

Officer-in-Charge of Kadamtali police Kazi Wazed Ali told the Dhaka Tribune that the doctor was arrested yesterday afternoon from his house at Kadamtali.

The boy complained that he had been abused by the accused for long, the OC said. l

Nahid bats for specialisation in education n BSS

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid yesterday said the government is setting its priority to specialisation in education to develop skilled human resources to meet the demands in different fields of development.

“The main objective of education should be life-oriented … it will generate new knowledge to solve problem around our life,” he told a conference at the auditorium of Bangladesh Institute of Administration and Management (Biam) in Dhaka.

Bangladesh Psychological Association (BPA) and South Asian Association of Psychologists (SAAP) jointly organised the international psychological conference titled “Human resource development and management through quality education: A prerequisite for development in South Asian

countries.”

Nahid said Bangladesh has achieved a remarkable progress in expansion of education but it is still struggling to improve the quality of it. “Our efforts are on to ensure quality education to create highly skilled manpower,” he said.

“If we fail to provide quality education to our children, they will face difficulties to access job markets overseas. Our children might get difficulties to access even domestic job markets, particularly in technical post.

“Due to shortage of adequate efficient manpower in technical works in the garment sector, nearly 19,000 foreign employees are engaged in the sector, whereas our children are facing unemployment problems,” he said.

But this unpleasant situation is steadily disappearing as 7,000 Bangladeshi students

occupied technical posts in the garment sector after graduating from textile college, he said. “Our children will dominate technical job markets at both national and international levels, if our curricula is well designed incorporating updated education.”

In his keynote presentation, BPA President Dr Muhammad Raushan Ali mentioned some essential components of quality education including qualified teachers, available teaching materials, ensuring congenial physical and psycho-social environment at the academic institutions free from politics and corruption.

Water Resources Secretary Dr Zafar Ahmed Khan, Vice-Chancellor of National University Prof Dr Harun-or-Rashid, Supernumerary Professor of Dhaka University’s psychology department Dr Hamida Akhtar Begum also spoke. l

5

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

PM: Government to develop country following Bangabandhu’s ideals n UNB Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday reiterated her firm resolve to develop the country following the ideals of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

“Our aim is to develop the country following the ideals of the father of the nation that he left behind for us,” she said while addressing a discussion marking the 97th birthday of Bangabandhu as well as National Children’s Day at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.

Presidium member and Deputy Leader of the House Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury chaired the meeting.

The premier said the government wants to establish Bangladesh as a peaceful country. “For that reason, there is no place for terrorism and militancy in the country,” she said.

She said no one now hears gunshots in the educational institutions as the government takes stern action whenever any unpleasant incident happens. “We are taking tough actions against the culprits and continue to do so. We never consider who commits the incident,” she said.

Noting that the dream of Bangabandhu was to provide better life to the people of Bangladesh, the Awami League chief said the gov-

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addresses a discussion organised by the Awami League at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre yesterday in observance of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s 97th birth anniversary as well as National Children’s Day the day before BSS which was familiar before 2009, is now unheard of in the country.

Senior AL leaders including Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed and Syed Ashraful Islam also spoke. l

I have directed the authorities concerned to provide shelter to these people in the next three years. We will give them home … no one will remain homeless.”

She said the word “Monga,”

ernment has taken steps to ensure minimum shelter for the country’s each person. “The government has collected information from all over the country and found that some 280, 000 people are now homeless.

Ansarullah had eight hideouts in Dhaka, say investigators n Mohammad Jamil Khan

Banned militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team set up eight hideouts in Dhaka to carry out killings of secular people, investigators claimed.

A group of 20 militants, which investigators dubbed “the killing squad,” maintained these hideouts.

Police’s Counter-Terrorism and Trans National Crime Unit claimed to have garnered the “sensational information” from two suspected Ansarullah militants who were arrested during a recent drive.

“Last month, they planned to kill a blogger named Niloy who lives in Dhaka’s Azimpur,” CT chief Monirul Islam said, adding that the security forces had foiled the attempt.

On February 19, the Betective Branch and CT raided Badda’s Sa-

TEMPERATURE FOREC AST FOR TODAY

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN SATURDAY, MARCH 19

Dhaka

37

25

Chittagong

32

23

Rajshahi

DHAKA TODAY SUN SETS 6:09PM

36

22

Rangpur

n Tribune Report

35

A six-year-old girl was raped allegedly by her teacher at Hujurpara of the capital’s Kamrangirchar on Thursday.

The girl was admitted to the One-Stop Crisis Centre of Dhaka Medical College Hospital around 1pm yesterday. Her medical examination will be held today.

Locals held the accused, Shafiqur Rahman Jewel, 30, around 10pm on Thursday and handed him over to the police.

Mother of the girl work at a garment factory in Chittagong. The victim lives with her grandfather and grandmother in Kamrangirchar.

OC Sheikh Mohsin Alam of Kamrangirchar police said that 22

34

Khulna

24

Barisal

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 6:03AM

Joy: Govt to train 75,000 IT professionals n BSS Prime Minister’s ICT Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy said the government has targeted to train 75,000 professionals in the next three years to solve the problem.

“The biggest challenge that Bangladesh is facing in IT sector development is shortage of skilled manpower … the number is limited,” he said in an interview with CeBIT Podcast in Germany on Thursday.

“Keeping this in mind, our government has set a target to train 75,000 IT professionals within the next three years but that is a fraction in comparison to the garment sector where millions of manpower are employed … you know that students studying in the relevant subject needs three or four years to complete the course,” he added.

Joy is now in Hanover, Germany for attending the Centre for Office Automation, Information Technology and Telecommunication (CeBIT) Expo.

On the Bangladesh Bank hacking issue, Joy said the exact number of hacking that took place in Bangladesh is very hard to determine, but the Kaspersky Group ranked Bangladesh as the No 1 country in terms of the target of the hackers.

“I think the probable reason behind this is that we have been digitised at the fastest rate. We are digitising government services … our focus is on digitising fast,” he said. l

Madrasa teacher held for rape of six-year-old

clined to be named, said.

Ansarullah has been associated with the killing of secular writers in Bangladesh. The DB officer said it was a matter of time before the militants were nabbed.

Detectives also claim that they have identified those involved in the killings of Daffodil University student Ashraful Alam, killed on September 30, 2014; and bloggers Avijit Roy, Oyasiqur Rahman Babu, Ananta Bijoy Das and Niladri Chatterjee Niloy. They declined to disclose information on the murder of Avijit’s publisher Foysal Arefin Dipan.

“We have got some sensational clues from the recent drives and by interrogating the arrestees. This will give us major breakthrough for solving the sensational blogger killing cases,” Monirul said. l

tarkul area and arrested suspected militants Shahin alis Jamal, 26, and Salahuddin alias Hiron, 30. Based on their information, the joint team raided Mohammadpur and Askona where they stumbled across a chart that outlined possible future Ansarullah attacks and recovered a large number of bombs.

Monirul told the Dhaka Tribune a few days back that they had already busted three of the hideouts and were looking for the others. Investigators said before killing secular persons, Ansarullah militants rented houses from where they monitored their target before making the final move.

“Getting addresses of houses rented by the militants before killing secular activists is a great success,” a senior DB official, who de-

DT

News

34.8ºC Faridpur, Jessore & Rajshahi

14.0ºC Srimangal

Source: Accuweather/UNB

36

25

PRAYER TIMES

Riazul Ulum Madrasa teacher Shafiqur attempted to rape the child at the madrasa around 10am that day.

The accused used to teach local children from the religious books.

He usually teaches until 11am, but that day he asked everyone except for the victim to leave at 10am. As he attempted to rape the child, she shouted and left the place immediately.

After returning home, the victim told her grandfather and grandmother about the incident. She was so traumatised that she could not sleep well, the OC said.

As the guardians talked to the locals about the matter, they caught Shafiqur and handed him over to the police. Later the family filed a case. l Sylhet

34

18

Cox’s Bazar

32

24

Fajr: 4:45am | Zohr: 12:06am Asr: 3:32pm | Magrib: 6:12pm Esha: 7:39pm Source: IslamicFinder.org

DT

6

News

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

Massive irregularities in Bhairab rail bridge work n Shohel Mamun

The Planning Ministry has found massive irregularities in the construction of the Tk567.15 crore Bhairab Bridge in Kishoreganj over the Meghna River.

The contractor firm, Indian joint venture Ircon-Afcons, has allegedly been using poor quality construction material for the 982.2 metre long rail bridge.

A team of experts from the ministry’s Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) visited the construction site in January. Later they issued a report on the irregularities found there.

“The construction firm violated the rules of agreement by using low priced materials and instruments,” the report said.

IMED also sent the report to the Railway Ministry.

Railway Secretary Firoz Salauddin confirmed that the ministry had received the report.

“We got the IMED report on Bhairab bridge. We have formed a committee that will submit another report. After getting that report we will be certain what actually has happened,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

Railway Director General Amzad Hossain visited the construction

yard after the allegations were raised, but he refused to comment on the issue.

The construction firm has already completed piling and begun constructing pillars. The IMED report said 13 pillars were almost complete.

The report said the construction company was using low quality sand and stone for the pillars. They also used shatter made of wood to build the pillars instead of stainless steel.

The report said 55% of the construction work has been completed till the January 2016.

In 2013, the Indian construction firm Ircon-Afcons JV was awarded

Members of Khelaghar hold a human chain in front of National Press Club in the capital yesterday protesting the series of child killing around the country MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Bangladesh Consulate General in Istanbul celebrates March 17 n Tribune Report

Bangladesh Consulate General in Istanbul celebrated the 96th birth anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the National Children’s Day in a befitting manner on the consulate premises on March 17, said a press release.

Officials of the consulate, expatriate Bangladeshis living in Istanbul and students pursuing higher studies in Istanbul participated in the celebration.

The programmes organised by the consulate included a discussion on Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman and an art competition for Bangladeshi children. The discussion was presided over by Consul General FM Borhan Uddin.

Expatriate Bangladeshis, who spoke at the discussion, expressed the deepest respect to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, recollecting his contribution to creating an independent Bangladesh.

The consul general, in his address, recalled the extraordinary contribution of Bangabandhu for the emancipation of the nation. “Under his far-sighted leadership, Bangladesh emerged as an

independent nation in 1971.”

Borhan urged children to be inspired by the ideology, dedication, commitment and patriotism of Bangabandhu.

He also urged parents to ensure good health and education of their children.

At the end of the discussion, the children who took part in the art competition were given prizes.

Prayers were offered for salvation of the departed soul of Bangabandhu and all the martyrs of the 1952 Language Movement, 1971 Liberation War, and those who died on August 15, 1975. l

the contract for the Tk567.15 crore Bhairab bridge project under the $1 billion Indian line of credit. The deadline for the project expired in March.

“The contractor firm has collected construction materials from India according to the deal but the import process might be lengthy, resulting in delay,” Project director Abdul Hai said.

Ircon is a public sector unit of the Indian Ministry of Railways.

Afcons Infrastructure is a subsidiary of Shapoorji Pallonji Group, which was recently awarded a deal to build a 225MW power plant in Bhola. l

Fire strikes twice at Kawrakandi ferry terminal n UNB Two buses were damaged in separate incidents of fire at Kawrakandi ferry terminal in Shibchar upazila between Thursday night and yesterday morning.

The reasons behind either fire could not be known immediately.

Locals said a bus of BMF Paribahan caught fire around 10am yesterday, while the helper of the vehicle was sleeping inside it.

Sensing the heat of the fire, the helper woke up and caught the attention of locals.

On information, fire fighters rushed to the spot and doused the flame after two hours of frantic efforts. l

7

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

Young voters want to see technological advancement n Hedait Hossain, Khulna Young voters in Khulna’s Dacope upazila say they prefer candidates who are honest and will work for ensuring technological access in the area.

Shafiqul Islam, a new voter in Ward 5 of Pankhali union, said his first criterion to choose a candidate is honesty. „Besides, I will vote for the contestant who will prioritise progress and development through the ap-

plication of technology. I believe it is technology that can contribute to the overall development of the upazila,” he said.

Taiyabur Rahman, an undergraduate student who is a voter in Kamarkhola union’s Ward 9, said the candidate who will be elected chairman should make the whole union a Wi-Fi zone. „This should be the chairman’s first and foremost task. Also, he should work for providing cheap internet connection.”

Election candidates are also trying to woo the young voters during campaigns by promising to meet their demands.

They are also planning to build their presence on the web – creating personal websites for example – as part of campagins as they know that new and young voters spend a lot of time on the internet and mobile phone.

Nahida Sultana, a voter in Bajua union, said she wants to see a new chairman.

DT

News

“This is the first time I am going to cast my vote and I will choose a candidate who has honesty and competence.

“The chairman should work for the betterment of destitute people and he should be able to think outside the box,” she said.

Polls in the upazila’s nine unions are scheduled for March 22. There are 34 chairman candidates and 99 reserved-seat candidates.

The upazila has 106,691 voters. l

Minor girl found dead

n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong Police recovered the body of a minor girl from a house at Tigerpass Railway Colony under Khulshi police station in the city yesterday.

The victim was Mahima Akhter Ripa, 6. Afroza Begum, mother of the girl worked at an apparel factory in the city.

The police quoting the family members of the deceased said Rita went to bed with her mother on Thursday night. The family members found her dead in the morning.

On information, the police recovered the body and sent it to Chittagong Medical College Hospital for autopsy. l

35 polling stations in B’baria risky Correspondent, n Our Brahmanbaria

Police in Brahmanbaria have identified 35 polling stations out of 48 as risky, and have taken special security measures for those.

Md Mizanur Rahman, superintendent of police in Brahmanbaria, said six police officials would be deployed at each of the 35 risky polling stations, and five at the remaining 13 stations each.

“Each polling station will have 12 Ansar members, and two of them will be equipped with firearms. Also, there will be eight armed guards at the risky centres each, and seven at each of the remaining centres,” he said.

Brahmanbaria municipality polls will be held tomorrow.

Mizanur said four striking police forces, two platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh members and 10 RAB teams will be on duty during the polls. l

Farmers in a Barind area of Rajshai are seen busy collecting potatoes. The crops have grown this year abundantly in the area. The picture was taken yesterday from a field in Tanore of the district AZAHAR UDDIN

‘Shuvapur Bridge destruction saved Ctg from genocide in 71’ n BSS

Sub-commander of Sector-1 during the War of Liberation in 1971 and now Minister for Public Works and Housing Engineer Mosharraf Hossain, said he made the Shuvapur Bridge inoperative ahead of the war at the inspiration of Bangabandhu.

“Few days before the beginning of the Liberation War, I met Bangabandhu and disclosed my plan to destroy the Shuvapur Bridge to hinder the entry of the Pakistani forces into Chittagong. He hugged me and said ‘Bravo!”

In an exclusive interview with BSS, Engineer Mosharraf said he made the bridge inoperative at the

inspiration of Bangabandhu. This had delayed the entry of the Pakistan army into Chittagong by two days and saved the people of Chittagong from a massive genocide.

Asked why he thought about destroying the Shuvapur Bridge, Engineer Mosharraf said after listening to the 7th March speech of Bangabandhu, he could understand that it was not possible to liberate the country without an armed struggle.

And hence, he thought about destroying the bridge to snap communication with Dhaka as a preparation for an eminent war to keep Chittagong free for a few more days.

Engineer Mosharraf said he

came to Dhaka along with Jane Alam Dobhash on March 7 and called on Bangabandhu at his Dhanmondi residence. As he disclosed his plan of destroying the bridge, Bangabandhu hugged him and said “Bravo!”

Bangabandhu had also advised him to collect explosives to make the plan a success. Engineer Mosharraf said he first went to Chhatak Cement factory in Sylhet to procure explosives, but failed. Later, he planned to manufacture powerful fuel with bitumen and kerosene to destroy the bridge.

In the meantime, soldiers with brigade strength was preparing to come from Comilla to Chittagong.

The then Sangram Parishad in Chit-

tagong entrusted Engineer Mosharraf with the responsibility of destroying Shuvapur Bridge.

On March 25, the Pakistan army started for Chittagong from Comilla in 26 trucks. Engineer Mosharraf started preparations at 5 pm along with his associates to blow up the bridge.

Engineer Mosharraf said they first saw that there were some security guards on both sides of the bridge. They disarmed them and sprayed bitumen and kerosene on the wooden decks of the steelframed bridge. Then they set fire to the bridge and it started burning billowing out huge flames and sounds.

Though the bridge could not be blown up for want of explosives, it

became inoperative. The Pakistani force could see the fire from far away and became scared. They halted their advancement temporarily.

Engineer Mosharraf said after making the bridge inoperative, he began to proceed towards Chittagong quickly. He found thousands of people on the road. He informed them about the advancement of the Pakistani force and asked them to resist. Then he reached the city at the dead of night.

Engineer Mosharraf said had the Shuvapur Bridge not been made inoperative and if the people did not block the road, the Pakistani army would have reached Chittagong city on the night of March 25 resulting in another genocide. l

DT

8

News

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

Sultan Mela begins in Narail n Our Correspondent, Narail A seven-day Sultan Mela honouring world famous artist SM Sultan was inaugurated at the Sultan Mancha on the premises of Narail Government Victoria College yesterday.

