March 23, 2016

SECOND EDITION

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016

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Chaitra 9, 1422, Jamadius Sani 13, 1437

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 337

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

Brussels attacks kill at least 30 n Reuters, Brussels Jihadist group Dae’sh claimed responsibility for suicide bomb attacks on Brussels airport and a rush-hour metro train in the Belgian capital on Tuesday which killed at least 30 people, with police hunting a suspect who fled the air terminal.

Police issued a wanted notice for a young man in a hat who was caught on CCTV pushing a laden luggage trolley at Zaventem airport alongside two others who, investigators said, had later blown themselves up in the terminal, killing at least 10 people.

Officials said 20 died on the metro train close to European Union institutions. It was unclear still what caused the blast but a news agency linked to Dae’sh said that too was a suicide attack.

The coordinated assault triggered security alerts across Europe and drew global expressions of support, four days after Brussels police had captured the prime surviving suspect in Dae’sh’s attacks on Paris last November.

Belgian authorities were still  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

TV grab shows rescue workers treat victims outside the Maelbeek underground station after a blast in Brussels, Belgium yesterday

Eight killed in UP polls violence n Tribune Report

INSIDE

At least eight people were killed in violence centring yesterday’s Union Parishad election, marred by allegations of rigging, ballot snatching and storming of polling stations.

Seven of the victims, including a woman, died in skirmishes after the polls in Pirojpur, Cox’s Bazar and Sirajganj. Sporadic clashes during the election left scores injured.

The Awami League said voting was free and fair but the BNP dubbed the polls a “farce”, alleging large-scale rigging by ruling party candidates. Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad said voting was largely peaceful.

Polling was suspended at 56

Union Parishad Election Results AL BNP JaPa Others

337 34 01 50 *Updated until 1am today

centres during the first phase election to 712 UPs. Until 1am today, Awami League candidates won in 337 UPs and BNP in 34 while candidates from other parties won in 51 UPs. In Pirojpur’s Mathbaria, BGB shot men who attempted to snatch ballot boxes after the election.

“BGB troopers were carrying ballot boxes from Safa Degree Col-

lege polling centre at Dhonisafa union when they were attacked. The border guards opened fire as per Executive Magistrate Kazi Ziaul’s order, killing at least three,” Police Superintendent Walid Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune.

Mathbaria police station OC Khandaker Mostafizur Rahman said five others were injured. Two of them died while being taken to Barisal.

In Cox’s Bazar, a gunfight between supporters of Awami League candidate and the renegade aspirant left one Shafik Alam, 25, dead.

Locals said the skirmish broke out when votes were being counted at Majherpara polling station at Shahfarid Dwip under Teknaf’s Shaparan union.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

REUTERS TV

Bangladesh, India renew hotly contested rivalry Uddin Khan n Minhaz from Bangalore Bangladesh’s journey so far in the Super 10 phase of the 2016 World Twenty20 has been a devastating one. Rocked by fitness issues and the suspensions of strike bowlers Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny, the Tigers found it hard to cope with the pressure in the middle.

They have lost the first two games and when they take on hosts India today at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the Tigers will hope to win it because anything else will bring an end to their story here with a game to spare.

Bir Pratik Akhtar Ahmed dies

BD to start importing 100MW from Tripura

First case of Zika virus detected in Ctg

Bir Pratik Dr Major (retd) Akhtar Ahmed has died of cardiac arrest at Dhaka Combined Military Hospital.  PAGE 3

Bangladesh will start importing 100MW of electricity from neighbouring Tripura in India from today under a “no-electricity, no-payment” method.  PAGE 5

The government has reported its first confirmed case of the Zika virus in a 67year old man from Chittagong.  PAGE 32

The last time these two teams met was earlier this month in the final of the Asia Cup T20 in Dhaka where India lifted the trophy humbling hosts Bangladesh in a rain-curtailed match.

Mathematically, Bangladesh still have the option of matching their ambition of playing the semi-finals of the flagship event but in reality, given the calibre of the opponents, the job will be tough. First job for Bangladesh will be to stop misfiring.

Good news is the Bangladesh batsmen have been among runs and despite some struggles, they have been able to put up modest totals on the board. Missing the in-form opening batsman Tamim  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

2nd Round

Sport Page-28

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Bangladesh, India renew Iqbal due to illness has been a big blow for the Tigers. The left-handed batsman, who is suffering from fever and a troubled stomach, missed the game against Australia.

According to team sources, chances of Tamim playing the India game today is slim. But even if there is a possible chance of selecting him in the eleven, Bangladesh will do it without hesitation.

The other senior batters like Shakib al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmdullah had made an impact in the last game and it will be expected they will do the same today.

Mahmudullah top-scored against the Aussies with an

unbeaten 29-ball 49, so India would do well not to under-estimate the batting strength of the Tigers.

Missing out fast bowler Taskin and spinner Sunny have made the Tigers suffer but the positive is the return of pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman. The left-arm pacer was probably not hundred percent fit when he returned to action in the Australia game but had put up a decent show with two scalps, conceding 30 runs in four overs. Left-arm spinner Shakib had bagged three and should be an inspiration with the ball, despite the wicket favouring the batters. l

Eight killed in UP polls violence Shafik and 15 others were shot. He died while being taken to hospital.

In Sirajganj, a woman was killed in a clash between supporters of two UP candidates at Dhangara UP. She was the mother-in-law of Nawab Ali, who won the polls.

In Jhalakathi, clash between rival candidates at Sadar upazila’s Nabagram UP killed one Abul Kashem Sikdar, 60, brother of member candidate Chunnu Sikdar.

EC Mohammad Abu Hafiz said he hoped the voter turnout would be around 60%. Altogether 36,456 candidates contested the polls. As many as 54 chairmen, 179 members and 54 reserved-seat women members were elected unopposed.

Election observer BROTEE in a statement said ruling party men took position inside some polling stations. It reported vote rigging, ballot snatching, attacking election officials and storming voting centres.

EC Hafiz told the media that there were reported irregularities at several polling stations in Noakhali, Satkhira and Chittagong.

At least four people were injured in police firing when the law enforcers moved in to rein in clashes at Kutuba school centre at Bhola’s Borhanuddin upazila. Police separately shot four men – two each in Khulna and Satkhira – in their bid to prevent vote rigging. Several BNP candidates boycotted polls al-

leging irregularities.

In Sylhet, Chhatra League activists attacked the Akhalia Government Primary School centre at Tukerbazar union. In Barisal, voting was cancelled at two centers and suspended at six others.

In Munshiganj, BNP candidate Abdul Khalek Shikdar was allegedly attacked by his Awami League rival in Roshunia union. AL and BNP chairman candidates were greeted by hostile crowds when they tried to occupy a polling centre at Pangashi under Raiganj upazila of Sirajganj. “...We have heard about some incidents but overall the election ended peacefully and in festive mood,” the CEC said. l

or race or faith in fighting against the scourge of terrorism,” Obama told a news conference in Cuba.

“We can and we will defeat those who threaten the safety and security of people all around the world.”

Michel spoke at a Brussels news conference of a “black moment” for his country. “What we had feared has come to pass.”

The blasts occurred after the arrest in Brussels of a suspected participant the Paris attacks that killed 130 people. Belgian police and combat troops on the streets had been on alert for reprisal but the attacks took place in crowded areas where people and bags are not searched.

All public transport in Brussels was initially shut down, as it was in London during 2005 Islamist militant attacks there that killed 52. Authorities appealed to citizens not to use overloaded telephone networks, extra troops were sent into the city and the Belgian Crisis Centre, clearly wary of a further in-

cident, appealed to the population: “Stay where you are”.

Brussels airport will remain closed on Wednesday, its chief executive Arnaud Feist told reporters.

Public broadcaster VRT said police had found a Kalashnikov assault rifle next to the body of an attacker at the airport. Such weapons have become a trademark of Dae’sh-inspired attacks in Europe, notably in Belgium and France, including on Nov. 13 in Paris.

Alphonse Youla, 40, who works at the airport, told Reuters he heard a man shouting out in Arabic before the first explosion. “Then the glass ceiling of the airport collapsed.”

“I helped carry out five people dead, their legs destroyed,” he said, his hands covered in blood.

Others said they also heard shooting before the blasts.

A witness said the blasts occurred at a check-in desk.

Video showed devastation in the hall with ceiling tiles and glass scattered across the floor. Bloodied

bodies lay around.

Some passengers emerged from the terminal with blood spattered over their clothes. Smoke rose from the building through shattered windows and passengers fled down a slipway, some still hauling their bags.

Britain, Germany, France and the Netherlands, all wary of spillover from conflict in Syria, were among states announcing extra security measures. Security was tightened at the Dutch border with Belgium.

The blast hit the train as it left Maelbeek station, close to EU institutions, heading to the city center.

VRT carried a photograph of a metro carriage at a platform with doors and windows completely blown out, its structure deformed and interior mangled and charred.

A local journalist tweeted a photograph of a person lying covered in blood among smoke outside the station. Ambulances were ferrying the wounded away and sirens rang out across the area. l

Brussels attacks kill at least 30 checking whether the attacks were linked to the arrest of Salah Abdeslam, according to Federal Prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw, although US officials said the level of organization involved suggested they had previously been in preparation.

Explosives and an Islamic flag were found after a flat was raided a week ago where a fresh fingerprint of Abdeslam’s had put police on his trail. It was not clear if Abdeslam had been involved at that stage in the airport attack plan. A bomb and a Dae’sh flag were also found later yesterday in a flat in Brussels.

“A photograph of three male suspects was taken at Zaventem.

Two of them seem to have committed suicide attacks. The third, wearing a light-colored jacket and a hat, is actively being sought,” Van Leeuw told a news conference.

A government official said the third suspect had been seen running away from the airport building. Local media said police had found an undetonated suicide vest in the area.

Police issued a wanted notice on Monday, after questioning of Abdeslam, identifying 25-year-old Najim Laachraoui as linked to the Paris attacks. The poor quality of the images left open whether he might be the person caught on the airport cameras.

A witness said he heard shouts in Arabic and shots shortly before two blasts struck in a packed airport departure lounge at the airport.

Belgian media published the security camera picture of three young men pushing laden luggage trolleys. Police later issued the same photograph, showing only one of the three.

“If you recognize this individual or if you have information on this attack, please contact the investigators,” the notice read. “Discretion assured.”

Police operations were under way at several points in the city but a lockdown imposed immediately after the attacks was eased and commuters and students headed

home as public transport partially reopened.

Dae’sh issued a statement claiming responsibility: “We promise the crusader alliance against the Islamic State [Dae’sh] that they will have black days in return for their aggression against the Islamic State [Dae’sh],” the jihadist group said.

Belgium, home to the European Union and the headquarters of the NATO military alliance, has sent warplanes to take part in operations against Dae’sh in the Middle East.

Austrian Horst Pilger, who was awaiting a flight with his family when the attackers struck, said his children had thought fireworks were going off, but he instantly knew an assault was underway.