Deputy Speaker of the parliament M Fazle Rabbi attended the inauguration ceremony as chief guest while Narail-2 constituency’s MP Sheikh Hafizur Rahman, Superintendent of Police Sardar Rakibul Islam, Government Victoria College’s Principal Professor Sheikh Anwar Hossen, Mayor Zahangir Biswas, Dr Susanta Kumar Adhikary, Sultan Foundation Member Secretary Ashiqur Rahman Miku were present as special guests.

Deputy Commissioner and

Deputy Speaker of the parliament M Fazle Rabbi inaugurates seven-day SM Sultan Mela in Narail yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE president of SM Sultan foundation Helal Mahmud Sharif presided over the inaugural session.

The SM Sultan foundation and the district administration jointly arranged the fair to mark the birth

anniversary of the famous artist.

‘Sultan Padak’ will be given in the concluding day. Artist Abdul Mannan will be given the padak this year.

State Minister for youth and sports Biren Shikder is expected to

Stolen newborn rescued; 2 held Correspondent, n Our Khulna Police yesterday rescued a newborn boy from a private hospital in the city, a day after he was stolen from another hospital.

The law enforcers also arrested Nasima Begum Shabana, 35, and her husband Abdul Mannan Jamaddar, 45, in this connection. Hailing from Barisal district, the couple used to reside at Aichgati vil-

lage in Rupsha upazila.

Mohammad Shafiqul Islam, officer in-charge of Khulna Sadar police Station, said Nasima and Mannan took the newborn to Medipath Clinic and Diagnostic Centre at Santidham intersection in the city, saying that he fell sick after the birth through cesarean section.

However, its manager Nasir Uddin informed police in the morning after observing their suspicious activities.

Later, police along with the father of the newborn rushed in and rescued him at noon.

The OC said Sanjida Begum, wife of Idris Ali of Nandanpur in Rupsha upazila, gave birth to two twins, one boy and one daughter at Khulna General Hospital on March 15.

However, the baby boy of the pair went missing from the hospital on Thursday morning.

Later, Idris Sheikh filed a case with Sadar police station in this connection. l

Farmers expect a bumper yield of mango this year n Tribune Report

Farmers in northern districts of the country expect a bumper yield of mango this year as formation of tender mango has already begun amid favorable climatic condition giving positive indication of an excellent output of the most popular fruit.

According to the officials, agronomists and experts in the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) and other related organisations, a bumper mango production is likely as over 85 per cent mango trees have bloomed during this season everywhere.

The local and indigenous variety of mangoes will appear in the local markets by May next while the imported `Sundari’ and other varieties of Indian mangoes by the next month, mango growers and market sources said.

Horticulture Specialist of

the DAE Khondker Md Mesbahul Islam said sprouting of buds is excellent following comparatively longer winter and the climatic condition has so far been very suitable now for the process.

“There are some 4.8 million fruit- giving mango trees of different varieties on more than 37,500 hectares of land in the northern districts as the number increases every year following expansion of commercial mango cultivation,” Mesbahul said.

The farmers have been cultivating many mango varieties, including the sweetest ones like Gopalbhog, Lengra, Fazlee, Nakfazlee, Khirsapati, Mohanbhog, Chyatapori, Haribhanga and Lakhna in the northern districts.

Mesbahul suggested the farmers for proper nursing of their orchards and gardens at this stage and controlling pests’ attacks, if any with tem-

perature rise, by mango hoppers now, or sometime later by weevil or other insects for better mango production.

Rangpur Regional Farm Broadcasting Officer of Agriculture Information Service Abu Sayem said the fruit setting stage is progressing giving the mango tress eye-catching looks in orchards and homesteads, reports BSS. “The farmers have started taking care so that the mango could grow massively to yield bumper production this season like in the previous years,” he said adding that commercial mango framing has already become popular in the region in recent times.

Regional Acting Additional Director of DAE SM Ashraf Ali predicted better mango production if the droughts do not prolong, temperature does not go very high and extents of seasonal nor’wester remain within tolerable limits this season.l

attend the concluding ceremony as chief guest.

A total of 100 stalls offering traditional textile and cottage industry products are set up at the venue.

Legendary artist Sultan won Ekushey Padak in 1982, Bangladesh Charu Shilpi Sangsad Award in 1986 and Swadhinata Padak in 1993. He was declared the Man of Asia in 1982

by Cambridge University. Sultan died on 10 October, 1994 and was buried in the yard of his own house at Masumdia village in Narail.

His very simple but highly philosophic artworks mostly about nature and the people of Bangladesh later became one of the prime sources of inspiration for the new generation of painters. l

Stolen medicines seized n BSS Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB-5), Rajshahi seized huge quantity of stolen government medicines and arrested one smuggler from Bidirpur more area under Godagari upazila of the district early yesterday.

The arrestee was identified as Rasiqul Islam, 29, son of Sakim Uddin of Pirijpur village under the same upazila.

Acting on a tip-off RAB members came to know that some ‘culprits’ of Godagari area storage a huge quanity of stolen government medicines for smuggling and selling those in the local market. l

9

DT

Learn English

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

Pre-reading task 1. What do you think of nuclear power?

2. Is nuclear power green?

Now, read the article and compare your answers with those outlined in the article.

Nuclear energy

4i

7 False 6 False

1 True

5 True

a3

2h 1f

9c 8e 7a 6d

Exercise 2

Answers

The ideas factory

1.

“Chernobyl” is a word that many people associate with nuclear accidents.

2.

Nuclear fission produces waste.

3.

People who say climate change is not happening have ideas that most people think are extreme.

4.

Gaia theory says the world is a living being.

5.

Some people don’t agree with Lovelock, but respect many of his ideas.

6.

Lovelock didn’t upset many people in the Green movement in 2004.

7.

Lovelock has changed his ideas.

8.

Lovelock thinks that nuclear power is not dangerous.

Exercise 2 Vocabulary: Matching. Match each word from 1 to 9 with its definition from a to i: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

green-thinking growth in awareness precarious turnaround centre of controversy 7. self-regulating 8. radical thinking 9. unthinkable 10. wake-up call a.

very innovative approaches to something

b.

the main point of an argument

c.

something that tells you a situation must change immediately

d.

something that governs itself

e.

something difficult to conceive or comprehend

f.

someone who is very concerned about environmental issues

g.

dangerous

h.

an increasing amount of knowledge

i.

a change of direction

Exercise 1

3g

Want to find more learning activities?

Visit www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish

2 True

Ac_ident nuclear Climat_ Precario_s Controv_rsy T_reat Ener_y Turn_ro_nd Fis_ion _nthink_ble

5b

See if you can find these words in the grid.

They can be horizontal, vertical, diagonal and backwards.

8 False

Word search

3 True

There was a time when the divisions were simple: nuclear energy was a danger to the world and opposition to nuclear energy was the choice of every environmentloving, green-thinking person.

The process of nuclear fission and the consequent production of nuclear waste and the problems of storing that waste made a lot of people worry. Not to mention the possibility of accidents: the

his ideas.

In 2004 Lovelock started another controversy. This great environmentalist and alternative thinker said the unthinkable for many people in the Green movement: ‘Only one immediately available source does not cause global warming and that is nuclear energy.’ (‘Nuclear power is the only green solution’ in The Independent, May 2004) Lovelock says he has never been against nuclear power, and thinks that alternative energy sources will not produce the energy necessary for the six billion people who live on the planet. He thinks that there is not enough time to research and develop alternative energy sources. We are facing a serious and urgent emergency, and nuclear power is the only solution.

Lovelock acknowledges that nuclear power has its risks, but says that these risks are very small compared with the greater risk of global warming.

Lovelock says this important newspaper article and his recent book – The Revenge of Gaia – are “a wakeup call,” an urgent alarm that we must change our way of thinking not only about nuclear energy, but also about the way we conceive the environment in general.

In Britain, the Prime Minister says he plans to commission the building of several new nuclear power stations. This is good news for a politician, who can say he is being “green” at the same time as keeping big business happy. Who knows if it is the best thing for the planet? Only time will tell – if we have enough time...l

4 False

n Chris Rose

word “Chernobyl” is now enough to worry many people.

Times have changed, however. Over the last ten years there has been a rapid growth in awareness of just how precarious our planetary situation is. The most recent UN report into climate change has made the situation frighteningly clear. Now people who deny climate change are only a few extremists – the threats facing us are real.

This has led to a number of environmentalists making a dramatic turnaround. Among these is James Lovelock.

Lovelock has always been at the centre of controversy. He is perhaps best known for his book BIGSTOCK Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth. This book explained the “Gaia theory.” According to Gaia theory, the world is a self-regulating mechanism, not exactly a living being, but more like an engine that propels itself. Other life forms (including us humans) are only a part of this bigger, complex system. It’s not surprising that a lot of people disagreed with Lovelock’s ideas, but on the other hand his radical thinking has also won him a lot of fans, and admirers – people who don’t always agree with him, but respect

Exercise 1 Comprehension: True/False. Read the article and decide if the following statements are true or false:

1

© British Council 2016

DT

10

Biz Info

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

| symposium |

| debate |

International architecture symposium at Bengal Institute

Debate on gender and identity

Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements is organising an international architecture symposium named “Architecture Now! Next” in association with Bengal Foundation, from March 18-20 at the auditorium of Krishibid Institution Bangladesh, Dhaka.

On the first day, the event will start at 3pm on Friday, March 18.

For the following two days, the session will start in the morning at 9am. Speakers will be sharing their work and ideas for an hour followed by panel discussions.

The intention of the symposium is to understand new directions in architecture and city building, along with the kind of work that should be recognised as exemplary and instructive. The symposium event gathers prominent

international and national architects, academics, critics, and thinkers. Discussions hope to inspire and energise the community of architects and environmental professionals. It also hopes to inform concerned citizens to learn about how cities and environments may be rearranged for a better future.

With the 2016 symposium “Architecture Now/Next,” Bengal Institute, in association with Bengal Foundation, plan to establish a periodic event called “Bengal Architecture Symposiums.” As architecture presents a new interconnection between cultural, ecological and economic forces, “Architecture Now/Next” hopes to raise critical questions on the political and economic landscapes. Each symposium will explore the

current state of world culture in which environmental challenges are at the frontier of development practices.

Dhaka will be a focus of the discussions. With uncontrollable growth in development and population density, Dhaka presents a challenge to the conventions of architectural and urban development. Considering Dhaka as the toughest city in the world, Bengal Institute positions the city as a new hub of architectural, landscape and urban thinking. Through these symposiums and events, Bengal Institute intends to initiate a new kind of design thinking that will inform education, practice, and settlement planning, and help develop new approaches for planning future cities. l

Recognising the need to empower female voices and to instigate discussion on prevailing issues regarding gender and identity, the BRAC Bank “Great Gender Debates” was held from March 10 to 12 at BRAC University’s campus.

The open tournament was organised by the BRAC University Debating Club (BUDC) which encouraged participation from school students, university students and even working professionals. The rules required at least one female member per team in order to uplift female participation in Bangladesh’s competitive debating fraternity.

32 teams fought it out with participants ranging from

| app |

| tourism |

‘Janoki?’ app gaining popularity

Ambassador in Sunderbans

Venturas Ltd has launched its first educational app for Bangladesh named “Janoki?” in February this year. SSC/HSC students, teachers and parents alike have responded immediately to the Android educational application, deeming it a worthy competitor in the up and coming market.

The marketing team for “Janoki?” reached across numerous renowned educational institutions in Dhaka, including Notre Dame College, Viqarunnissa Noon School and College, Cambrian College, Gulshan Commerce College, Jahangirnagar University School and College among many others. In total, 50 schools in Dhaka city were connected to, tallying over 7000 SSC/HSC students.

Due to the popular demand, math and chemistry courses were

recently added as well for students studying in science.

The platform was even ranked in the App Annie “Top 100 educational apps” board in Bangladesh.

Yoriko Ueda, chief executive officer of Venturas Ltd, mentioned, “We have had over 5000 downloads in our very first month of launch. This is a great achievement for us. The response is a testament to how the young generation is keen to adopt new technology.”

Venturas Ltd, an e-learning startup, promises to introduce progessive technology to help the education sector of Bangladesh. l The app can be downloaded from the following link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=venturas.bd.janoki&hl=en

Ambassador Bernicat and USAID deputy mission director Paul Sabatine travelled to the Sundarbans for a national policy dialogue on March 8, organised by USAID’s Bagh project and the Ministry of Environment and Forests, in order to protect the tigers of Bangladesh.

Other than the national policy dialogue, ambassador Bernicat experienced firsthand the current condition of the Sundarbans and the daily routine of the forest patrol unit during the two days of the tour.

The vessel, named MV Tanguar Haor of Tiger Tours Limited, housed the ambassador and a part of her team during her tour.

Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat became the US ambassador to Bangladesh on February 4, 2015. Currently a career member of the senior foreign service, class of Minister-Counselor, she previously served as deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Human Resources at the US Department of State. l

renowned institutions such as Dhaka University, North South University, BRAC, BUET, Scholastica, The Aga Khan School and so on.

The championship title was won by Fardeen Ameen, a fourthyear student of Independent University Bangladesh and Tahrima Saiha Haq, an A-Levels student of Scholastica, while the runners-up award went to Mastura Tasnim, a third-year student at IBA (DU) and Asif Hassan, a fourthyear student at BRAC University.

Fardeen Ameen was also awarded the title of “Best Speaker” of the tournament, while Mastura Tasnim was awarded the title of “Best Female Speaker.”l

DT

Editorial 11

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

INSIDE

Developing the future PAGE 12

Dissenting voices PAGE 13

REUTERS

Climate change PAGE 14

A new era for Myanmar

M A tale of intrigue and international politics PAGE 19

Be heard Write to Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Email letters.dt@ dhakatribune.com

Send us your Op-Ed articles:

opinion.dt@dhakatribune. com www.dhakatribune.com Join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook. com/DhakaTribune

yanmar’s parliament has elected Htin Kyaw as the country’s first nonmilitary president since the army took power in a 1962 coup.

It is a welcome step forward on the path towards a full democracy in Myanmar.

The smooth transition to civilian government, despite the reservation of 25% of seats in parliament for the military and partial disenfranchisement of ethnic minorities, heralds the hope of more meaningful reforms as Myanmar opens up to the world.

As neighbours with fast growing economies reaching out for foreign investment, Bangladesh and Myanmar have much in common, and much to gain by increasing peaceful and friendly co-operation.

There is huge potential for growth as bilateral trade is still very small. Bangladesh’s geographical proximity holds out the prospect that this will soon change as the new government should enable better co-operation in marinating a peaceful border and developing transport links.

For this to happen and for democratic reforms to be truly meaningful, it remains important for the new government to restore rights to Myanmar’s roaming minority.

It is a stain on the world’s conscience that, even as Myanmar’s military rulers edged forward towards elections and reforms in the past few years, it actively increased discrimination against minorities and stirred up the unsafe climate that caused so many Rohingya people to flee their native land.

As host to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees, Bangladesh has a major interest in seeing the Myanmar government end communal violence and facilitate the safe repatriation of those refugees who want to return to their homeland. The Rohingya need to have their human rights fully respected and protected.

Resolving this issue is a vital challenge for the new government. We wish it well in bringing in promised reforms and hope Bangladesh and Myanmar can build closer friendly relations.

Myanmar’s first civilian president since 1962 heralds hope for reform and better relations with Bangladesh

12

DT

Opinion

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

Developing the future Investing in ICT infrastructure will take the country forward

The future of our economy lies in information technology

n MI Chowdhury

B

angladesh has been keeping pace towards achieving the status of a middle income country by 2021 over the last couple of years, by sustaining a healthy growth rate of 6%. But, nevertheless, the country needs to grow around 8% yearly to reach middle-income status.

Bangladesh has placed poverty alleviation on the top of its development agenda. Being a country with a lion’s share of the population aged below 30, Bangladesh has set youth employment as one of its top priorities. Admittedly, Bangladesh lacks greatly in infrastructure and energy, which seems to be a great barrier for setting up heavy industries like automobile or electronics.

And it is here that ICT has a crucial role to play. The information communication technology sector can be a great means of creating employment for the educated youth of this country without creating much pressure on the environment and with very limited energy resources.

ICT can play an important role in women’s empowerment too if Bangladesh further strengthens its ICT infrastructure and facilitates skilled women to tap

into the global ICT market. Then, women’s empowerment, through decent work, could become more substantiated here.

Focusing on ICT has been one of Bangladesh’s highest priorities since 1997 when the GoB officially recognised that ICT can make an important development impact by deploying an executive committee to scrutinise scopes and opportunities in software export. In 2015, Bangladesh enacted a proper guideline for ICT and declared it as the thrust sector.

It is estimated that, within five years, the ICT sector will contribute 1% to Bangladesh’s total GDP and create employment for 150,000 ICT professionals.

A National ICT Task Force, headed by the honourable prime minister, has been formed and a hi-tech park in Gazipur is going to be established to attract foreign direct investment in this sector.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s effort to modernise Bangladesh through an e-governance umbrella initiative was highly acclaimed by the world community and she was awarded the South-South Award and South-South Co-operation Visionary Award by the UN as recognition of her work.