“My wife and I both thought ‘bomb’. We looked into each other’s eyes,” he told Reuters. “Five or 10 seconds later there was a major, major, major blast in close vicinity.

It was massive.”

Pilger, who works at the European Commission, said the whole ceiling collapsed and smoke flooded the building.

Security services found and destroyed a third bomb after two blasts at the airport killed at least 10 people and injured around 100, the provincial governor of Brabant Flanders said. Belgian media gave death tolls as high as 14 at the airport.

The metro station blast killed a further 20 people and injured roughly 130, according to a provisional toll from the national crisis response center.

Black moment

US President Barack Obama led calls of support to Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel after Brussels had gone into a state of virtual lock-down.

“We must be together regardless of nationality

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016

Draft law ready to stop distortion of Liberation War facts n UNB

Workers paint a building while dangling from a makeshift ladder, without any safety measures in place. The photo was taken in Shahbagh, Dhaka yesterday RAJIB DHAR

BB heist probe team holds first meeting n Tribune Report

The inquiry committee looking into the digital heist of Bangladesh Bank’s forex reserve account held its first meeting yesterday at the central bank headquarters.

The three-member committee, headed by former governor Mohammed Farashuddin, met with new Governor Fazle Kabir, a CID team and others involved in the investigation.

Subhankar Saha, executive director of Bangladesh Bank, said the government probe team officially started its work yesterday.

Farashuddin, meanwhile, sought support from all authorities concerned for completing the investigation within a 30-day deadline.

“We have already started our investigation and we will need support from authorities concerned,” he told journalists after reaching the central bank offices in the afternoon.

Deputy inspector general of CID, Saiful Alam, who is coordinating the probe, also met with Fazle Kabir yesterday.

“A team led by Saiful Alam met with the governor and held a meeting over the progress of investigation” said CID’s additional deputy inspector general, Shah Alam.

He said discussions were held on what kind of support the police would need from the central bank for its investigation.

“We are trying to identify the link of perpetrators by tracking the money,” Shah Alam said. l

The Law Commission has completed the draft to enact a law to stop the distortion of Liberation War facts, says its Chairman Justice ABM Khairul Haque.

He said this when he met President Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban yesterday to submit the Commission’s Annual Report 2015.

During the meeting, the president advised the Commission to help enact time-befitting laws aw well as update the existing ones.

President’s Press Secretary Joynal Abedin briefed reporters after the meeting. Justice Khairul Haque apprised the president of various aspects of the report.

Abdul Hamid expressed satisfaction over the Commission’s activities.

Law Commission members Justice ATM Fazle Kabir and Dr M Shah Alam and secretaries concerned to the president’s office were present. l

BB heist: Court orders Bir Pratik Akhtar forensic test of 3 Ahmed dies seized hard drives n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka Court has approved a plea of the Criminal Investigation Department of Police for conducting the forensic examination of three hard drives which were seized from the Bangladesh Bank earlier.

$101m of Bangladesh Bank funds was withdrawn by hackers who broke into the SWIFT system of the bank A 20-member special team under the CID is investigating the sensational case filed over the cyber heist at Bangladesh’s central bank last month that netted $101 million.

The court of Metropolitan Magistrate Md Mahbubur Rahman passed the order on Tuesday, responding to a plea filed by the CID team.

Earlier in the day, Additional Superintendent of Police Md Raihan placed the seized hard drives before the court and sought its order to get those examined at CID forensic laboratory, SI Jalaluddin, GRO of the court, told the Dhaka Tribune.

In early February, some $101m of the Bangladesh Bank funds kept with the Federal Reserve Bank of

New York was withdrawn illegally allegedly by hackers who had broken into the SWIFT system of the central bank.

The laundered money was moved via transfer requests, with about $81m ending up in four bank accounts in the Philippines. The other $20m went to an account in Sri Lanka. Another $850 million was supposed to be transferred to a personal bank account in the Philippines, but was blocked by the authorities.

Bangladesh Bank Joint Director (accounts and budgeting department) Jubair Bin Huda filed the case against unidentified people with Motijheel police on March 15.

It was filed under section 4 of the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012 (amended 2015), section 54 of the Information Technology Act 2006 and section 379 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

CID started their work on March 16 and visited the Bangladesh Bank Headquarters. They spoke to senior officials of several departments of Bangladesh Bank and seized some computers, printers and server for the seek of investigation.

The CID team is investigating the case jointly with help from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) of the Philippines is also investigating the case. l

n Tribune Report Bir Pratik Dr Major (retd) Akhtar Ahmed has died of cardiac arrest at Dhaka Combined Military Hospital.

The freedom fighter breathed his last around 2:30am Tuesday, his son Tanim Ahmed said.

Major Akhtar left behind his mother, wife, only son, three brothers, a sister and a wealth of well wishers.

He joined the army in 1970 and was posted to 4 East Bengal Regiment when the Liberation War broke out. He was among the first men to pick up arms against the Pakistanis in a rebellion led by Major Shafayat Jamil.

Then a captain, Akhtar Ahmed fought the war in Sector 2 and was known for his exploits well beyond the hospital premises and into ene-

my-held territory.

Akhtar Ahmed then founded the famous Bangladesh Hospital in Sector 2 that not only provided medical care to freedom fighters but was also a source of inspiration.

He was awarded the gallantry award Bir Pratik for his brave role during the War of Liberation.

Akhtar Ahmed worked as a physician in Libya after his self-retirement from the army in 1976. He also worked in the family planning sector under the health ministry till the early 90s when he went into business.

More recently Akhtar ahmed has been spending his retirement in Dhaka.

He has authored a book on his memories of 1971 titled “Bar Bar Firey Jai.” It has also been translated into English under the title “Advance To Contact.” l

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Redline starts work at Dhaka airport n Ishtiaq Husain

British company Redline Aviation Security Limited began working at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to upgrade security from yesterday.

A Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) official told the

Dhaka Tribune that Redline scrutinised the airport's security system and inspected various areas.

CAAB inked a deal with Redline on Monday to upgrade the airport's security management and training of personnel. The security firm will monitor overall security of Shahjalal airport and train security officials.

Dhaka, Moscow finalise intergovernmental commission deal n Tribune Report Bangladesh and Russia have finalized the agreement on the Establishment of Intergovernmental Commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation.

Both the sides decided that this agreement would be signed during the proposed visit of Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali to Russia in June, said a press release.

Both sides stressed to further strengthen mutual cooperation in trade, economy, education, scientific, technical and defense areas The decision was taken at the foreign office consultation of the two countries in Moscow on Monday.

Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque led the Bangladeshi side while Deputy Foreign Minister Morgulov Igor Vladimirovich led the Russian side.

Both sides discussed all as-

pects of the existing relations between the two countries and stressed upon early conclusions of some bilateral instruments to further strengthen mutual cooperation in trade, economy, education, scientific, technical and defense areas.

Both sides underscored the need for regular two-way high level visits to take the relations to a new height.

They identified potential areas for enhanced cooperation such as ICT and telecom, food grain, minerals and fertilizer, pharmaceuticals, including RMG. It was also decided that the next Foreign Office Consultations between the two countries will be held in Dhaka next year.

Shahidul Haque also met Tatyana Valovaya, member of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission, yesterday at its HQs in Moscow and was briefed on the activities of the commission.

They discussed possible collaboration scope between Bangladesh and commission including “duty free, quota free” access of Bangladeshi export items to the member countries of the commission viz. the Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan and Armenia. l

Noor laments lack of quality books n UNB Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor yesterday lamented that quality books do not hit Amar Ekushey Book Fair although the number of stalls is on the rise every year.

He made the observation while addressing a programme titled ‘Role of private libraries to build knowledge-based society’ at the National Book Centre auditorium in the city.

The issue of publishing quality and standard books will be considered during stall allocation in the Amar Ekushey Book Fair from now on, the minister said.

He also said they will prepare a list of quality books and those will be distributed among all public and private libraries.

Bishwa Shahitto Kendro founder Prof Abdullah Abu Sayeed was, among others, present at the programme. l

Three aviation experts joined yesterday's inspection accompanied by CAAB security officials.

More experts are expected to join this team within a day or two. A total 29 people will be deployed at the airport. Among them 24 will have expertise on scanning machine operation.

A Civil Aviation Ministry official said the UK government and a high powered steering committee of Bangladesh will review Redline's works of this month. If the security system does not improve, the UK may extend its direct cargo ban.

As part of the government's short term initiatives, CAAB ap-

pointed Redline to meet the UK's requirements on security grounds.

The government appointed Redline in direct purchase process with a cost of Tk73.25 crore. This firm will continue the project until March 2018. Bangladesh has the right to review Redline's performance after every six months. l

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BD to start importing 100MW from Tripura n Aminur Rahman Rasel Bangladesh will start importing 100MW of electricity from neighbouring Tripura in India from today under a “no-electricity, no-payment” method.

“India has agreed to give us the electricity under such an arrangement as a gesture to our friendship,” Nasrul Hamid, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, said during a press meet at the capital’s Bidyut Bhaban yesterday.

will stand at Tk6.71 per unit.

The state minister also said the country’s gas reserve was deteriorating at a fast pace. “We will need a lot of electricity in future. Our gas reserve is dwindling and we do not have any option but to go for electricity import.”

When asked why Bangladesh is only opting for importing electricity from India when hydroelectricity import from Nepal and Bhutan was possible, Nasrul replied that hydroelectricity import from those

and comparative advantage here.

If we wanted to set up a 100MW plant, then we would have needed more than $100 million. We also would have needed land and supply of gas to run the plant. Now we need nothing. We will pay for the electricity that we use,” said Nasrul.

Bangladesh Power Development Board will import the electricity from Tripura’s gas-fired Palatana Power Station for Tk6.43 per unit or kilowatt-hour. Adding the transmission charge, the import price

He said the prime ministers of both Bangladesh and India will inaugurate the power import through a video conference session today.

When asked how Bangladesh would benefit from the import as each unit of electricity in Tripura cost Tk1 more than Bangladesh’s average cost of power production, the state minister said Bangladesh would benefit by not needing to pay the huge cost of setting up a 100MW plant.

“You have to look at the relative

two countries would need another seven or eight years.

“That electricity would have to be brought through India. We are negotiating on several issues to bring that electricity,” he said.

Hamid also said Bangladesh was planning to import another 100 megawatt power from the same Palatana plant in the near future.

On January 10, Tripura’s Power Minister Manik Dey met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina about the issue. l

Four militants held in capital n Arifur Rahman Rabbi

Police detectives escort four alleged terrorists to the DMP Media Centre in the capital’s Minto Road area yesterday for a press event. The suspects were arrested on Monday night in Kallyanpur, Dhaka during a raid MEHEDI HASAN

Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit and the Detective Branch of police arrested four suspected militants on Monday from the capital’s Kalyanpur bus stand area.