Apart from that, as appreciation of achievement, Bangladesh won the World Summit on Information Society Prize from ITU and the

BIGSTOCK

and those who had never seen a computer before are now working with it like any other professional employee. In SDF project areas, income-generating activities for the local youths are very limited due to scarcity of agricultural land and lack of investments by the local small-medium entrepreneurs.

Outsourcing is quite a lucrative income-generating activity for the youth cohort of Dhaka city now, and it is time to introduce this to the villages. Youth project beneficiaries of SDF may find income-generating opportunities through freelancing and outsourcing once they are fully equipped with proper training.

Youths of the community especially feel very encouraged to use laptops and do data entry work as they consider it a possible opportunity for future employment.

Shahinur from Rangpur, a marginalised woman and a project beneficiary of SDF, expressed that the laptops given to the community are true symbols of women’s empowerment as people who used to neglect her now pay enough heed and count her as

ICT has a crucial role to play. The information communication technology sector can be a great means of creating employment for the educated youth of this country without creating much pressure on its environment and with very limited energy resources

Global ICT Excellence Award from World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA).

Bangladesh is not only up attracting foreign investments and creating jobs for IT professionals, but there is also a burgeoning ICT at the grassroots level. Projects of Social Development Foundation (SDF) are good examples of the government’s endeavour to flourish ICT at the micro level. SDF is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Finance, and undertakes different types of multifaceted projects for poverty reduction through communitydriven development.

In order to ensure smooth operation of community finance activities, computerisation system is considered the most useful means for entering Village Credit Organisations’ data and information at the village level.

To this end, SDF has already

initiated the computerisation of community finance activities.

SDF has taken an initiative to test run a sub-project on ICT to train a small number of community people on using the Internet to put information to MIS (Management Information System) databases for its new Nuton Jibon Livelihood Improvement Project (NJLIP).

This would play a part in around 2,500 new villages in 12 districts that fall under the poorest areas of Bangladesh.

It is expected that at the end of this project, 40% of beneficiary households would be able to increase income by at least 30% and 25,000 youths would be employed through project facilitation.

The deprived community of SDF’s project regions are able to access the information gateway through the ICT sub-project

a considerable person since she has been bestowed with the great responsibility of record-keeping with a laptop.

ICT can reduce unemployment to a great extent and have a multiplier effect in a country’s economy. For instance, Bangladesh’s ICT industry has developed over the past decade and generates around $300m in revenue yearly.

Bangladesh has enormous potential in this sector but still has a long way to go before reaping the harvest of the global ICT revolution as it did in India and China. The need to invest in ICT infrastructure and build up skilled ICT human resources is therefore crucial. l MI Chowdhury is the Chairman of Social Development Foundation and former Secretary of the Government of Bangladesh.

13

DT

Opinion

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

Dissenting voices Even within the government, there are objections to the Rampal project. This is the third article in a series about the Rampal power plant virtues of the proposed project, n Kallol Mustafa avoiding the main question and

A

letter from the secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands was sent to the Department of Environment and Forests of Bangladesh on June 22, 2011.

In that letter, the Ramsar secretariat wanted to know more about the following matters from the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

First, regarding the plan to build a coal-burning power-plant right next to the Sundarbans, which is a Ramsar Site.

Based on media reports, the Ramsar secretariat expressed concern that if the planned Bangladesh-India joint venture to build a power-plant at the ecologically critical area one to two kilometres away from the conserved forest of Sundarbans goes ahead, then it will result in the emission of an excessive amount of carbon dioxide as well as other dust.

This eventually could result in putting the animal and plant-life diversity in that region at grave risk.

Therefore, the Ramsar secretariat asked for an EIA (environmental impact assessment) for a possible impact on the Sundarbans.

Second, regarding the loading and unloading of coal at Akram point in the Sundarbans. The Ramsar secretariat wanted to know, in relation to the Phulbari coal power-plant project, about the possible negative impact on the Sundarbans that would result from increased shipping traffic, the loading and unloading of coals, and the building of new physical infrastructure at Akram point.

Finally, on the possible negative impact of building a ship-yard and silos within the Sundarbans conservation area.

After receiving this letter from the Ramsar secretariat, the Ministry of Environment and Forests sent out letters, soliciting opinions, to the Directorate of Forests, Department of Electricity, Department of Fuel and Mineral Resources, Department of Shipping, Department of Industries, and Department of Food. Of these, the Department of Food and Department of Industries refrained from expressing any opinion.

The Department of Electricity and Department of Fuel and Mineral Resources extolled the

offering hocus pocus instead.

However, what is noteworthy here is that in regards to this project that the government is in a hurry to carry forward without any proper environmental assessment, there are departments within the government, such as the Directorate of Forests and Environment, and the Department of Shipping, who have expressed strong objections to the construction of a coal-burning power-plant that might harm the Sundarbans.

We can see that it is not just the general people and members of the National Committee to Protect Oil Gas Mineral Resources Port and Power, but also that various departments of the government have raised serious objections to the proposed coal power-plant at Rampal

Opinion of the Directorate of Forests

The chief conservationist Ishtiaque Uddin Khan, in a letter dated September 29, 2011, told the Ministry of Forests: “The Directorate of Forests is the Legal Custodian of the Sundarbans of which the Ramsar Sundarbans Site is a part. “ It would not be wise to construct any industrial factory inside the Sundarbans and the Landscape Zone that might have a negative effect on the bio-diversity of the Sundarbans and hence the Sundarbans Ramsar Site.

“The construction of a coalbased power-plant will threaten

The Sundarbans might cease to be if Rampal comes through the Royal Bengal Tiger and all of the bio-diversity of the Sundarbans. Since Bangladesh is a signatory of the Ramsar Conservation, we are bound, even more so internationally, in preserving the bio-diversity of the Sundarbans.

“The chief conservationist expresses the opinion that if a coal-based power-plant is constructed near the Sundarbans area of Khulna, it will harm the bio-diversity of the Sundarbans.

“The Ministry is thus requested to reconsider the construction a coal-based power plant on account of the importance of preserving the bio-diversity of the Sundarbans Ramsar Site (World Heritage Site).”

It is not possible for a government department to object more strongly than this to the proposed power plant at Rampal. One is curious to know if the chief conservationist has gotten anywhere in his efforts in obstructing the imperial interests of India.

Opinion of the Directorate of Environment

The Directorate of Environment, in a letter dated July 21, 2011, while acknowledging that the Rampal coal power-plant falls under the Ministry of Electricity and Fuel,

nevertheless expressed an opinion since the matter is connected to the environment.

“Department of Environment is concerned about the possible adverse impact on the biodiversity of Sundarbans, particularly on rich bio-diversities of Sundarbans Ramsar Site due to implementation of said project.

“Department of Environment has given positional clearance certificate for this project with various conditions related to environment.

“After going through the EIA report, if DoE finds that there will be adverse impacts on the biodiversities of Sundarbans Ramsar Site as well as other areas and the mitigation measures proposed to overcome the impacts are not adequate enough, then DoE will cancel the positional certificate and will not issue environmental clearance certificate in favour of this project.”

“It should be noted here that a long time has passed since this letter was issued by the Environment Directorate, and in the meantime, an EIA has been published, which has been rejected by experts in a public hearing, and the government, in violation of the conditions of the positional clearance certificate, has filled up the wetlands even

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

before the said EIA was issued.

But the Directorate of Environment, contrary to its promise, has not cancelled the positional certificate, and hasn’t issued any official statement regarding the EIA. However, the Environment Directorate hasn’t yet issued a clearance certificate.

Objections of the Shipping Ministry

The Shipping Ministry has voiced several objections citing problems arising from construction work, as well as problems coming from increased ship movement.

Thus, we can see that it is not just the general people and members of the National Committee to Protect Oil Gas Mineral Resources Port and Power, but also that various departments of the government have raised serious objections to the proposed coal power-plant at Rampal. l This article was first published on AlalODulal.org and has been reprinted with permission. This is a translation of a Facebook post published by Kallol Mustafa on the June 23, 2013.

Kallol Mustafa is an engineer and an environmental activist who has written widely on Rampal.

DT

14

Climate Change

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

An opportunity for LDC leadership involved in extensive diplomatic efforts in the lead up to Paris.

He clearly understands the kind of effort that will be needed to deliver on Paris.

Sokono is a climate scientist, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change author, and the former co-ordinator of the African Climate Policy Centre. Both figures are highly respected within the LDC Group and within the African nations. The appointment of either would send a strong signal of Africa’s growing importance in international affairs.

Moving forward

Figeures, pictured first from left, celebrates after the historic adoption of the Paris Agreement on climate change

In Paris, the least developed country group was a key player in delivering this agreement -- pushing relentlessly for a legally binding and effective agreement with universal participation, inclusion of the 1.5 degree target, loss and damage, and for the much-needed finance

n Andrew Norton

W

ho will be the next executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)? Is it time for a representative from the least developed countries group -- perhaps from Africa -- to take the role?

These questions are now being discussed and at a crucial point in the climate process, there are good reasons to look for someone from an LDC background to fill the role.

Christiana Figueres has earned widespread admiration for her work in delivering the Paris Agreement but while the deal done in Paris was a significant achievement, there is still considerable work to be done to deliver on its ambition.

In Paris, the LDCs were a key player in delivering this agreement -- pushing relentlessly for a legally binding and effective agreement with universal participation,

inclusion of the 1.5 degree target, loss and damage and for the muchneeded finance. Indeed, they have been playing an important role in the process since the Durban Platform was agreed in 2011. There is a strong argument that it is the right time for a representative from the group to step into the executive secretary role.

The job is appointed by the UN Secretary General, and in the spirit of UN roles should reflect the international community it represents. Figueres was the first non-European to be appointed to the post (Yvo de Boer and Joke Waller Hunter were both Dutch, Michael Zammit Cutajar was Maltese).

Leadership and ambition

The LDCs have a clear interest in the climate process -- and a strong motivation in pushing for more ambitious action. Poorer countries tend to be more exposed to the damaging impacts of climate change, despite having

contributed relatively little to the atmospheric stocks of GHGs which are driving planetary warming.

This means that the LDCs have been able to speak with moral force and use this throughout the process to build support for their cause, demonstrating the climate diplomacy skills necessary to build bridges both within the broader G77 and the High Ambition Coalition. More importantly, key individuals from within the LDC Group have shown their skills and abilities within the process, demonstrating their abilities to do the job.

Some names to consider

IIED senior fellow and long-term advisor to the climate process, Dr Saleemul Huq, has already suggested two possible highly qualified candidates for the job in Pa Ousman Jarju from The Gambia and Youba Sokona from Mali.

Jarju is Gambia’s minister for environment, climate change, water resources, parks and wildlife, and fisheries, and has considerable experience as the country’s lead negotiator at international climate talks. He chaired the LDC Group from 201011 during the crucial negotiations to establish the Durban Platform, and in Paris co-facilitated the working group on Pre-2020 action at COP21, set up to help deliver the Paris Agreement.

He is also the LDC Group’s only special climate envoy, and was

It is a crucial time in the climate process. Already there are fears that the momentum built during the Paris negotiations is being lost. While the scientific evidence increasingly demands more urgent action, leaders appear increasingly focused on domestic agendas, amidst economic and political concerns.

The momentum of Paris must not be lost. The first step is for the Paris Agreement to be signed and ratified, with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon urging governments to do this at a summit in New York in April.

Ratification requires 55 countries, representing at least 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions to sign up. So far, only Fiji and Nauru have completed its national processes to ratify the Paris Agreement.

Early ratification will recognise the urgency for action, with countries then committed to delivering emission reductions, as outlined in the plans submitted to the UNFCCC last year.

There is of course nothing to stop countries from starting work on these plans already -- and forward-thinking countries have already started to do so. But global action is needed -- and it is needed now. l Andrew Norton is director of IIED. This article first appeared on the IIED website and has been reprinted with their permission. For a link to the original article go to http://www.iied.org/ opportunity-for-ldc-leadership.

This page has been developed in collaboration with the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) and its partners, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) and International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). This page represents the views and experiences of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of Dhaka Tribune or ICCCAD or its partners.

15

DT

Arts & Letters

SKETCH: DIPA MAHBUBA

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

Give me some rice you bastard EDITOR’S NOTE

T

he 1960s gave us a few poets who could never really cope up with the widespread social injustice and the widening gap between the poor and the rich in the post-independence Bangladesh. They burst out in revolt: in life as well as in poetry.

Rafiq Azad was one of them.

In him we find the loudest voice of protest in our Bangla poetry.

His poetic expression is raw, if not simple, and strong. His poems on love and nature are different though; they are marked by a spontaneous flow of feeling.

Although he’s left us forever, his creation will always inspire us and guide us through the social realities of our time.

INSIDE

Rafiq Azad I am starving, ravenously.

This is what I constantly feel in my gut, all over my body -- this all-devouring hunger! like extreme drought scorching a crop field in the month of Chaitra, this hunger burns my body!

If I just get two meals of rice every day I’ll have no more demand.

People have so many demands! Everyone wants some luxury: flats, cars, bank accounts; some pursue fame, whereas I want only one thing and I say it clear and loud: my insides are burning, please give me some rice.

I don’t care if it is warm or cold, if its grains are fine or coarse, or red like those from the rations; I just want my earthen plate to be filled with rice.

16

Non-fiction essay and a book launch

If I just get two meals of rice every day I’ll happily give up all the other rights!

I don’t have any wacky greed, I don’t even feel any sexual urge, I don’t want any of those saris that they tuck under their navel; Anyone could take the saris or their owners -- I really don’t care; please note that I don’t need any of those saris or their owners.

And if you fail, if you fail to fulfil this demand I will burn the whole city because those who starve don’t really have any sense of right and wrong; nor do they care about the law.

I will eat whatever I find there and I swear I will not stop until everything on earth vanishes into my

17

Tribute to Rafiq Azad

gaping, hungry mouth.

And if by chance, let’s only imagine, there I find you, standing anywhere close by, I can only say you too will be my food!

A little hunger, when turns all-devouring, brings with it bad consequences!

After eating the scene and its beholder too, I’ll eat the trees, rivers, villages, business hubs and footpaths, even the dirty water in the drains, and the passers-by, the women with round buttocks, the food minister and his flag-hoisting car.

Nothing will be spared from my hunger today.

Give me some rice, you bastard, or else, I’ll gulp down the map of the whole country!

Translated by Rifat Munim. More poems of Rafiq Azad on page 17.

18

Short story competition and Poetry

Send your submissions to: anl@dhakatribune.com

DT

Arts & Letters

16

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

NON-FICTION

The poetics of a revolution Tea garden workers of Chunarughat in Habiganj have waged a movement against the government scheme to take away their farmland. Here we publish the second instalment of a nonfiction piece that was written after interviewing some of the protesting workers.

Part III: A revolution does not seek to overthrow, it seeks to create anew.

Before a meeting between the union representatives, political figureheads and the younger revolutionaries who were mostly students, a few people stood inside a large tin-shed veranda staring at images of the sudden confrontation at the bridge the day before.

The space held the rusting steel hulk of the bell tolled the day before to unite more than seven thousand tea workers. It hung from the edge of the veranda that had a small colour television in the middle. There was a formidable air to the bell. Any time it tolls, tea workers leave whatever they are doing, pick up the nearest weapon and follow the general direction in which bodies are moving. Questions pertaining to the why or the who are left for later.

The people who stood huddled around the camera were now laughing at images of one Anurup Bakti, who had been captured wielding a machete covered in blood. As frightening as the image was, it was only chicken blood.

The story went that Anurup had responded to a police officer trying to restrain him from crossing the bridge and when the officer saw his machete, he shrank away in terror.

A few minutes later, Dipen Kalindi, a student of political science from Sylhet, stood addressing the scores of young people who had turned up and the seven figureheads from the central union, the Land Protection Committee and

The figureheads shuffled nervously in their chairs, sometimes trying to break the tension by cracking a joke.

The plastic red of their chairs suddenly seemed fallible

the panchayat. He began by saying, “My revolutionary salute to everyone.” As he spoke, recounting the numerous ways in which people in power are working against the interests of the dissenting masses, it became clear that the seven leaders felt uncomfortable. More telling was the absence of those who had promised to be there but had sent their representatives instead.

An aura of frustration pervaded the place as Dipen concluded his speech. But even in that frustration, there was a fiery inevitability.

The old ways of negotiation were dying. A new revolutionary fervour was sweeping them away, very meticulously, along with the roots of oppression and acquiescence. The young tea workers who sat on the ground were conceiving of a new

identity. Gone were the old days of surrendering to the white men, to the government and to fate. The new identity was going to be one of confrontation. They expected nothing short of victory; if necessary, they would embrace death.

The figureheads shuffled nervously in their chairs, sometimes trying to break the tension by cracking a joke. The plastic red of their chairs suddenly seemed fallible.

Part IV: A revolution is not a parttime preoccupation.

In the morning, the tea workers postponed their work at the

garden for two hours to bring out a procession. The slogans they chanted gradually morphed into an increasingly radical message.

At first, “No Economic Zone” and then, “Rajniti na rajpoth? Rajpoth!

Rajpoth!” (Politics or protest?

Protest! Protest!)

During the night, a few men guard the 512 acres of farmland that brought about a revolutionary movement. They sit mostly in silence and warm themselves by burning hay. Their weapons, symbolic of a non-European mode of resistance, would be rendered futile in the face of modern-day military weapons

but their spirits were invincible.

A few blocks away, a solitary house has its lights on, surrounded by a canopy of sleepy mud walls.

Inside, an old man sat in his room carving out bows and fashioning arrows. He estimated that if he worked for another hour, he would be able to complete another arrow.

The next day, he would take a few hours off work to train a few of the women to shoot arrows.

(The first instalment of this piece was published in the last issue.)

Ahmad Ibrahim is a freelance journalist, writer and activist.

BOOK LAUNCH

Bengal Lights Books launches first nonfiction n Arts & Letters Desk

B

engal Lights Books launches today its first nonfiction title, April, written by Andrew Eagle and Tulip Chowdhury, at the University of Liberal Arts. The programme, which begins at 4:00pm, will be held at ULAB's main campus in the capital's Dhanmondi.

AK Abdul Momen, former Bangladeshi permanent representative to the UN; Khademul Islam, director, Bengal Lights; Aasha Mehrin Amin, deputy editor, editorial and op-ed, The Daily

Star, among others, will speak at the event. The programme will be followed by a musical programme.

Andrew is an Australian-born writer living in Bangladesh. Tulip is a Bangladeshi writer living in the States. When the two adventurous souls met online they decided as an experiment to dedicate a month to working together, documenting their lives. April is the result: a unique work of non-fiction that offers two perceptive viewpoints on cultural difference, travel and daily life. Then unexpectedly April outgrew the boundaries of nation-state and

calendar month to reveal broader human truths.

A review at The Daily Star says about the book, “For both Andrew and Tulip, who had left their homes behind but carry the evocative past of their homes, the present is a bitter-sweet affair. Andrew outbursts in poetic realization, “I'm not as Bengali as they are and yet I feel it. I'm hardly Australian except that I am.” Apparently, he enjoys this 'privileged duality' or 'multiplicity' and also feels very normal calling his parents 'my Australian mum and dad'. But what about the poet inside

Andrew? He perhaps leaves a room for you to guess!

“And Tulip? She never forgets her comfortable home in the 1990s that was one of the 'five happiest model families'. The softness of that memory eventually transformed into the toughness of 'nearly three years of homelessness', forcing her to accept the world as a better home. But then, why would the option of 'married or single' in the American official applications make her yearn for a third option 'heartbroken'?

The poet inside Tulip will compel you to rethink through her narrations.” l

17

DT

Arts & Letters

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

TRIBUTE

A poet with no regrets A young poet writes about Rafiq Azad’s life and poetry. This short piece was written on March 12, the day Azad passed away

n Pias Majid

A

fter Rafiq Azad passed away this morning, his son Abbay Azad said, “Baba led a life for which he had no regrets.”

We were standing in front of the ICU at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University.

Something sounded familiar. I was reminded of reading Rafiq Azad’s autobiography Regrets Have I None (Kono Khed Nei) a couple of days ago. How deftly this apparently bohemian person has written about different phases of his life, not breaking the chronological order, about the social, political and literary scene of the 1960s. It surprises me that in our literary culture where everyone is hungry for recognition, someone as big as him says, “Regrets have I none.”

But it makes sense though. Writing in the suffocating political space under Pakistani military rule when little magazines were their main platform, they struggled a lot to bring about many significant changes in the literature of the time. They drew inspiration from the vast openness and avant garde trends of world literature. So it was only natural they had big dreams about literature. And that explains why they did not bother about the little regrets in life.

I heard about his poetry on a television programme in which Abdullah Abu Sayeed referred to one of his poems. It was a programme on sampan (a kind of boat) where Sayeed quoted the last line of Azad’s ‘Madhabi Esei bole jai’. Since then I have been an avid reader of his poems. From “Osombhober Paye” to “Moulobir Mon Bhalo Nei” his poetry is rooted in the worldly affairs of life, its transient beauty and love.

I have only a few personal memories with Rafiq Azad. But

}

At one point, he identified himself with the Garos.

He started saying , “I am Rafiq Marak”, the last name signifying his Garo identity.

In an interview with Zafar Ahmed Rashed, he said, “Birishiri has changed me.”

He further said that he was carrying the blood of different indigenous groups in his Bengali blood

glimpses of those few moments still flash through mind. Once I accompanied him, in his official vehicle, from his Dhanmondi house to his office at National Library in Gulistan. On the way we had a talk most of which was about his friends. He spoke about poet Tarapada Roy. I had remembered then that Tarapada’s autobiography and other prose writings had

Two Love poems by Rafiq Azad

Definition of Love

frequent reference to Rafiq Azad.

On the way Azad lamented the absence of poet Shaheed Kadri who now lives in the US. He used to call Kadri the ‘master’ (guru).

When that guru calls suddenly one late night to ask, “Do you know how Rafiq is doing?” the picture of a cafe named ‘Shat-er Dashak’ (The 1960s) appears before my eyes where poets gathered in

Love is the craziness of two people, who draw each other to the core.

Love is putting your life at risk, walking barefoot upon the sands of separation.

Love is leaning on each other.

Love is heavy rain, pouring down ceaselessly, and getting wet in it, hand in hand.

Love is talking incessantly when the coffee on the table has gone cold.

Love is sitting face to face forever

literary addas to talk literature.

That’s where they ushered in new era of poetry and literature.

I knew more about him from writers of the following generations. Playwright Selim Al Din always acknowledged his debt to Azad. He said Azad was one of those few senior writers who inspired him in the early stages of his writing.

when there’s nothing left to be told.

If I Find Love

If I find love I will right the wrongs; If I find love I will pack all that is necessary for the long road ahead; If I find love I’ll get velvet days after a terribly long winter; If I find love I’ll swim across the sea, or I’ll climb up the mountain; If I find love my sky will turn blue like the

Azad, the poet of ‘Chunia Amar Arcadia’, portrayed both the beauty and the ugliness of life in his poems. Excepting an autobiography that he wrote in the last years of his life, he was not interested in prose.

Prose is arid and lifeless to him.

But art and life are identical to him.

So, he made his poetry pregnant with the diversity of life. He even captured the time he spent while working with Netrokona’s Birishiri Cultural Academy in his unique poetry collection Birishiri Parba.

Soon he fell in love with the village named Chunia and the Garo hill, the river somashori. At one point, he identified himself with the Garos.

He started saying , “I am Rafiq Marak,” the last name signifying his Garo identity. In an interview with Zafar Ahmed Rashed, he said, “Birishiri has changed me.” He further said that he was carrying the blood of different indigenous groups in his Bengali blood.

Today, when I was standing beside Azad before he breathed his last, I visualised the poet, who once hoped that all human beings, like the people living in Chunia, would give up malice and violence and live happily with one another. Standing in front of a big, closed door, when there was no way out, he could write ‘The love letter from a mental hospital’. The same person had taken up arms in 1971 to fight against the Pakistan occupation forces.

Rafiq Azad, the poet who wanted to adorn life with joy and sorrow, left us saying “good bye”.

Through his departure, he told us what he wrote in one of his poems, “When the bird flies away, its feathers are left behind). l Translated by Saera Habib. Pias Majid is a poet, story writer, essayist and literary activist. His short story collection Janioko Jibananando ebong Onyanyo Golpo came out in this February.

like the autumn sky; If I find love my I will find the rhythm and rhyme in life If I find love I’ll right the wrongs I’ll weave my words onto the long path of art, and these quilts I’ll bear.

Translated by Muktadir Abdullah Al. He is a young poet and translator. His first volume of poems, Anyo Ganger Gaan, Samudrasaman, was published in this February.

DT

18

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

Arts & Letters SHORT STORY COMPETITION

Contribute stories on nature Dhaka Tribune has partnered with Fellows of Nature in a unique initiative to promote nature writing, a genre as endangered as nature, through a short story competition that seeks contributions from writers of South Asian countries. Visit www. fellowsofnature.in for more details

n Arts & Letters desk

T

his is a unique opportunity for young Bangladeshi writers (writing in English) to make their mark on the regional stage.

FON South Asia Short Story Award, launched last month by Kumaon Literary Festival, invites short stories on the theme of Nature from all the eight South Asian countries, including Bangladesh. The winner of the contest will be conferred the FON South Asia Short Story Prize comprising an award money of INR 100,000 and a plaque. Apart from that, a book of about 30 best short stories selected by our eminent international jury will also be published.

The closing date for submission is May 30th, 2016. The award will be presented at the next edition of Kumaon Lit Fest to be held in October this year and the book will be released at the literary festival of Taj Colloquium (an associate of KLF), Agra in January 2017.

For more details about the contest, kindly visit our website: www.fellowsofnature.in Stories on the theme of nature or translations of Bangla short stories can be submitted for the competition. So, good translators, too, have a chance to win. All participants must be 21 years or above on March 1, 2016.

Kumaon Lit Fest (http://kumaonliteraryfestival.org/) initiated the Fellows of Nature (FON) project at its first edition last year with the aim of promoting nature writing. The main focus of the initiative is to put the spotlight back on human-nature relationship through nature writing.

The short story award was initiated as part of the FON project to “build a community of nature writers and revive interest in nature writing and reading, and through this form of literature, build awareness and develop respect for nature, and eventually help in conservation. l

POETRY STATE OF THE NATION BY SEEMA AMIN I. Saw a dispersed man in the sidewalk.

All the marks of torture (in your soul) have blended with the night.

Empty street yellow palette, dirty page in the sun.

Blessed thus, by thy helicopters of disappearance Friday, the streets are empty, no cherub cheeked children, engines muted of the birds.

Death metal angel in spiked modernity, Legionnaire in a new guise, your stone age was our golden, now your iron age, beats us like a dream walking backward, into your linear oblivion.

An empty street with its tips folded, silent newspaper her morning heavy as an ocean in a bag.

There is a nightingale in white magenta, he’s a band-aid messiah, the feast of pink flesh is not human-Cut to the morrow, the one in the sexy black

flight over the ugliness Is also you.

II. Saw a dispersed woman O to hear the grandfather clock again in the Asylum.

To bear fruit in the rain, puzzled pieces raining a Russian alarm.

The bells that stilled Nischintapur no Nadezdha salutes no Nadezdha.

It was love, or its prototype The jailhouse plundered, The way out locked in.

The loved has no reprieve from a cornered eye.

O my buildings! Remove!

Revolution has been struck by lightning.

600 bolted in the night NO EXIT from fire.

Seven white saris, Before that anemic banner, dressed as the self-becoming dead.

Bird of a Sound! Inquisitor Om. Silence in the stopped path, silence suspended above wings left in the burnt voice.

To occupy a moment without water.

We meet at the bridge to the BGMEA

Friend, we meet there, aimless sanity taking aim, no clothes catch on fire, Just the cockroach squads Kafka singing the blues Again, On a no-riot day! Marigold daughter face down forever! Dreaming holy perforated torso of her brother.

I stood for a long time inside the tea stall gate, ‘neath its Bodhi sky .

I watched a single leaf fall.

My friend the plainclothes policeman remembered, remembered, my name.

I will give birth to beauty Here in your cornered eye.

I will die rigor mortis beyond.

Industrial police in a Dhalliwood tavern drinking to your death, I will. FDC, Bangla Motors, Bollywood Bal liberalism in Mermaid motel I WILL Badda strike, a year later, before the tanks, I will.

Pink holi sputtered dispersing these unarmed soldiers Since it’s summer, why not hot water I WILL

Latest crowd control technology Imported direct no processing Pre-tested only in Occupied Territory I WILL Sister, you face down, blood violet, With three demands before death “Help us get our bonus, pay for this crater of wounds from erupted glass. And for the abortion.” I WILL Words writ on the face of a charred ocean, “My nose-ring did not portend the rape to come” Flesh engraved gold.

Priceless dasi who outlived The spidermen suicides of her sisters.

Beauty is a mind processing zone.

And I am without.

Howling death without a nameplate.

Visiting your successful graves, Three years later.

--Raw phantom flesh, forever!

Comrade mine! Remember!

Aimless: Sanity: Surrender.

19

DT

Heritage

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

A tale of intrigue and international politics The period of Aurangzeb might be the most important time in the history of our land

n Tim Steel

E

ngland in 1660, at the end of the Civil War and the Commonwealth, saw the cultural mores of the nation evolved from Puritan constraint. There was a distinct move towards what was to become known as the “Age of Enlightenment” dawning across Europe.

John Dryden, himself something of a Puritan, who was to become acknowledged as one of England’s greatest dramatists and poets, was appointed as Historiographer Royal in 1770, initiating a more disciplined approach to the study of history.

In fact, it may be reasonable to date the development of the Age of Enlightenment to at least a century earlier as some Europeans, especially the English, freed from the autocracy of the Roman Catholic Church, began to spread its wings, and certainly discovered in the Middle East, and then in the Indian sub-continent, cultural levels hitherto unknown in Europe since, arguably, the fifth century and the decline of Rome.

On the other side of the known world, in the Indian sub-continent, in which the English East India Company, first chartered as recently as 70 years earlier, was rapidly developing their trade in goods with consumer appeal, and, especially, munitions, with which to prosecute the increasing level of warfare, nationally and internationally within Europe, was slowly absorbing and sharing their experience of those lands of “The Great Mughal.”

Curiously, of course, the time of Aurangzeb, possibly also the most significant period in the history of the lands that are now Bangladesh, when by most measures the wealthiest, and perhaps most cultured part of the Mughal Empire, matched closely with the post restoration rise of English power and culture, which, following the death of Aurangzeb and the decline of the Mughals, was almost mirrored in the rise and fall of English power and affluence. No coincidence, perhaps.

Ascending to the Mughal throne in 1658 as, in England, Cromwell’s “regime” declined towards the 1660 Restoration, in which the monarchy was restored to England following the execution of King

Charles I and the Commonwealth “republic” which followed -Aurangzeb was to prove, perhaps, the last, and arguably the most effective of military rulers in South Asia.

Even today, academics argue about just how violent a monarch he proved, his somewhat extreme Islamic views certainly chiming at odds with those of his various predecessors.

He was, of course, also the Mughal monarch, arguably most influential in the history of today’s Bangladesh, described by modern literary commentators as “a moving drama of one of the most hated despots of India.”

In fact, that “moving drama” written by a dramatist who was largely a contemporary of the emperor, Dryden’s play, “Aurangzeb,” is certainly a moving story of forbidden love and patricidal and fratricidal conflict, reflecting all we know today of Aurangzeb’s story.

The wealthiest, and perhaps most cultured part of the Mughal Empire, matched closely with the post restoration rise of English power and culture was almost mirrored in the rise and fall of English power

In fact, Aurangzeb’s reign needs to be appreciated as one of a difficult and dangerous period in what was, perhaps, the greatest empire in the world. And, certainly, an empire regarded, in awe, by Westerners.

The “Great Mughal” was the most common reference to rulers and realm, with all its suggestion of awe for the oriental splendour of it all.

Interestingly, the play is said to have impressed the newly restored King of England, Charles the second, who had his own experiences of royal turbulence to live with.

Dryden saw the execution of

the king’s father -- a move he probably sympathised. Certainly, his fame had begun to flourish in a period in which drama was much frowned upon, with a degree of religious extremism with which he also appears to have sympathised with.

Aurangzeb, with his unique connection with Bengal, and its client states of Bihar and Orissa, all of which were ruled from Dhaka should, today, be regarded as something of a monster is in a predominantly Hindu region, but there is little doubt, to judge from contemporary journals of Europeans, that he was held in some regard by them.

Until the disaster of Child’s War, from 1686 to 1690, it is evident from the journals of the East India Company people that the Mughal regime appears to have been, at least, both respected, and admired. It seems that the efficiency of the administration greatly facilitated the work of trade and commerce, and, perhaps, especially those cargoes of vital supplies of saltpetre and gunpowder.

The outcome of Child’s War, occasioned by a badly botched attempt by the English to seize the important port facility of Chittagong with a fleet of wellarmed ships that also bore both a small military force, and two hundred cannon with which

to bribe the Zamindari in the area around Chittagong, was, potentially, disastrous for the English. It resulted, in its complete fiasco of a failure, in emissaries, both commercial and diplomatic, actually prostrating themselves to the Emperor, and handing over sacks of gold to enable their trade to continue.

The war, of course, postdated Dryden’s romantic work.

What was made in London, not just of that humiliation, but one compounded -- five years later by the appalling act of piracy by the English renegade, Henry Every.

He, in 1695, in one of the greatest acts of piracy on record, seized a Mughal fleet en route home from Haj, involving rape, murder, and the theft of a cargo valued today at around £52 million.

Aurangzeb’s fury, compounded by this second offence of English origins, certainly cost the East India Company, and the English government dear in order to return to business as usual, especially in the much valued cargoes of gunpowder for a nation at war.