The arrestees are Abdur Razzak Omayer, Faysal Ahmed, Ahmad Fazle Akbar and Abu Nayeem Mohammad Jakariya.

Police, in a briefing at the DMP media centre yesterday said that the four had planned to attack the book fair last month but they failed and now they were plotting to attack a HC lawyer and a religious scholar.

However, the family of the four arrestees claimed that they were held five days ago and that they had no connection with militancy.

Head of the CT Monirul Isla said In primary interrogation, they confessed to their previous involvement with JMB.l

Bandwidth export to India starts today HRFB: Trace Zoha n immediately Ishtiaq Husain

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi are scheduled to formally inaugurate Bangladesh’s bandwidth export to India through video conference today.

The inaugural ceremony is scheduled to begin at the Prime Minister’s Office in Dhaka at 10:30am.

“It would be a gala ceremony to mark the maiden export of bandwidth, in which Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Naredra Modi will formally inaugurate bandwidth export through video conferencing,” Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL) Manag-

September last year, but the export timing had been fixed for August. Later, both parties missed the deadline.

The submarine cable company will get the payment at the beginning of each quarter while Bangladesh will earn Tk9.6 crore a year by exporting bandwidth to India.

India is currently importing 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) bandwidth which it will increase to 40Gbps later, as per an agreement.

Bangladesh has a bandwidth capacity of 200Gbps, of which only 33% is used. In 2006, Bangladesh got connected to the current submarine cable at a cost of $63m.

Industry insiders say the country’s demand for bandwidth may reach 210Gbps by 2021. l

ing Director Monwar Hossain said.

“Undoubtedly, the bandwidth export will open up a big opportunity for us. After exporting it to India, other countries would also like to import bandwidth from Bangladesh,” he added.

On February 8, Bangladesh unofficially began bandwidth export to India through Akhaura-Agartala border.

The state-owned company signed a deal with the Indian stateowned BSNL on June 6 last year for exporting bandwidth during the Indian prime minister’s visit to Bangladesh.

According to the agreement, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) decided to import 10Gbps bandwidth for Tripura state from

TEMPERATURE FOREC AST FOR TODAY

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23

Dhaka

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Chittagong

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DHAKA TODAY SUN SETS 6:11PM

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n Arifur Rahman Rabbi Five days have passed, yet IT specialist Tanvir Hassan Zoha remains missing.

Human Rights Forum Bangladesh (HRFB) has expressed deep concerns about the missing man.

HRFB, formed with the collaboration of 19 human rights bodies, again demanded Zoha be immediately traced.

Yesterday, HRFB convener Sultana Kamal issued a press release demanding that the culprits responsible be handed exemplary punishment.

Zoha’s family has not yet filed a 19

Khulna

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Barisal

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:59AM

36.3ºC Faridpur

17.4ºC Rangpur

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PRAYER TIMES

case or GD with the police.

The family claimed Zoha, who was reportedly involved in an investigation into the Bangladesh Bank digital heist, was abducted from the capital’s Kachukhet around 1am on March 17.

Bhashantek police station Officer-in-Charge Nazrul Islam said: “Zoha’s family came to the police station to file a GD. At the time, one of his family members received a phone call. The family then said they would come back and file a GD later on... So we have yet to receive a formal complaint from them.” l Sylhet

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Fajr: 4:42am | Zohr: 12:05am Asr: 3:32pm | Magrib: 6:14pm Esha: 7:41pm Source: IslamicFinder.org

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Tareq Sayeed’s petition rejected n Tribune Report

The High Court yesterday rejected a petition of sacked Rapid Action Battalion official Lt Col (retd) Tareq Sayeed that challenged trial against him in a Narayanganj seven-murder case.

The court order cleared the way for a lower court concern to continue trial against him in the case filed

by Selina Hossain Beauty, widow of Narayanganj panel mayor Nazrul Islam, who is one of the victims killed after abduction in 2014.

The HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Amir Hossain passed the order on the ground that the petition was not moved properly.

The same bench on March 15 rejected another petition seeking cancellation of a case filed by Bijoy Kumar Paul, the son-in-law senior lawyer Chandan Sarker, who was also among the seven victims.

Narayanganj panel mayor Nazrul Islam, his four associates, and senior lawyer Chandan Sarker and his driver were abducted from a Narayanganj road on April 27, 2014 and their bodies were later found floating in the Shitalakkhya river. l

BB, IFC join hands to promote financial inclusion of women

n Tribune Report

Bangladesh Bank and IFC-World Bank Group have signed a cooperation agreement to promote financial inclusion of Bangladeshi women through increased adoption of mobile financial services (MFS).

The project will conduct a comprehensive study to provide a set of data and insights that MFS providers will optimise to pursue the women segment.

In addition, MFS providers will obtain women agent acquisition toolkit and a women focused MFS product design.

These will be used to build dedicated products and a delivery channel of women agents so that they can accelerate female MFS use.

Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank SK Sur Chowdhury said, “Bangladesh Bank has been working relentlessly in financial inclusion programmes, especially for women.”

IFC’s Country Manager for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal Wendy Jo Werner said: “By signing the cooperation agreement with Bangladesh Bank, we hope to bring IFC and the World Bank Group’s global expertise to help the financial inclusion agenda and aid Bangladesh Bank’s objectives to ultimately empower Bangladeshi women and promote gender equality.” l

News

BNP: Cancel polls at 50 union parisahds n Adil Sakhawat Bringing allegation of irregularities, the BNP has urged the Election Commission to cancel voting at minimum 50 union parishads.