From that period onwards, the focus of English literature and drama that involved the Indian sub-continent, seems to have concentrated, rather, on the influence of Indian experience on English leading characters.

The influence of the arts and

culture of India may well have lingered, not least in such works as the fabulous Brighton Pavilion, today’s appearance of which, in what is described as “IndoIslamic” architectural style, was completed by the famous John Nash, by 1822.

It was, perhaps, no coincidence that the period was certainly one greatly influenced by the return of the “nabobs,” the “fabulously” wealthy returning servants of the East India Company. Indeed, it may reasonably be speculated that East India Company wealth may well have found its way into financing the adulterous weekend hideaway of England’s Prince Regent, subsequently King George the fourth.

What view is taken, today, of the works of both the East India Company, and the subsequent Raj, would certainly not conform to most contemporary views complicit in the operations of both rulers. However, if it is true, as Dryden suggested, that mankind often sees just what it wants to see, then maybe even such horrors as fratricide and patricide may pale in the reflection of romance; especially when the horrors, and the romance, are located in places of legendary splendour. l Tim Steel is a communications, marketing and tourism consultant.

DT

20

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Swift (5) 5 Irritable (4) 8 Anger (6) 9 Jar on (5) 10 Way of walking (4) 11 Possessed (5) 12 Lyric poem (3) 15 Impression from blow (4) 18 Musical sounds (5) 21 And not (3) 22 Bird (4) 24 Reflected sound (4) 25 Hawaiian greeting (5) 28 Revised and corrected (6) 29 Lose colour (4) 30 Present (5)

DOWN 1 Area (6) 2 Vegetable (3) 3 To the interior (4) 4 Sketched (4) 5 Incited (5) 6 Numb (6) 7 Thus far (3) 13 Accomplish (2) 14 Eaten into (6) 16 Denial (2) 17 Formal agreement (6) 19 Wear away (5) 20 As stated (2) 23 Electrical unit (4) 25 Fairy (3) 26 Zodiac sign (3) 27 Strange (3)

Downtime CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 1 represents G so fill G every time the figure 1 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

DT

World 21

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

INSIDE

INSIGHT

Brazil political crisis: A real-life House of Cards Business as usual at Gitmo betrays Obama ambitions A length of razor wire dangles onto a chain-link fence, clinking gently in the warm breeze. Long, thick grass smothers what once was a gravel prison yard. Animal droppings are everywhere.

PAGE 22

Islamic State, Dae’sh or Isis: The dilemma of naming extremists

What’s in a name? The dilemma of what to call Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s terrorist group has been troubling politicians and the media since the militants began their advance across Iraq and Syria.

PAGE 23

EU, Turkey clinch deal to return migrants European Union leaders approved a controversial deal with Turkey on Friday intended to halt illegal migration flows to Europe in return for financial and political rewards for Ankara.

PAGE 24

n Tribune Desk Uncertainty clouded Brazil’s already turbulent political scenario Thursday as a judge blocked the appointment of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as chief of staff to his successor just moments after his tumultuous swearing-in ceremony.

Critics of current President Dilma Rousseff accuse her of a transparent maneuver aimed at helping the once wildly popular Silva slalom legal woes that saw him taken in for questioning in a sprawling corruption probe less than two weeks ago. Cabinet members cannot be investigated, charged or imprisoned unless authorised by the Supreme Court.

Rousseff has insisted the Cabinet appointment has nothing to do with the former president’s legal problems, saying Silva would help put the country back on track economically and spearhead the fight against attempts to oust her over allegations of fiscal mismanagement.

The impeachment process moved a step closer Thursday as the lower house established a special commission on the matter.

As the spectacle continued to play out, the simmering anger that bought an estimated 3m people onto the streets in nationwide anti-government demonstrations over the weekend again spilled over, with protests flaring in Brasilia and Sao Paulo, where demonstrators brandished inflatable dolls of Silva in black-and-white prison stripes. A pro-Silva rally was slated for later on Friday, but it was not clear whether the former leader would attend.

Rousseff went on the offensive at Thursday’s swearing-in ceremony, calling those pressing for her removal “putschists” and accusing Sergio Moro, the judge who is leading the corruption probe at the state-run oil company Petrobras, of violating the constitution and acting in a partisan manner.

“Shaking Brazilian society on the base of untruths, shady maneuvers, and much-criticized practices violates constitutional guarantees and creates very serious precedents,” Rousseff said.

“Coups begin that way.”

The injunction suspending Silva’s nomination, brought by a federal judge in Brasilia, was widely

Clockwise, a demonstrator wearing a mask depicting Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva takes part in a protest in Sao Paulo on Thursday; inflatable dolls known as "Pixuleco" depicting Lula da Silva are seen during the same protest REUTERS

The impeachment process in Brazil 1

2

3

A congressional commission (65 members) decides if impeachment process should be launched If it decides in favour: The Lower House of parliament votes 2/3 majority required to uphold impeachment (342 votes of a total of 513) If impeachement is upheld, the president is suspended The Senate then votes 2/3 majority required (54 votes of a total of 81) If the Senate votes in favour:

4 Dilma Rousseff

President Dilma Rousseff is impeached and is ineligible for public office for 8 years

expected as such tactics are often used to delay or interrupt political appointments and decisions.

But the practical effects remain subject to debate, with some attorneys insisting Silva is the chief of staff — and enjoys the special legal standing afforded by the role — while others contended the injunction must first be ruled on by a higher court.

Brasilia-based attorney Joaquim Pedro Rodrigues said the injunction stipulates that if the swearing-in already took place, the suspension would not take effect until a final decision is reached. While Silva won’t be able to exercise official functions until the matter is resolved, he will enjoy the Cabinet ministers’ special legal standing until then, Rodrigues said.

Solicitor General Jose Eduardo Cardozo, a close ally of Rousseff ’s, said “political motivations” were behind the injunction, which he called “absolutely inappropriate.”

“The situation is absurd,” Cardozo said at a news conference, adding that the government has appealed. He attacked the judge who issued the injunction as partisan, citing recent photos posted on Facebook showing him at an anti-government rally.

Both Rousseff and Silva have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, but Rousseff has seen her popularity nosedive as the country of 200m has spiraled into crisis after crisis.

The Petrobras corruption investigation has stained Brazil’s political and business elite. The country is ground zero for the Zika virus, which scientists believe can lead to birth defects. The economy is mired in the worst recession since the 1930s, with rising inflation and daily announcements of layoffs adding to people’s fears and desperation. And in the middle of it all, Brazil is set to host the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janei-

ro in August.

At Thursday’s swearing-in ceremony, the atmosphere recalled a campaign rally as a crowd packed with top officials broke into pro-government chants.

In a combative speech, Rousseff said she was counting on Silva, her “great friend, great comrade,” to help lift the country out of the current economic and political imbroglios.

She lashed out at Wednesday’s surprise release of tapped phone calls between Silva and a host of prominent public figures, including Rousseff herself. Judge Moro released the recordings hours after the announcement of Silva’s appointment, saying that the taps appeared to suggest attempts to influence judicial officials in Silva’s favor.

Rousseff called the recordings illegal and said their release made “clear the attempt to overstep the limits of the democratic state.”

Moro compared the situation to a US Supreme Court ruling in the Watergate scandal that toppled President Richard Nixon.

“Not even the highest authority of the republic has absolute privilege of protection of their communications,” Moro wrote, adding that the 1974 decision in the US vs Nixon case was “an example to be followed.”

On Thursday, Rousseff ’s nemesis, lower house speaker Eduardo Cunha established the committee that will decide whether to proceed with impeachment steps against her. Raucous celebrations broke out on the floor, with opposition representatives brandishing signs reading “impeachment now” as Rousseff allies chanted “there won’t be a coup!” l

DT

22

World

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

INSIGHT

Business as usual at Gitmo betrays Obama ambitions Guantanamo prison 2001

September 11 Al-Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington October 7 The US begins military operations in Afghanistan

2002

January 11 The first prisoners arrive in Guantanamo February The US declares that "enemy combatants" are not protected by the Geneva Convention

2003

At its height Guantanamo holds 680 detainees December A first inmate meets with a defence lawyer

2004

February The first two prisoners are formally charged

2006

Nature reclaims the US militaryís Camp X-Ray at Guantanamo Bay Naval base on March 9 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The infamous holding center closed 14 years ago and inmates were moved to more permanent facilities AFP

n AFP, Cuba A length of razor wire dangles onto a chain-link fence, clinking gently in the warm breeze. Long, thick grass smothers what once was a gravel prison yard. Animal droppings are everywhere.

Over the past 14 years, nature has won control of Guantanamo Bay’s Camp X-Ray, the notorious holding center briefly home to nearly 300 detainees pulled from the battlefield after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.

Gone are the inmates and their orange jumpsuits. Their tiny, open-air cages are now knotted with weeds and the wooden guard towers surrounding the facility look like they’re about to collapse.

But just a short drive away, on the other side of a shrub-covered hill, a different story is playing out.

Down a closely guarded access road, where an “Honour Bound to Defend Freedom” sign greets visitors, the extensive prison complex that succeeded Camp X-Ray remains home to dozens of terror suspects.

Despite President Barack Obama’s repeated efforts to close it since taking office in 2009, this facility is staying open -- at least for now.

Last month, Obama handed Congress a Pentagon proposal to shut the prison which he has called a stain on America’s conscience that catalyzes jihadi anger against the United States.

But Republican foes immediately dismissed the plan, primarily because it seeks to bring high-risk detainees from this remote naval base in southeastern Cuba to the US mainland -- even though such a move is illegal under current US law.

Further dampening expectations, Republicans this week seized on a report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found a recent increase in ex-detainees suspected of rejoining the extremist fight against the US and its allies.

Of the 676 men released under Obama and his predecessor, George W Bush, 118 are suspected of re-engaging, the report found, noting that further recidivism was likely among those currently slated for release.

“We assess that some detainees currently at GTMO (Guantanamo) will seek to re-engage in terrorist or insurgent activities after they are transferred,” the report states.

Today, 91 inmates remain. Thirty-five are approved for transfer to another country, but the process of putting security guarantees in place is painstakingly slow.

The rest face ongoing -- and indefinite -- detention.

Realistically, Obama has scant chance of closing Guantanamo during his remaining 10 months in office. He is considering an executive order to shut it, but such action would prove deeply controversial.

September New military tribunals are set up to conduct prisoner trials

And even if he were to succeed, a future US president could quickly reopen it.

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump intends to fill Guantanamo with “bad dudes,” and fellow conservatives Ted Cruz, want to send Dae’sh captives there.

2009

January 19 The trial begins of five people accused of taking part in 9/11

2012

Obama unsuccessful in a move to close Guantanamo

Secret camp

Navy Captain Christopher Scholl, a military spokesman, said inmates follow Guantanamo news closely; they have access to some 300 channels, including Arabic-language broadcasters.

“It was very calm,” Scholl said of the day Obama announced his closure plan.

“There was more curiosity of what’s going to happen next, to see if they’re going to go to the States.”

Most inmates currently are housed in two jails known as Camp 5, which opened in 2004, and Camp 6, which opened in 2006 at a cost of $37m.

Well-behaved detainees live in Camp 6 and have access to communal areas. The non-compliant inmates are kept at Camp 5, which has equipment to protect guards from “splashing” -- the grim practice of hurling bodily fluids and excrement at guards.

2015

2016

July 20 The US and Cuba restore relations without negotiations over the base

February Obama launches yet another attempt to close the prison The riskiest detainees, including the five men accused of plotting the September 11, 2001 attacks, are incarcerated at another, secret prison camp elsewhere on the base.

Scholl said Obama’s plans have had no impact on the prison’s day-to-day workings. A force of about 2,000 guards and staff keep the facility running -- more than 20 workers per inmate.

“It’s business as usual right now,” Scholl said. “Operationally, there are no changes.” l

23

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

Islamic State, Dae’sh or Isis: The dilemma of naming extremists

From Isil and Isis to Islamic State

First it was Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis), with the Levant and Syria referring to a region stretching from southern Turkey through Syria to Egypt.

Then in June last year, the group renamed itself Islamic State (IS), suggesting its ambitions to be a worldwide caliphate rather than just in the Middle East. “They’re claiming to represent all Muslims everywhere – they have declared the establishment of a new caliphate,” says Jonah Blank, a former staffer at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “So if they are to actually own this term, that’ll be a huge propaganda victory for them.”

The rise of Dae’sh

A fourth name, Dae’sh, is now gaining favour. It is a loose acronym of al-Dawla al-Islamiya alIraq al-Sham (Arabic for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) but sounds like the Arabic words Daes (One who crushes something underfoot) and Dahes (One who sows discord).

In 2014, The New York Times explained: “al-Sham is the classical Arabic term for Damascus and

Dae’sh control in Syria and Iraq Dae’sh

govt/allies

rebel forces

contested

Kurds

TURKEY

Kobane

Tal Abyad

Hasakeh Sinjar Mosul

Aleppo Raqa

Idlib

Deir Ezzor

Hama

SYRIA

IRAQ

Arbil

Tikrit Samarra IRAN

Ramadi

DAMASCUS

Fallujah

BAGHDAD

Rutba JORDAN

SAUDI ARABIA

Dae’sh is favoured by many Muslims who argue that it better separates the terrorists from their religion and is already used by several world leaders, including French President Francois Hollande its hinterlands, and over time, it came to denote the area between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates, south of the Taurus Mountains and north of the Arabian desert.”

According to The Guardian, the acronym has even become an Arabic word in its own right, with its plural “daw’aish” meaning “bigots who impose their views on others”.

Lt Gen James Terry, commander of the US mission in Iraq and Syria, said his Arab allies have requested that Dae’sh is used to describe the enemy, reports the Wall Street Journal. “Our partners ask us to use that (Dae’sh), because they feel that if you use Isil, that you legitimise a self-declared caliphate,” he said.

BBC concerns on impartiality

Earlier last year, a group of 120

Taking the Islam out of Islamic State

Writing in the Islamic Monthly, Arsalan Iftikhar has previously suggested that we call the militants the “Un-Islamic State” as the “socalled Muslims” claiming to kill in the name of Islam are “in fact, completely defiling its essence”.

Iftikhar says there is “nothing Islamic about beheading foreign

Pakistan’s former military ruler Pervez Musharraf left the country early Friday after the Supreme Court lifted a three-year ban on him travelling abroad. Lawyers for the former president, who is facing multiple charges including treason and murder over the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, have said he needs urgent spinal treatment not available in Pakistan. Musharraf was banned from leaving Pakistan in March 2013. -AFP

A BJP politician was arrested Friday on suspicion of attacking a police horse, called Shaktiman, whose injuries led to a leg amputation. Police said Ganesh Joshi was remanded in custody for two weeks on charges of cruelty to the horse, which was wounded during a party protest in Uttarakhand on Monday. The horsewas fitted with a prosthetic leg late on Thursday. A case was registered against Joshi on Monday night. -AFP

CHINA

100 km

British lawmakers called on the BBC to stop referring to the militants as “Islamic State”, arguing that they are neither Islamic nor a state. Tory MP Rehman Chishti said the BBC’s use of the word Islamic to describe a group that has murdered thousands of innocent people would offend Muslims.

London Mayor Boris Johnson and the former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond were also among the MPs to sign an open letter to the BBC in protest at the terminology, while David Cameron has said he is “happy for people to use Dae’sh”. In a response described as “surprising” by MPs, the BBC rejected the request on the grounds that the suggested alternative was “pejorative”. It said it needed to preserve its “impartiality”, although cabinet minister Chris Grayling later suggested the need for being impartial towards the extremists was akin to being impartial towards the Nazis. Instead, the BBC said it would “redouble” its efforts to use caveats such as the “Islamic State group” to “distinguish it from an actual, recognised state”.

Pakistan’s ex-president Musharraf leaves country

BJP leader arrested over horse attack

Baiji

Palmyra

SOUTH ASIA

INDIA

Kirkuk

NO

N

Homs

BA

What’s in a name? The dilemma of what to call Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s terrorist group has been troubling politicians and the media since the militants began their advance across Iraq and Syria.

British Prime Minister David Cameron in last December announced that his government would be using the term Dae’sh to refer to the extremist group and urged others not to use the name Islamic State.

“This evil death cult is frankly not a true representation of the religion of Islam,” the UK premier said.

It follows a campaign led by ruling Tory lawmakers Rehman Chishti and shadow defence minister Hilary Benn to use the acronym of the group’s Arabic name, al-Dawla al-Islamyia fil Iraq wa’al Sham, or Dae’sh in short.

The term is favoured by many Muslims who argue that it better separates the terrorists from their religion and is already used by several world leaders, including French President Francois Hollande.

Experts say the terrorist group’s name plays a crucial part in their propaganda war – so what should we be calling them?

LE

n Tribune Desk

DT

World

journalists, indiscriminately targeting religious minorities and instilling wanton terror within the general civilian population”. US President Barack Obama has also been reticent to call the extremists “Islamic”, insisting that “we are not at war with Islam – we are at war with people who have perverted Islam”.

But writing in The Spectator, Rod Liddle insists you cannot take the Islam out of Islamic State. “The point is that they call themselves Islamic State: that is their name,” says Liddle. “You can cavil all you like, but that is generally the approach we have taken over the years in journalism: give something its proper name, not something we would prefer it to be called because the proper name offends our sensibilities.”