A BNP team led by party Vice Chairman Abdullah al Noman met CEC Kazi Rakubuddin Ahmad on Tuesday afternoon and made the demand.

The party also demanded reelection to the 50 union parishads.

Noman said: “Irregularities, vote rigging and casting fake votes

took place in every polling centres in at least 50 union parishads.

“We just want that the Election Commission to make its activities trust worthy to the voters and it should cancel voting at 50 union parishads.”

The BNP leader also alleged that all the elections in the country are now becoming a joke to the voters.

“The BNP will always attend the elections to show the people what kinds of joke is happening around,” he added.

Voting in the first phase election

at 661 Union Parishads was held on Tuesday amid sporadic clashes, violence and reported rigging.

Voting began around 8am and continued till 4pm without a break.

In the first phase of the elections, 36,456 candidates – 3,034 for chairman posts, 25,847 for member posts and 7,575 for reserved-seat women posts – are contending for the aforementioned positions.

A total of 54 chairmen, 179 members and 54 reserved-seat women members have already been elected uncontested. l

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016

BCL factional clash kills one more n Our Correspondent, Noakhali Another person died yesterday who got injured in Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) factional clash on Monday at Noakhali Government College under Sadar upazila.

The deceased was Saiful Islam Wasim, 24, the district unit BCL member.

Abu Naser, former BCL eader and now Awami League leader said around 5 pm, Chhatra League Raju group led by Raju beat up Rajib over a trifling matter.

Around 8pm, they sat for a

Jubo Dal leader held with arms in Chittagong

solution in presence of Yeasin and Wasim. At one stage, Saju and Ripon, associates of Raju fired at them. Rajib died on the spot and Yeasin and Wasim received bullet injury.

At first, they were taken to Noakhali General Hospital. As the condition of Wasim deteriorated, he was sent to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital where the on duty doctor declared Wasim dead in the morning.

Anowar Hossain, officer-incharge of Sudharam Model police station said one was arrested. l

Four eateries fined in Ctg n Tribune Report

n Tribune Report

The elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB 7) in a drive arrested a union level Jubo Dal general secretary in possession with three firearms and 10 rounds of bullets in Chittagong district’s Sitakunda upazila early yesterday.

The arrestee Rokon Uddin alias Pistol Rokon, 33, son of Hazi Safiul Alam of Kazi para of Sitakunda, said RAB sources.

He is the general secretary of 10 no Salimpur union Jubo Dal of Sitakunda upazila and also an accused several cases filed in various police station, said RAB sources.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) also the Assistant Director (AD) of RAB 7 Amirulla said acting on tip off, a group of armed terrorists were gathering in Kazipara area under Salimpur union in Sitakunda upazila, a team of RAB 7 conducted drive in the area and nabbed Rokon red-handed. l

DT

News

A human chain is formed at Shahbagh in the capital yesterday demanding punishment of the killers of Sohagi Jahan Tonu, a student of Comilla Victoria College MEHEDI HASAN

A mobile court during an anti-adulteration drive fined four errant eateries and restaurants with Tk75,000 in Chittagong city yesterday.

Assistant Commissioner (AC) also the Executive Magistrate Abdullah Al Mansur of Chittagong District Administration led the drive in city’s AK Khan Intersection and GEC areas while the court fined four eateries.

Magistrate Abdullah Al Mansur said the court fined GEC’s Hotel Zaman and restaurant with Tk20,000, Candy restaurant with Tk15,000 and Café Alam with Tk10,000 on charge of cooking food using addled egg and oil, serving the food under unhygienic environments and running the business without the dealing license.

Apart from that the mobile court also fined one Kutum Bari restaurant with Tk30,000 for its unhygienic environment at the kitchen, said Mansur. l

3 salt labourers Suspended mayor Arif granted bail in Kibria killing case killed by lightning strike n Our Correspondent, Sylhet n Tribune Report

Three labourers were killed by a lightning strike when they were engaged in work in a salt field at Maghdail in Matarbari union of Maheshkhali upazila yesterday.

Of the deceased, two were identified as Habibullah,40, and Kapil Uddin,32, while identity of the other could not be known yet.

Matarbari union chairman Enamul Haque Ruhul said a streak of thunderbolt struck them while the trio was working in a salt field at about 8:00 am, leaving them dead on the spot. l

Suspended mayor of Sylhet City Corporation Ariful Haque Chowdhury was granted bail in connection with the killing of former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria.

A division of bench comprising justice Salma Masud Chowdhury and Justice Kazi Mohammad Izarul granted a 15-day bail considering the illness of Arif’s mother.

The court also directed Arif to surrender before it by 15 days.

Kibria, also an Awami League leader who was the finance minister of the Awami League government from 1996 to 2001, and four others died in a grenade attack at a rally in

Habiganj on January 27, 2005.

General Secretary of Hobiganj district unit Awami League Abdul Majid Khan filed a case the following day.

The Kibria murder case was transferred to the Speedy Trial Tribunal from Habiganj Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court on June 11, last year for its quick disposal.

On September 6, the charge framing in the murder case deferred for the ninth time as Ariful could not be produced before the court due to his sickness.

On September 13, last year, Sylhet Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal indicted 32 people, including former state minister for home

affairs Lutfozzaman Babar and suspended Sylhet City Corporation mayor Ariful Haque, in the murder case.

Assistant Superintendent of CID Munshi Atique submitted a charge sheet against 10 BNP leaders and activists on March 19, 2005.

Upon an appeal by the complainant, the High Court on May 5, 2006 stayed the proceedings of the cases.