Pretending that Dae’sh is not Muslim at all will be “counterproductive”, adds Liddle, pointing out that it makes “no sense” for Cameron to simultaneously implore Muslim communities to root out the extremists, while also insisting that the extremists have nothing to do with Islam.

Others suggest the matter of semantics is not the top priority when a group of murderous militants are taking lives across the world. As John Crace at The Guardian points out: “The least of the problems in dealing with Isis is deciding on what to call it”. l

[The full version of the article was first published in theweek.co.uk. You can find the article at http://bit.ly/1INv3CX]

China orders probe after polluting factory fined $90 China’s environment ministry has ordered an investigation after a provincial environmental protection body fined a polluting factory just RMB603 ($90) for dumping waste water. The official Xinhua news agency said the chemical plant in Gaoyou city in the eastern province of Jiangsu was given the fine for dumping water with an abnormal pH level.

-REUTERS

ASIA PACIFIC

N Korea fires ballistic missile into sea North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile which flew about 800km before hitting the sea off its east coast, South Korea’s military said on Friday, as the isolated state stepped up its defiance of tough new UN and US sanctions. A US official in Washington said it appeared to be a medium-range missile fired from a road-mobile launcher.

-REUTERS

MIDDLE EAST

UN: Saudi to blame for most Yemen deaths The Saudi-led coalition bombing Yemen for one year has caused the vast majority of civilian deaths in the conflict, the UN rights chief said Friday, warning international crimes may have been committed.Rights groups have also raised concerns about civilian casualties caused by the Huthi rebels, but United Nations human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said the coalition bore the greatest responsibility.

-AFP

DT

24

World

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

USA

US army punishes more than dozen for Kunduz hospital strike The US military has disciplined more than a dozen personnel, including officers, following a deadly October air strike in Afghanistan that destroyed a hospital run by Medecins Sans Frontiers and killed at least 42 people. The full results of an investigation into the strike are expected to be released soon.

-REUTERS

THE AMERICAS

Brazil judge releases Lula-Dilma phone call recording A Brazil federal judge, who is heading a probe into Brazil’s biggest ever corruption scandal that involves President Dilma Rousseff and her predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has made public a a taped phone conversation of the aforementioned duo. That extract of the conversation was largely seen as confirmation that an aim of Lula’s appointment was to spare him possible arrest for corruption. -AFP

UK

Cameron declares Brussels victory to end tampon tax Prime Minister David Cameron won backing at a European Union summit on Thursday to end the so-called “tampon tax” that has become a political football for Britons campaigning to leave the EU in a June referendum. The VAT waiver, known as zero-rating, applied in UK to many essential items including food and medicine, is a legacy pre-dating an EU minimum VAT rate of 5%. -REUTERS

EUROPE

Paris suspect’s prints found in Brussels raid Belgian police found fingerprints of the most wanted fugitive from November’s Paris attacks at the scene of a shootout this week, and the public broadcaster said he may have narrowly evaded capture. The prosecutor’s office said the prints of Salah Abdeslam, a 26-year-old Frenchman from Brussels suspected of taking part in the Paris attacks, were found at the apartment.

-REUTERS

AFRICA

Sudan threatens to shut S Sudan border Sudan on Thursday threatened to shut its border with South Sudan just weeks after reopening crossings, accusing Juba of backing insurgents battling Khartoum.

South Sudan split from Sudan in 2011 under a peace deal that ended a 22-year civil war, but Juba and Khartoum have traded allegations the other is supporting rebels on their territory, which both deny. -AFP

EU, Turkey clinch deal to return migrants n Reuters, Brussels European Union leaders approved a controversial deal with Turkey on Friday intended to halt illegal migration flows to Europe in return for financial and political rewards for Ankara.

The accord aims to close the main route over which a million migrants and refugees poured across the Aegean Sea to Greece before marching north to Germany and Sweden in the last year.

But deep doubts remain about whether it is legal or workable.

After a morning of talks with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, European Council President Donald Tusk recommended that the 28 EU member states approve the text without changes and they rapidly agreed at a summit lunch in Brussels.

“Agreement with Turkey approved. All illegal migrants who arrive to Greece from Turkey starting March 20 will be returned!” Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka tweeted from inside the meeting.

A senior EU official said Davutoglu had indicated Ankara would accept the proposal if the EU leaders approved it. He was expected to join the EU leaders for a formal session soon.

Under the pact, Ankara would

A group of Syrian refugees arrive on the island of Lesvos after travelling in an inflatable raft from Turkey, near Skala Sykaminias, Greece UNHCR take back all illegal migrants who cross to Greece, including Syrians, in return for the EU taking in thousands of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey and rewarding it with more money, early visa-free travel and progress in its EU membership negotiations.

Migrants who arrive in Greece from Sunday will be subject to being sent back to Turkey once they are registered and their asylum claim is processed. A senior Turkish official said the returns would begin on April 4 and resettlement of Syrian refugees in Europe would begin simultaneously.

The EU also agreed to accelerate disbursement of €3bn already

pledged in support for refugees in Turkey and to provide a further €3bn by 2018 once Ankara came up with a list of projects that qualified for EU assistance.

While the talks were in progress, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused the EU of hypocrisy over migrants, human rights and terrorism after supporters of the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) set up protest tents near the summit venue.

Erdogan said Europe was “dancing in a minefield” by directly or indirectly supporting terrorist groups.

“At a time when Turkey is hosting three million, those who are unable to find space for a handful

of refugees, who in the middle of Europe keep these innocents in shameful conditions, must first look at themselves,” he said in a televised speech.

Facing a backlash from anti-immigration populists across Europe, the EU is desperate to stem the influx but faced legal obstacles to blanket returns of migrants to Turkey.

The summit discussions exposed considerable doubts among member states and EU lawyers over whether a deal could be made legal under international law, and human rights groups denounced the planned agreement as a sellout of European principles.

The EU leaders pressed Ankara to change its rules to extend international standards of protection to non-Syrian migrants, a condition for Greece to be able legally to return asylum seekers to Turkey.

“All new irregular migrants crossing from Turkey into Greek islands from 20 March, 2016, will be returned to Turkey,” the draft joint EU-Turkey statement said. “This will take place in full accordance with EU and international law, thus excluding any kind of collective expulsion.”

It did not say whether this would entail changes in Turkish legislation. l

ANALYSIS

Trump intermingling business with politics as he campaigns n Tribune Desk Republican presidential f ro nt- r u n n e r Donald Trump appeared to be wrapping up a victory speech at his sprawling Mar-a-Lago club earlier this week when he turned to the negative ads flooding the airwaves against him.

“I’m with these wonderful people from Cadillac and all these top executives, and I’m saying, ‘Look over there! Look! Don’t watch it!

No, you don’t want to watch it!’ “ Trump said, re-enacting how he tried to distract them. “I’m saying, ‘Isn’t the grass beautiful? Look, look. Don’t watch!’ “ It was a rare light moment in an often-heated campaign that offered a glimpse into the way the billionaire businessman’s campaign has transformed his day-to-day life. But it also underscored something deeper: As he crisscrosses the country delivering speeches at rallies and calling into cable news shows, Trump’s business ventures are never far from his mind and have been playing an increasingly

Donald Trump

REUTERS

prominent role in his campaign.

From the beginning of his campaign, Trump has pointed to his business success as his fundamental qualification for the job of president. He likes to say his “whole life” has been about making money, and now he wants to make money for the US. He often references his assets and projects — from the skating rink in Manhattan’s Central Park, which he rebuilt, to his many skyscrapers — as evidence of what distinguishes him from what he describes as the “all talk, no action politicians.”

Trump’s financial disclosure form released in July listed nearly 500 business entities owned at least partially by Trump, according to the campaign, as well as in-

come from a web of sources ranging from royalties from his books to stocks and speaking fees.

But Trump often sounds like he’s promoting products he profits from, such as the WGC-Cadillac Championship. Of particular pride in recent months has been his transformation of Washington, DC’s Old Post Office Pavilion into a hotel.

“We’re building a magnificent hotel,” Trump bragged to the crowd gathered at a Tampa convention centre for a town hall-style event this week. “I don’t even like to say that I’m two years ahead of schedule. I am actually two years ahead. I don’t like to say it. You know why? You know why? Because it doesn’t sound believable.”

Trump’s business ventures have also left him open to attack from his rivals. Lawsuits filed against Trump’s now-defunct “Trump University” business course programme by former students accusing him of fraud, for instance, have been featured in attacks ads and the issue has been raised on the debate stage. And Trump, who is synonymous with his brand, has been fighting back, at one point having staff set up displays of various Trump-branded products at

a recent event to try to prove that the products were still in existence. (The steak on display in fact came from a local distributor.)

Trump’s campaign did not respond to questions about how much time the businessman-turned-politician has spent juggling his business projects while on the campaign trail. He’s said in the past that his children and trusted executives have been taking on more and more responsibility for daily management and that he expects to turn his whole portfolio over to his children if he’s elected president.

There’s no legal prohibition against a candidate spending his own money or talking about his business ventures while campaigning, said Paul S. Ryan of the Campaign Legal Center. But Ryan said it’s nonetheless unusual to have a candidate for federal office not only speak so frequently about his businesses but also own such a large number of diverse companies.

2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney, for instance, spent relatively little time talking about how he’d made his fortune at Bain Capital, as did 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry. l

DT

Sport 25

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

INSIDE

Malinga ruled out of WT20 due to injury Sri Lanka’s World T20 title defence suffered a huge blow after fast bowler Lasith Malinga was ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury, the team said yesterday. Malinga was forced to hand over the captaincy to Angelo Mathews last week. PAGE 26

Azarenka reaches Paribas semis Victoria Azarenka showed little sympathy against an ailing Magdalena Rybarikova as the Belarussian eased to a 6-0 6-0 victory over her Slovak opponent to book a BNP Paribas Open semifinal berth on Thursday. The 2012 champion polished off the opening set in just 34 minutes. PAGE 27

India's Virat Kohli (R) shakes hands with Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi during a training session at the Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata yesterday. India will play Pakistan in their latest match of the ongoing World T20 tournament today AFP

Love not war as rivals India, Pakistan resume rivalry

Liverpool, Dortmund through in Europa Liverpool eased past Manchester United to seal their place in the quarter-finals of the Europa League, where Borussia Dortmund and holders Sevilla are looking like the teams to beat. Jurgen Klopp’s side saw off rivals United. PAGE 28

TODAY'S MATCH Group 2 8:00PM at Kolkata

India v Pakistan

Maasranga TV, Gazi TV, Star Sports 1

n AFP, Kolkata

'Rooney must prove himself' England could go into Euro 2016 without Wayne Rooney in their starting line-up even if he demonstrates his fitness in time for the tournament, manager Roy Hodgson said on Thursday.

Rooney is currently nursing a knee injury. PAGE 29

It’s one of the world’s fiercest sporting rivalries and previous showdowns have taken place while the countries have been at war, or used as an icebreaker between frosty leaders.

But when India and Pakistan face off in cricket’s World Twenty20, love will be in the air amid a determination to ensure today’s game soothes rather than stokes tensions.

While there’s no shortage of patriotic fervour, a recent Facebook craze has seen thousands of fans posting profile pictures framed

by the sporting emblems of their rivals.

After being garlanded on his arrival in Kolkata, Pakistani captain Shahid Afridi has spoken of the “love” he receives from Indian fans.

The leading classical singer Shafqat Amanat Ali is set to serenade a packed house at Edens Gardens with Pakistan’s national anthem, before Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan belts out the rival Indian number.

Tensions have prevented the two sides from playing each other in Tests for more than a decade, and the match is only happening because the World T20 is an International Cricket Council tournament.

Although there had been signs of a thaw, an attack on an Indian army base in January dashed hopes the countries’ leaders would watch the match together, as they did at the 2011 World Cup. Afridi’s message was that his team is delighted to be back in India.

After a row over security, to-

day’s match was switched from Dharamsala to Kolkata, the capital of India before the sub-continent’s 1947 partition that led to Pakistan’s creation.

Eden Gardens is one of the world’s biggest grounds, even after a recent refit which reduced capacity to 66,000.

Despite the cauldron-like at-

mosphere, its fans have a reputation for showing appreciation to opposing players.

Subrata Nag, a college student, said the home crowd wanted an Indian victory but would be gracious in defeat.

Kolkata’s police chief has promised maximum security for the visitors. l

HEAD-TO-HEAD IN TWENTY20 INTERNATIONALS

INDIA

V

PAKISTAN

7 5 4 3 192/5 133/9 Kohli (199) Kohli (78*) I Pathan (6) Pandya (3/8)

Matches Wins World T20 Wins Highest totals Lowest totals Most runs Highest score Most wickets Best bowling

7 1 4 0 181/7 83 Hafeez (151) Hafeez (61) Gul (11) Asif 4/18

DT

26

Sport

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

AUS v NZ NEW ZEALAND M. Guptill c Maxwell b Faulkner K. Williamson c Agar b Maxwell C. Munro c Faulkner b Marsh C. Anderson c Agar b Maxwell R. Taylor c Marsh b Watson G. Elliott run out L. Ronchi c Maxwell b Faulkner M. Santner run out A. Milne not out Extras (b4, w2)

R 39 24 23 3 11 27 6 1 2 6

Total (for 8 wickets, 20 overs)

142

B 27 20 26 6 11 20 7 1 2

Fall of wickets 1-61 (Guptill), 2-66 (Williamson), 3-76 (Anderson), 4-97 (Munro), 5-117 (Taylor), 6-133 (Ronchi), 7-140 (Santner), 8-142 (Elliott) Bowling Coulter-Nile 4-0-33-0, Watson 4-0-22-1 (w1), Agar 1-0-18-0, Faulkner 3-0-18-2, Zampa 1-0-3-0, Maxwell 3-0-18-2, Marsh 4-0-26-1 (w1) AUSTRALIA U. Khawaja run out S. Watson c Kane b McClenaghan S. Smith st Ronchi b Santner D. Warner c Guptill b Santner G. Maxwell c Williamson b Sodhi M. Marsh c Milne b McClenaghan A. Agar c Taylor b McClenaghan J. Faulkner c Guptill b Anderson N. Coulter-Nile b Anderson P. Nevill not out A. Zampa not out Extras (lb2, w2)

R B 38 27 13 12 6 7 6 11 22 23 24 23 9 8 2 4 1 2 7 2 2 1 4

Total (for 9 wickets, 20 overs)

134

Fall of wickets 1-44 (Watson), 2-51 (Smith), 3-62 (Khawaja), 4-66 (Warner), 5-100 (Maxwell), 6-121 (Marsh), 7-123 (Agar), 8-124 (Faulkner), 9-132 (Coulter-Nile) Bowling Anderson 4-0-29-2, Milne 2-0-22-0 (w2), Elliott 2-0-17-0, McClenaghan 3-0-17-3, Santner 4-0-30-2, Williamson 1-0-3-0, Sodhi 4-0-14-1 Result: New Zealand won by eight runs MoM: M McClenaghan (NZ)

New Zealand's Grant Elliott runs out Australia's Usman Khawaja during their World Twenty20 match in Dharamsala yesterday

REUTERS

New Zealand hang tough to edge out Australia n Reuters, Dharamsala New Zealand held their nerve to edge out Australia by eight runs in a tense World Twenty20 Group Two match yesterday and move closer to a place in the semi-finals.

On a high after beating hosts India in their opening game, New Zealand posted a modest 142-8 before defending the total with disciplined bowling and tight fielding

against their trans-Tasman rivals.

Australia came into the tournament with an embarrassment of top-order riches and decided to open with Usman Khawaja and Shane Watson.

The decision meant no place for Aaron Finch, who was captain of the side barely six weeks ago and is the top-ranked batsman in this format of the game.

Khawaja (38) added 44 runs with

Shane Watson (13) before Australia suffered a collapse to slump to 66-4 at the halfway mark of their innings.

Glenn Maxwell (22) and Mitchell Marsh (24) tried their best but Australia kept losing wickets at regular intervals and needed 19 runs off the final over sent down by Corey Anderson.

Mitchell McClenaghan justified his selection at the cost of off-spinner Nathan McCullum, claiming

figures of 3-17.

Earlier, Martin Guptill (39) gave New Zealand a flying start in a 61run opening stand with skipper Kane Williamson (24) who decided to bat first on a dry track at the picturesque stadium in the north Indian hill station.

Grant Elliot struck a quickfire 27 down the order but New Zealand managed only 84 runs in the last 14 overs. l

Mahmud sure of comeback against Aussies

Malinga ruled out of WT20 due to injury

Uddin n Mazhar from Bangalore

n Reuters, Mumbai

The Tigers were not upto the mark against Pakistan in their 2016 World Twenty20 Super 10 opener, losing the game by a convincing margin of 55 runs at Eden Gardens in Kolkata last Wednesday.

Bangladesh team manager Khaled Mahmud though believes they will correct their mistakes from the previous match and bounce back against Australia this Monday in Bangalore.

Ahead of the clash against the Aussies, Mashrafe bin Mortaza and his troop reached the southern city last Thursday and will resume training from today.

And former Tigers captain Mahmud informed that all the players are in a good space and looking forward to the crucial encounter.

“Yes, we all know that we did

not play according to expectations in the first match.

But in T20s, there will be bad days. I hope we will get back our rhythm against Australia,” Mahmud told the media outside the team hotel yesterday.

“All the players are boosted up.

We had to travel and play every other day. After getting enough rest, I think we will be back to our normal selves. We are going to practice [today]. We are hoping for the best,” he said.

The Eden Gardens wicket turned out to be a haven for the batsmen as Pakistan and Bangladesh accumulated 347 runs in 40 overs at a run rate of 8.7. Mahmud is of the opinion that the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore will also be batting-friendly.

He added, “We are going to work on our mistakes. The boys will attend the visual analysis class and

plan accordingly. I think there is always a good day after a bad one.

We are going to play better cricket in the coming days.”

The Bangladesh bowlers might have leaked 201 runs against Pakistan but Mahmud said they will keep faith with the current lot.

“Those who have played in the first game, they are our best bowlers as they have performed very well in the last six months or so. As I said, we were not able to execute our plans,” he explained.

Fast bowler Taskin Ahmed and left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny underwent bowling action tests a few days ago after coming under the scanner of the International Cricket Council. Mahmud said the duo’s bowling action results will be duly handed over to the Bangladesh Cricket Board once they are given out by world cricket’s governing body.l

Sri Lanka’s World Twenty20 title defence suffered a huge blow after fast bowler Lasith Malinga was ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury, the team said yesterday.

Malinga was forced to hand over the captaincy to Angelo Mathews last week due to a slow recovery from the injury and missed the Super 10 opener against Afghanistan on Thursday.

“Malinga’s knee injury flared up before the match against Afghanistan yesterday,” a team spokesperson said.

“He has been ruled out of the World Cup and has flown back to Sri Lanka this afternoon.”

The 32-year-old paceman with blond-tinted hair and an unorthodox action is not quite the same player who was a key figure in Sri Lanka’s progress to three World

Twenty20 finals in the last four tournaments. He was, however, considered key to their success in India, where he has performed admirably in the Indian Premier League.

Sri Lanka will take on 2012 champions West Indies in their second Group One match in Bangalore tomorrow. l

27

DT

Sport

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

SCORECARD

QUICK BYTES Siddikur slips from 16th to 44th in Indian Open Siddikur Rahman continued his poor run of form, even at his favourite course in New Delhi, as the Bangladesh golfer slipped from 16th to 44th place following the second round of the Hero Indian Open yesterday. Siddikur carded one-over-par 73 in the birdie-free second round where he hit only one bogey in the 16th hole. Meanwhile, Terry Pilkadaris of Australia fired a superb eightunder-par 64 to lead by three shots over home favourite SSP Chawrasia in the $1.66m event. Three-time Asian Tour winner Pilkadaris reeled in nine birdies to stay ahead of a battling Chawrasia and Spain’s Nacho Elvira who returned with a 67 and 68 respectively at the challenging Delhi Golf Club.

Former Russia skipper Arshavin joins Kairat Almaty Former Russia captain Andrei Arshavin has joined Kazakh club Kairat Almaty. The 34-year-old forward has signed one-year contract, with option for second season, according to the club’s website www.fckairat.kz. Arshavin scored 17 goals in 74 matches for Russia and helped them to the semi-finals of Euro 2008.

He started career at Zenit St. Petersburg before spending four years at Arsenal and rejoining his hometown club in 2013. The Russian spent the first half of the 2015-16 season at Kuban Krasnodar, but his contract was ended by mutual consent on Feb 1.

–REUTERS

Total (4 wickets; 20 overs)

229

Bowling Willey 4-0-40-1, Topley 2-0-33-0, Ali 4-034-2, Jordan 3-0-49-0, Stokes 2-0-23-0, Rashid 4-0-35-1, Root 1-0-13-0 ENGLAND INNINGS R B Roy c De Kock b Abbott 43 16 Hales lbw b Abbott 17 7 Stokes c Morris b Rabada 15 9 Root c Miller b Rabada 83 44 Morgan b Duminy 12 15 Buttler st De Kock b Tahir 21 14 Ali not out 12 10 Jordan c Duminy b Abbott 5 3 Willey run out (Miller/De Villiers) 0 0 Rashid not out 0 0 Total (8 wickets; 19.4 overs)

Barca more than three magicians – Messi

–AFP

R B 58 31 52 24 16 8 17 17 54 28 28 12 4

FoW: 1-96 (De Kock), 2-114 (De Villiers), 3-133 (Amla), 4-169 (Du Plessis)

–TRIBUNE REPORT

Five-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi insisted European champions Barcelona have more to their armoury than his partnership with Luis Suarez and Neymar as the Catalans eye a second consecutive treble. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger described the South American trio as turning “normal life into art”, as all three were on target to take their combined goals tally for the season to 106 in eliminating the English side from the Champions League on Wednesday.

“I don’t think Barcelona depend on the three up front,” Messi said on Thursday. “There is a big squad and there is much more than three players." Barca are on the brink of their sixth La Liga title in eight years as they lead Atletico Madrid by eight points with just nine games to play and will face Sevilla in the Copa del Rey final in May.

SOUTH AFRICA INNINGS Amla lbw b Ali De Kock c Hales b Ali De Villiers c Morgan b Rashid Du Plessis c Roy b Willey Duminy not out Miller not out Extras (b 2, w 2)

230

FoW: 1-48 (Hales), 2-71 (Roy), 3-87 (Stokes), 4-111 (Morgan), 5-186 (Buttler), 6-219 (Root), 7-229 (Jordan), 8-229

England's Joe Root plays a shot towards the leg-side during their World T20 match against South Africa at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai yesterday AFP

Bowling Rabada 4-0-50-2, Steyn 2-0-35-0, Abbott 3.4-0-41-3, Tahir 4-0-28-1, Duminy 3-0-311, Morris 3-0-43-0 England won by two wickets M-O-M: Joe Root (England)

Root brilliance guides England home n Reuters, Mumbai Joe Root hit 83 as England beat South Africa by two wickets in the World Twenty20 Super 10 match at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai yesterday.

Chasing South Africa’s 229-4, England reached their target with two balls to spare to register their first win in two matches in the Group One. Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla struck half-centuries at the

top while JP Duminy provided the late assault as South Africa posted a massive 229-4.

England were on the receiving end of a brutal onslaught from West Indies opener Chris Gayle during Wednesday’s defeat when their spinners struggled to grip the wet ball and that prompted captain Eoin Morgan to field after winning the toss.

But Amla (58) and De Kock (52) continued to torment the English bowlers, plundering 96 runs off

seven overs during an explosive opening stand.

South Africa, one of the favourites to win the tournament, opted to use Amla and De Kock as openers and it proved it was the right decision from the onset.

De Kock, who thrashed David Willey for 20 in the third over, hit seven fours and three sixes during his 24-ball knock before he fell to off-spinner Moeen Ali. Amla, who was dropped on nine

Azarenka reaches Paribas semis n Reuters Victoria Azarenka showed little sympathy against an ailing Magdalena Rybarikova as the Belarussian eased to a 6-0 6-0 victory over her Slovak opponent to book a BNP Paribas Open semi-final berth on Thursday.

The 2012 champion polished off the opening set in just 34 minutes as she raced towards a first ‘double bagel’ at the tournament in two years.

“I think the key was the start. I started really well and took control and I think in the second set, she wasn’t really feeling well,” Azarenka, who faces big-serving Czech Karolina Pliskova in the semi-finals, told reporters.

Following the first set, the unseeded Rybarikova took a medical timeout to have her upper thigh taped.

Rybarikova was clearly struggling by the end of the match but the unseeded Slovakian was always fighting a lost cause as she had her serve broken six times and finished with 25 unforced errors.

Azarenka continues her rise up the rankings after two injury-hampered seasons and the former world number one is exuding confidence in California this week, having dropped just one set in her tournament.

A victory in the final tomorrow would be the 15th-ranked Azarenka’s second tournament win of the season after her Brisbane Interna-

tional triumph in January.

Earlier, Pliskova enjoyed a similarly dominant victory when she cruised into the semi-finals with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Russian teenager Darya Kasatkina.

Top seed Serena Williams took on third-seeded Pole Agnieska Radwanska in yesterday’s other semi-final.

Pliskova blasted 30 winners and powered down nine aces to end Kasatkina’s fairytale run in California, wrapping up the win in a little more than an hour at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

“I was really happy with the way I played, I think it was one of the best matches that I played here so far,” Pliskova, 24, told reporters. l

by Reece Topley off Ali, hit an identical number of boundaries before falling to the off-spinner.

Duminy (54 not out) and David Miller (28 not out) provided the finishing touches for South Africa with an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 60.

England paceman Chris Jordan conceded four fours and a six in the fifth over and finished with figures of 0-49 in three overs. Topley gave away 33 in his two overs. l

DT

28

Sport

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

MAN UNITED v LIVERPOOL 58 19 3 9 7 0 5 0 3/0 14 11 481 425

Possession (%) Total Attempts On Target Off Target Blocked Against Woodwork Corners Offsides Yellow/Red Fouls Committed Fouls Suffered Passes Completed

42 13 7 5 1 1 3 4 3/0 11 13 313 260

TOTTENHAM v DORTMUND 58 8 1 5 2 0 1 3 2/0 16 6 716 618

Possession (%) Total Attempts On Target Off Target Blocked Against Woodwork Corners Offsides Yellow/Red Fouls Committed Fouls Suffered Passes Completed

42 8 3 4 1 0 2 1 1/0 6 16 434 351

RESULTS Leverkusen

Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho shoots from a free kick against Manchester United during their Uefa Europa League Round of 16 Second Leg match at Old Trafford, Manchester on Thursday REUTERS

Liverpool, Dortmund through in Europa n AFP, Paris Liverpool eased past Manchester United to seal their place in the draw for the quarter-finals of the Europa League, where Borussia Dortmund and holders Sevilla are looking like the teams to beat.

Jurgen Klopp’s side saw off old rivals Manchester United as a 1-1 second-leg draw at Old Trafford on Thursday saw them win their last16 tie 3-1 on aggregate.

United had it all to do after losing last week’s first leg 2-0 but they were given hope when Anthony Martial scored from the penalty spot just past the half-hour mark after the Frenchman was fouled in the box by Nathaniel Clyne.

0-0

Villarreal

2-1

Athletic Bilbao

Villarreal won 2-0 on aggregate

However, Daniel Sturridge struck the bar from a free-kick before Philippe Coutinho scored a superb goal for Liverpool just prior to the break, cutting in from the left and chipping past David de Gea. That left United needing three more goals to stay in Europe and they never looked like doing enough in the second half to prevent an exit that only piles more pressure on manager Louis van Gaal.

“Both teams had chances, we didn’t play as well as we did in the first leg but we did enough,” said Liverpool’s James Milner.

Klopp’s old side Dortmund progressed with the prolific Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring twice in their 2-1 win away to

Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane that saw them win 5-1 on aggregate.

The Gabon striker sent a swerving long-range strike past Hugo Lloris on 24 minutes and then added another in the second half to take his tally for the season to 35 goals.

Son Heung-Min pulled one back for Spurs, who are now left to focus on their Premier League title challenge.

Holders Sevilla remain in with a chance of winning the Europa League for the third year running after beating Swiss champions Basel 3-0.

After a goalless first leg, Basel were looking to keep alive their hopes of reaching a final that will

be played in their own stadium, but Sevilla have a fearsome home record and Adil Rami put them ahead before fellow Frenchman Kevin Gameiro added a quick-fire brace.

Gary Neville’s Valencia were sent crashing out after they lost their last-16 tie to Spanish rivals Athletic Bilbao on away goals despite winning the second leg 2-1.

Valencia had been trailing 1-0 after last week’s first leg at San Mames but looked to have turned the tie around when they went two goals up in the first half at the Mestalla.

Villarreal are also through after beating Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 on aggregate following a 0-0 draw in the second leg in Germany. l

02:Who won the first World T20 in 2007?

Ans: India Zimbabwe Afghanistan 03:In which year did Bangladesh host the World T20?

Ans: 2014 2004 2015

Santi Mina 13, Aduriz 76 Santos 37 2-2 on aggregate, Athletic won on away goals

Tottenham

1-2

Dortmund

Son Heung-Min 74 Aubameyang 24, 71 Dortmund won 5-1 on aggregate

4-1

Braga

Fenerbahce

Ahmed Hassan 11, Alper Potuk 45+3 Josue 69-P, Stoiljkovic 74, Rafa Silva 83 Braga won 4-2 on aggregate

Man United

1-1

Liverpool

Martial 32-P Coutinho 45 Liverpool won 3-1 on aggregate

Anderlecht

0-1

Shakhtar Donetsk

Eduardo 90+3 Shakhtar won 4-1 on aggregate

Sevilla

3-0

Rami 35, Gameiro 44, 45 Sevilla won 3-0 on aggregate

Prizes: (Second Round) 1st prize 2nd prize 3rd prize 4th prize 5th prize

Dhaka Tribune, F.R.Tower, 8/C, Panthapath, Sukrabad, Dhaka – 1207.

Sparta Prague

Dockal 10, Krejci 12, Julis 44 Sparta Prague won 4-1 on aggregate

The lucky winners among all the participants who have answered correctly will be selected in an official lottery and will have their picture published in the newspaper. v Answers must be sent in only the coupon (photocopy will not be accepted). v Quiz coupon should be submitted in the Dhaka Tribune newspaper address. v No one affiliated with Dhaka Tribune and Walton will be able to participate. v Coupon submission deadline April 4, 2016. v A person can send as many coupons as he/she wants. v Walton-Dhaka Tribune T20 World Cup should be written on top of the envelope.

Name...................................................................................................

Father's Name.....................................................................................

Address...............................................................................................

Phone/Cell...........................................................Age.........................

0-3

Lazio

Terms & Conditions: v

01: Who scored the first T20I century for Bangladesh?

Ans: Tamim Mashrafe Taskin

Valencia

: Walton LED Television 40” 01pcs : Walton Refrigerator (11.5 CFT) 01pcs : Walton LED Television 24” 01pcs : Walton Blender 03pcs : Walton Rice Cooker 05pcs

Basel

29

DT

Sport

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

Dortmund v Liverpool nightmare for Klopp

DAY’S WATCH CRICKET STAR SPORTS 1 ICC World T20 2016 8:00 PM

n Reuters, Zurich

India v Pakistan

FOOTBALL STAR SPORTS 2 8:50 PM Barclays Premier League Chelsea v West Ham United

STAR SPORTS 4 6:35 PM Barclays Premier League Everton v Arsenal 8:50 PM Crystal Palace v Leicester City 11:20 PM Swansea City v Aston Villa

TEN HD 2:30 PM A-League 2015/16 Sydney Wanderers FC v Adelaide 6:30 PM Sky Bet Championship Derby County v Nottingham Forest 1:50 AM French Ligue 1 Olympique Lyonnais v FC Nantes

TEN ACTION 9:50 PM French Ligue 1 Saint- Etienne v Montpellier Herault

SONY SIX 6:30 PM Scottish Premiership Kilmarnock v Celtic 11:00 PM Serie A TIM 2015/16 Empoli v Palermo 1:40 AM Roma v Inter Milan

SONY SIX HD 11:15 PM Liga Bbva 2015/16 Real Sociedad v Las Palmas

SONY ESPN 9:00 PM Liga Bbva 2015/16 Sporting Gijon v Atletico Madrid

TENNIS TEN SPORTS 8:00 PM WTA Tour 2016 BNP Paribas Open: SF1 10:00 PM BNP Paribas Open: SF2

SONY ESPN 12:00 AM ATP 1000 Masters 2016 BNP Paribas Open: SF

MOTO GP TEN SPORTS 9:00 PM Moto GP 2016: Qualifying Grand Prix of Qatar

Juergen Klopp’s Europa League nightmare came true yesterday when his Liverpool side were drawn to meet former club Borussia Dortmund in next month’s quarter-finals.

Sevilla, bidding to win the trophy for the third successive season, will tackle La Liga rivals Athletic Bilbao while Villarreal take on Sparta Prague and Braga face Shakhtar Donetsk.

After Liverpool knocked out bitter rivals Manchester United on Thursday, Klopp told reporters: “I hope we don’t get Dortmund”.

The charismatic German spent seven seasons at Dortmund, leading them to two Bundesliga titles, German Cup glory and the 2013 Champions League final where they lost to Bayern Munich.

“He comes back!”, said Dortmund playmaker Ilkay Guendogan

on Twitter after hearing news of the draw.

Liverpool, without a major trophy since they lifted the League Cup in 2012, will travel to Germany for the first leg on April 7 before hosting the return match at Anfield seven days later.

It is 50 years since the two teams met in the final of the now-defunct European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1966, Dortmund winning 2-1. The Germans reached the last eight by defeating another English club, Tottenham Hotspur, in the last 16.

Sevilla have won their last two La Liga fixtures against Bilbao 2-0 but the teams have never met before in European competition.