Following another appeal by the complainant, the tribunal on May 14, 2006 ordered further investigation into the cases.

After further probe, Rafiqul submitted the first supplementary charge-sheet. However, Asma

Kibria, wife of the slain minister, filed a petition with a local court expressing no-confidence in the investigation.

The court then forwarded the case documents along with the petition to the tribunal concerned.

On June 20, 2011, CID Senior Assistant Superintendent Rafiqul Islam submitted a supplementary chargesheet incorporating the names of 14 more people, including Lutfozzaman Babar and Mufti Hannan, following a naraji (non-confidence) petition filed by the plaintiff.

Later on January 5, 2012, the tribunal ordered the CID to carry out further probe into the killing. l

DT

8

News

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016

Fishermen catching Ilish fry defying law Islam Khan, n Zahirul Madaripur A section of fishermen in the district are netting Ilish fry in the Arial Khan River defying the ban imposed by the government.

According to local sources, the fishermen catch the fish fry at night and sell it at local markets in the morning in the name of Chapila fish.

When visited, it was found that the fishermen are busy in netting the fish fry at several points of the river with current nets and local traps.

According to Fisheries Department officials, every year the government imposes ban on catching Ilish for seven months from November 1 to May 31 to ensure its uninterrupted breeding and growth.

But defying the ban, a section of fishermen are catching the fish randomly at different points of Kawrakandi, Majirhat, Charjanajat, Kathalbari, Sannasirchar and Bondarkhola areas of the Padma River and Kalikapur, Charnachna, Molhesherchar, Kazirtek, Biddabagis, Kunderchar, Suresshar, Samitirhat and Miarhat areas of the Arial Khan River.

Trader Moazzem Matubbar of Chachar village said: “When I find

the scene of netting the fry, I become dishearten.”

“I think, the people who are catching the fry should be punished,” he said.

Fisherman Ashim Malo of Sadar upazila said: “We have to catch fish as there is no option left for maintaining our families.”

Gokul Malo of Bahadurpur village: “I am a landless man. I am not getting food under the government’s VGF (vulnerable group feeding) programme. Now I have no alternative but to catch fish as I have to run a seven-member family.”

Bashir-Al-Helal, convenor of Environment Protection Movement and Development Parshad, said the local administration should announce the exemplary punishment for those who were involved with catching the fish.

District Fisheries Officer (DFO) Aktarul Haque said they were conducting operation against the fry catching in the district to discourage fishermen from doing the misdeed.

“From December to March, we conducted 112 drives in different areas of the district and seized eight tonnes of fry worth about Tk14.25 lakh,” said Aktarul. l

A mass signature campaign was held at Uttara Girls High School in Rajshahi city yesterday with a call to stop human trafficking AZAHAR UDDIN

7-murder case plaintiff lawyer threatened Correspondent, n Our Naraynganj Sakhawat Hossain Khan, president of Narayanganj Bar Association and plaintiff lawyer of seven murder case, was allegedly threatened to death yesterday.

In the afternoon, Sakhawat brought the allegation to the Bar Association against Khokan Saha,

defendant lawyer of the case and local Awami League leader.

Sakhawat said Khokan threatened him around 11am while he was going to the court to deal a case.

On the other hand Khokan Saha denied the allegation and said Sakhawat had brought the allegation to smear his image.

Khokan Saha also filed an alle-

gation against Sakhawat to the Bar Association.

On April 27, 2014, Narayanganj panel mayor Nazrul Islam, his three associates and driver, and Narayanganj District Judge’s Court senior lawyer Chandan Kumar Sarker and his driver were abducted from Fatullah area in Narayanganj city.

Their bodies were later recovered from Shitalakhya River. l

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DT

Feature

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016

Motherhood and career:

Mutually exclusive? n Features Desk Nearly three-quarter of pregnant women and new mothers are discriminated in the workplace, a UK government research has found.

The research, although conducted only across Britain, is important in the context of rising global conversations regarding motherhood and the workplace – with people being chastise – or praised – for breastfeeding while at work, and in public places.

The UK governmentcommissioned research says pregnancy discrimination has risen significantly since 2005, when 45% of women said they had experienced such discrimination.

While workplace discrimination against women is generally a pressing issue in Bangladesh, there is little research to show discrimination against pregnant women here. However, researchers suggest that while there is overall respect for a pregnant working woman, there are huge structural changes that need to be made.

“While I’ve not really seen sexual harassment or outright discrimination against pregnant women in the development organisations, there are huge structural problems,” says Shahana Siddiqui, a development practitioner for close to 15 years.

Many – if not most – nongovernment organisations and research institutes make the discrimination between the different types (permanent vs contractual) of contracts they offer, says Siddiqui. While most people are given contractual offers, this offer has no benefits for a pregnant woman – whether it’s maternity leave or any other kinds of benefits.

PHOTOS: BIGSTOCK

Workplace discrimination against women is generally a pressing issue in Bangladesh, there is little research to show discrimination against pregnant women here

In such cases, says Siddiqui, there’s a high drop out rate of women who are pregnant.

“Most of the time, pregnant women in the development sector leave their jobs when in contract –

or they take an unpaid leave,” she says.

Siddiqui’s comments are further validated by research reports that show that a large number of women who are willing to work

don’t enroll in the workforce due to pregnancy.

In a 2014 research by Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), along with Manusher Jonno Foundation, it was shown that 40% women cite pregnancy as a reason for not doing paid jobs although they would like to.