Villarreal and Sparta have also never been drawn together before while Ukrainians Shakhtar, who won the UEFA Cup in 2009, beat Braga of Portugal twice in the group stage of the 2010-11 Champions League. l

has netted 25 goals in 27 matches against them.

PSG and Manchester City have met only once before, in the group stage of the old UEFA Cup in 200809 when they shared a goalless draw.

Real Madrid have won their last three knockout ties against Bundesliga teams, with Bayern among the victims, but Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking was unperturbed.

“We have the opportunity to show our ability on the biggest stage, and we want to grasp that chance with everything we’ve got,”

he said.

“I will have to think about whether we want to approach the game with an attack-minded approach or more defensively.”

Bayern demolished Benfica’s rivals Porto 7-4 on aggregate last season, with a 6-1 win at the Allianz arena, although they were not taking anything for granted.

“We came through a tough tie against Juventus and need to keep going,” midfielder Xabi Alonso said. “We have to respect Benfica, but we have plenty of time to analyse them.” l

Barca to face Atleti, PSG meet Man City n Reuters, Zurich Holders Barcelona will face fellow Spaniards Atletico Madrid, runners-up two seasons ago, in the Champions League quarterfinals following the draw in Nyon yesterday.

Paris St Germain, who last reached the semi-finals in 1995, will face fellow big spenders Manchester City in the other outstanding tie, with the first leg at the Parc des Princes.

Ten-times champions Real Madrid were pitted against German

side VfL Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich will face Portugal’s Benfica.

Both Bundesliga teams will play the first legs at home.

Barca, at home in the first leg, get the chance to avenge their defeat at the same stage two years ago when Atletico won 1-0 at home after a 1-1 draw at the Nou Camp.

Atletico went on to reach the final where they lost to neighbours Real.

However, recent form clearly favours the Catalans who have won their last six games against Atletico with Lionel Messi scoring in five of them. In all, the Argentine forward

Title wreckers Palace put Leicester on red alert n AFP, London Leicester have been warned that their fairytale challenge for the Premier League crown could be shattered by title wreckers Crystal Palace today.

With only eight matches remaining, Claudio Ranieri’s side are on the brink of arguably the most unexpected title triumph in English football history after establishing a five-point lead over second placed Tottenham.

The unheralded Foxes have defied all expectations to remain at the top of the table while their supposed superior rivals have struggled to keep pace, but it would be remarka-

ble if they cruised to their first ever top-flight title without a single blip.

Palace manager Alan Pardew believes that wobble could come at Selhurst Park this weekend as the hosts aim to reprise their role as notorious party crashers.

In May 2014, Palace famously ruined Liverpool’s bid for a first

EPL FIXTURES

Chelsea Crystal Palace Everton Swansea Watford West Brom

v v v v v v

West Ham Leicester Arsenal Aston Villa Stoke Norwich

English title since 1990 when they fought back from three goals down to draw 3-3 at Selhurst Park in a result that effectively gifted the trophy to Manchester City.

Then last April, Pardew’s men defeated City 2-1 in south London to all but end their hopes of overhauling eventual champions Chelsea.

“Human instinct is when you’re trying to achieve something magnificent like Leicester are, you’re going to start worrying and doubting,” Pardew said.

“It’s been almost the perfect season for them but it doesn’t always come all the way through, that perfect run. Maybe their blips are still to come." l

'Rooney must prove himself' n AFP, London England could go into Euro 2016 without Wayne Rooney in their starting line-up even if he demonstrates his fitness in time for the tournament, manager Roy Hodgson said on Thursday.

Rooney, England’s captain and record goal-scorer, is currently nursing a knee injury and was not included in the 24-man squad announced by Hodgson for the friendlies against Germany and the Netherlands later this month.

“I’ve never said he’s an automatic starter. I’ve never said anyone is,” said Hodgson. “Does he have a good chance with his track record, ability and experience? Of course he has. But that doesn’t necessarily mean he will be (starting)." l

DT

30

Showtime

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

‘Happy Rain’ - an environmental documentary n Showtime Desk Happy Rain is an inspiring documentary on how people, affected by natural calamity like flash flood, cope with the disaster and make sustainable wealth from it. The documentary was screened at the Alliance Française de Dhaka on March 16.

Isabelle Antunes, the director of Happy Rain, thanked the people who made this film possible in her speech prior to the screening.

The French woman also said: “From the very beginning of this project, I was determined to make something that could inspire people who are faced with dire situations due to hostile environment around the world.”

Born in France and brought up in Australia, Isabelle Antunes, a globe trotter at heart, has worked in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, New Caledonia and Pakistan in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as Botswana, Ivory Coast, Morocco and Senegal in Africa.

The documentary focuses on the development story of fish farming in the low flooded lands mostly in post-monsoon rain and what happens to the rice paddy fields of Daudkandi in various seasons.

Every year, rivers and streams descending from China, Nepal,

Bhutan and India join together and overflow, flooding and nourishing the Bangladeshi soil throughout the long monsoon months, collectively opening up loads of opportunities for the local people in the region.

The development of fish farming is a brain-child of SM Morshed, the director of an NGO called Shisuk. His philosophy is

to introduce multi-production by utilising the same land for rice plantation as for fish farming during flood season. Nature’s inundation can be transformed into gainful production through private enterprise.

Shifting between optimism and pessimism, enthusiasm and criticism and positive highs and negative lows – the community’s

Bourne is back n Showtime Desk

Good news for the fans of the Bourne franchise: the fifth movie of the series is scheduled to be released on July 15, 2016.

Following the release of The Bourne Ultimatum in 2007, star Matt Damon told reporters that he had no plans to return to the franchise unless director Paul Greengrass makes a comeback as well. The English director had other interests then while Damon kept his word and did not star in 2012’s The Bourne Legacy.

However, the Oscar-winning actor has confirmed that he will be back for the next Bourne chapter, along with his first-choice director.

It is probably the failure of The Bourne Legacy that made the makers realise Damon’s significance as the soul of Bourne. The actual screenplay of The Bourne Legacy bears little resemblance to the novel.

Unlike the novel, which features Jason Bourne as the principal character, the film centers around Black ops agent Aaron Cross, played by Jeremy Renner.

In addition to Renner, the film also stars Rachel Weisz and

Edward Norton. Renner’s efforts was not convincing enough for the audience when compared to Matt Damon’s charismatic performances.

process of dealing with hopes and anxieties are vividly portrayed in Isabelle Antunes’ documentary, which is a meaningful depiction of people’s lives.

As the documentaryshows a large portion of the capital went into building the infrastructure, dams and water gates that would retain and control the water.

After 15 years of struggle, the

villages became connected and built new local economies with a strong value chain through private enterprises, which gradually translates into the dream of becoming a middle income country by 2021.

Antunes’s Happy Rain was also screened at the “UN COP 21 Conference on Climate Change” in Paris in December last year. l

Another baby on the way Therefore, Matt Damon is set to make a comeback for the fifth instalment of the franchise as Jason Bourne, and reclaim his position as the protagonist. l

n Showtime Desk Jamie Oliver and his wife Jools Oliver are expecting their fifth child together. The couple shared the exciting news by attending the London red carpet premiere of Eddie the Eagle.

The 41-year-old looked as lovely as can be in a black

silk jumpsuit paired with a multicolored, cropped jacket while her famous hubby opted for a navy suit.

The TV chef stopped to talk to the Daily Mirror at the premiere and shared how thrilled and also a bit shocked he is by the big news. l Source: http://www.eonline.com

31

DT

Showtime

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

Money Monster’s walk to Cannes

n Showtime Desk Hollywood stars George Clooney and Julia Roberts will be starring in Money Monster, which is all set for screening at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. This is Roberts’ first trip to the iconic festival with a film at hand.

Another directorial venture of Jodie Foster, this thriller is about a financial talk show host who is held hostage by an irate viewer.

So far, the Cannes lineup this year is being kept under tight wraps, as festival director Thierry Fremaux and his team watch the films and mull their options.

Though Money Monster is not expected to be the openingnight film on May 11, according to festival insiders, it may be screened the next day. It will hit the theaters in North America on May 13.

The Sony/TriStar produced film stars Clooney playing a financial

Behind the scenes with Abhijeet

TV personality whose program is taken hostage by a gunman (played by Jack O’Connell) who is furious over a bad stock tip.

Roberts, on the other hand, plays the show’s producer.

The film also marks Foster’s return to Cannes after her directorial The Beaver (starring

WHAT TO WATCH find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.

Cast: Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, David Harbour, Brian Bradley, Boyd Holbrook, Adam David Thompson

Fabulous Cakes TLC 7:30pm The show visits new areas to create three extraordinary custom cakes. Some of the best pastry chefs in the world share their tips and techniques as they conceive, construct, and deliver cakes that take the art of pastry above and beyond everyday dessert.

Genre: Cookery

n Showtime Desk The popular Hindi song from the 90’s, Waada Raha Sanam (Khiladi), was sung by Abhijeet and Alka Yagnik. However, it was only recently that Abhijeet revealed the story behind the song. Originally, this amazing hit song of the era was supposed to be performed by S P Balasubrahmanyam and Lata Mangeshkar.

At the time, Abhijeet was gaining fame from a good number of hit songs. Music directors Jatin and Lalit suddenly changed their mind and selected Abhijeet for the song to perform alongside Lata Mangeshkar. Unfortunately, Lata could not manage her time for the recording, after which Alka was requested to fill in for her.

In 1992, the song Waada Raha Sanam became a big hit much

like the movie itself.

Till date, the film is considered as a big career break for both Akshay Kumar and Ayesha Jhulka. The music album of the film was also a mile stone in the career of the singers and the composers. The lyricist of the song was Anwar Sagar while the movie was directed by Abbas Mastan and produced by Girish Jain. l Source: Sony Max

Mel Gibson), was scraped out of the competition back in 2011.

This year’s opening night premiere has not yet been announced, however, previous films to have opened the festival include the critically-acclaimed Midnight in Paris and the derided Grace of Monaco. l

Asian Tour 2016 Ten Sports 6:30pm The 2016 Asian Tour is the 22nd season of the modern Asian Tour, the main men’s professional golf tour in Asia excluding Japan since its inception in 1995.

A Walk Among the Tombstones HBO 9:30pm Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin. It seems like they killed her even after he paid them. Scudder refuses. But the man later goes to see him and tells him how his wife was killed. Scudder takes the job to

Power Couple Sony Entertainment TV 9:30pm The series will feature 10 popular celebrity couples who will compete with each other in various challenges. The couples will be tested on the basis of how well they know each other.

Judges: Arbaaz Khan, Malaika Arora Khan

Comedy Nights Bachao Colors 10:30pm Every week Comedy Nights Bachao will bring together celebrity guests whose feelings and personality traits will be ripped apart through tonguein-cheek punch-lines poking fun at their personal lives and public image.

Cast: Krishna Abhishek, Sudesh Lehri, Bharti Singh, Mubin, Anita Reddy Hassanandani, Sara Khan, Karan Wahi, Shruti Seth, Adaa Khanl

DT

32

Back Page

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR LDC LEADERSHIP PAGE 14

INDIA, PAKISTAN RESUME RIVALRY PAGE 25

MONEY MONSTER’S WALK TO CANNES PAGE 31

‘Gas explosion’ damages Banani building n Arifur Rahman Rabbi

A massive fire, suspected to have been caused by a gas leak, burned down a major portion of a residential building in the capital’s Banani Road 23 yesterday.

Only two persons were injured; Naved Imtiaz and Md Saifullah – both residents of the building – are now receiving treatment at United Hospital for burn wounds and head trauma respectively. Five more people also received primary treatment for smoke inhalation and panic-induced emotional trauma.

Fire service officials rescued 20 more residents who had rushed to roof to escape the blaze and remained stuck there for more than an hour.

Most residents of the building – Asset Development’s Silverstone Sapphire – were asleep when the fire, accompanied by a large explosion, broke out reportedly on the third and sixth floors around 1:30am.

Flat owners of the building said the intensity of the explosion shattered the windows, cracked the walls and destroyed furnitures inside. The powerful explosion also shattered windows of the building opposite to the damaged one.

“Around 15 units of the fire service went to the spot and doused the blaze around 4:40am,” said Fire Service Headquarters Warehouse Inspector Polash Modokder.

Gas leak unfixed

A gas leak was spotted in front of the house a few days ago, but Titas Gas authorities did not act to repair the leak despite being notified repeatedly, said Naiar Rahman, a resident of Silverstone Sapphire.

“We noticed that gas was leaking from the [supply] line in front

that a gas pipeline – 20 feet away from the damaged building – had been severed by an excavator that was digging the road as part of the city corporation’s work.

The release, signed by Titas Gas manager in-charge (public relations), added that a five-member committee has been formed to investigate whether the gas leak was the cause of the fire.

The gas leak has now been fixed and gas supply restored in the area, the release read.

Alamgir Hossain, radio operator for Titas who was contacted by the locals about the gas leak, has now been suspended for failing to take timely action, sources said.

Last month, four of a family died after a gas explosion in the family’s rented house in Uttara.

What now for the residents?

The front side of the residential building in Banani where fire broke out in the early hours of yesterday has been severely damaged. Residents of the building claim that the incident was caused by faulty gas lines MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU of the building. We informed the Titas Gas office about the leak two or three days ago, but they claimed of not having any labourers to fix the problem. Titas was again informed around 11pm Thursday, but nothing happened,” said Shamsul Alam, who owns six flats in the building.

Shamsul added that Dhaka North City Corporation had been working on sewerage lines just in front of the building, and expressed his suspicions that gas might have mixed with sewage water and caused the explosion.

But Fire Service Headquarters Duty Officer Ataur Rahman told

the Dhaka Tribune that the reason behind the fire could only be confirmed after thorough investigation.

DNCC Mayor Annisul Huq, who was present during the rescue operations, claimed that the ongoing road digging was not the source of the fire. “Road digging work is going on but the fire was not caused from here. It originated from inside the building. The cause will be known after investigation.”

The mayor instead blamed Titas Gas authorities for not addressing a gas leak. A representative from the contractor company that is digging the road contacted Titas Gas on March 17 regarding the gas leak, An-

nisul said, adding that the city’s gas authority failed to act immediately.

Titas Gas, meanwhile, also traded blames, saying it was the city corporation’s road digging that might have caused the gas leak.

“We [Titas Gas] received complain about the gas leak around 4pm Thursday. The leak might have been caused by the city corporation’s road digging work. But no one from the city corporation informed us about the leak,” Titas Gas Deputy Manager Harun-or-Rashid told the Dhaka Tribune.

Titas Gas also issued a press release in the evening, claiming that an inspection of the site revealed

Mayor Annisul said residents of the building would be allowed to take away their valuables at 10am today.

“The building will remain vacant until further decision,” he added.

To assess the condition of the damaged building, an expert team from Buet led by civil engineering department’s Prof Ishtiaq Ahmed visited the site yesterday afternoon.

Ishtiaq said the structural integrity of the building seemed to have not been affected by the fire, but further survey was required before assessing whether it was safe to reside in the building. “We are primarily suspecting that the fire might have caused from a gas leak,” he added.

Meanwhile, Rajuk Chairman Joynal Abedin said they would provide assistance to the flat owners if they ask for it.

Police have been deployed in and around the building to ensure security in the area. l

Two Brac officials abducted in Afghanistan n Kamrul Hasan

Two Bangladeshi officials of Brac stationed in Afghanistan were abducted by unidentified miscreants from Kunduz on Thursday afternoon.

The abducted were Chief Engineer Haji Shawkat Hossain and Chief Accountant Sirajul Islam, both hailing from Pabna.

Brac’s Senior Media Manager Mahbubul Alam Kabir said Shawkat and Siraj, along with another of-

ficial, were going to Baghlan from Kunduz when their vehicle was intercepted by armed men around 4pm local time. Later, the abductors released one of the officials who is an Afghanistan national.

“We have informed the Foreign Ministry about the abduction,” Mahbub told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. He said local law enforcers were searching for the abducted officials.

“They are unsure which groups were involved in the abduction

as nobody has yet claimed responsibility,” Mahbub added. A Brac team from Kabul was on its way to Kunduz to investigate the matter.

Brac’s communication chief Rony Mirza said their team could not meet local officials in Kunduz because of Nawruz, the Afghan New Year.

“It is more worrisome because neither the family members of the victims nor we have received any updates. We will disclose updates

on the situation as soon as we receive it. Right now our team there is trying their best to know about our officials’ whereabouts,” he told the Dhaka Tribune last night.

Siraj’s cousin Abdul Khaleque Khan, director of Ansar and VDP Bank, said: “Siraj last contacted his wife here around 4pm Bangladesh time on Thursday when he was heading towards Baghlan. An hour later, a Brac official named Shahidul Islam called and informed about the abduction.”

Siraj’s family urged Bangladesh government to ensure every possible steps to found them alive.

Bangladeshi Brac officials stationed in Aghanistan have been targeted over the years since it started operations there in 2002.

According to Brac sources, some 860 officials, among whom 68 are Bangladeshi nationals, are working at 64 offices situated in 34 provinces of Afghanistan, running projects on education, health and infrastructure development. l

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