This not only puts a dent on the economy – given how much we’re losing with such a high percentage of women not working – but also further enhances traditional cultural barriers for women in the workforce.

While the issues in the urban areas are mostly structural, it may be different for field workers, many of whom are expected

to work in the field, often in unfavourable circumstances, says Siddiqui.

While this may not count as harassment or discrimination per se, it definitely amounts to a form of neglect, given women require a lot of care during pregnancy.

Although the research was conducted in the UK, it stands relevant even in the Bangladeshi context, where the research on workplace discrimination against women very much exists on a structural, if not cultural, level. With more and more women joining the workforce across all classes – this is a discourse that needs to start in our society. l

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10

Science

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016

Mission for ‘Pluto’

n Khalique Mashreqi The “New Horizon” mission launched in 2006 for exploration of “dwarf” Planet Pluto and outerworld reached Pluto on July 14 last year, on its way to “Kuiper belt” providing eminently useful data of the planet. New Horizon spacecraft is the first one in the world to reach this destination, which began to send thousands of pictures and data of the yet unexplored planet.

Importance of Pluto Pluto is a small but most distant planet of the solar system.

According to data available through New Horizon, it is also likely to be the most favourable planet for human habitation. Pluto has an atmosphere which has nitrogen as the main component like earth. New Horizon snaps and data revealed presence of polar ice caps increasing possibilities of availability of water there. New

Horizon also confirmed presence of methane in the atmosphere, which can be converted into water.

All the larger planets of the solar system are not favourable for human habitation except Mars.

But water on Mars became extinct billions of years ago. Hence, Pluto is the hope for future exploration ventures.

Future utility The planet Pluto has a perfectly elliptical orbit and that is why it

comes near to the sun and likewise goes far away from it. In its nearest position to sun it remains in the constellation of “Libra” for about 12 years and counter-wise in the constellation of “Aries” for more than 30 years. So one can guess how far then it goes into the outerworld thereby making future exploration of the latter much easier as a stationing ground. The planet has five moons including a larger one, named “Charon.”

Latest findings suggest presence

of life-form in the undersurface seawater of the planet. China and India have tremendous strides in space exploration endeavours.

Pakistan is not lagging behind. But what about Bangladesh’s own? l The writer is a geographer and ex-high official Interested in contributing?

Please write to us at weekend@ dhakatribune.com

Happiness can break your heart, doctors warn The lethal condition “happy heart syndrome” can occur after a joyful event such as a surprise birthday party or the birth of a child

n Sarah Knapton Celebrating a birthday may not seem like a dangerous pastime but too much happiness can be heartbreaking, according to doctors.

Health experts have known for some time that sad events, such as the loss of a spouse, can trigger a condition known as “broken heart syndrome” which feels like a heart attack and can be fatal if not treated quickly.

Now for the first time doctors have shown that over-excitement from happy events can also spark the condition, which they have named “happy heart syndrome.”

In short, happiness can be lethal.

Since “broken heart syndrome” was first identified in 1990, doctors at the University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland have been compiling a database of worldwide attacks which currently holds 1,750 patients.

Most attacks were triggered by episodes of severe emotional distress, such as grief, fear and anger. Attending funerals was a common factor and one incident occurred after an obese patient got

PHOTO: BIGSTOCK stuck in the bath.

But for 20 people the condition was precipitated by happy and joyful events, such as a birthday party, wedding, surprise farewell celebration, a favourite rugby team winning a game, or the birth of a grandchild.

Study author Dr Jelena Ghadri, resident cardiologist from University Hospital Zurich said doctors should enquire about happy events as well as sad, when diagnosing heart problems.

“We have shown that the triggers for ‘broken heart syndrome’ can be more varied than previously thought,” she said.

“A patient is no longer the classic ‘broken hearted’ patient, and the disease can be preceded by positive emotions too.”

“Our findings suggest that happy and sad life events may share similar emotional pathways.”

The condition is characterised by a sudden temporary weakening of the heart muscles which causes

the left chamber of the heart to blow up like a balloon. It creates the shape of a Japanese octopus trap, which is why it’s clinical name is takotsubo syndrome.

The problem mostly affects women. 95 percent of all patients in the database are female with an average age of 65.

The new findings were published in the European Heart Journal. l Source: www.telegraph.com

DT

Editorial 11

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016

INSIDE

An open letter to the visiting UNESCO team Mega coal projects like Rampal and Orion will multiply the volume of coal ships traversing the waters inside remote stretches of mangroves -- and it is a fantasy to claim that these and other industrial activities underway are safe PAGE 12

Winning the battle Will the governments of Bangladesh and India stop advancing with weapons of the Sundarbans’ destruction? Or will they continue denying local, national, and international cries against destruction in the name of development?

BIGSTOCK

PAGE 13

No excuses for poll violations

You are loved We’re all to blame. Because we’ve accepted that in this capitalistic society, some are meant to sail through life, while some are meant to get lost PAGE 14

Be heard Write to Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Send us your Op-Ed articles: opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com www.dhakatribune.com Join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/ DhakaTribune.

The views expressed in Opinion articles are those of the authors alone. They do not purport to be the official view of Dhaka Tribune or its publisher.

I

t is disgraceful that voting in yesterday’s Union Parishad elections was marred by polling irregularities and violent clashes, including the shooting of a polling officer in Noakhali.

Law enforcement authorities must act promptly to help the Election Commission fully investigate all violations and hold all perpetrators of irregularities and violence to account.

There must be no hiding place for candidates and supporters of any party found to be involved in poll violations and attacks on rivals.

The government must step up to take action against AL officials and supporters who have been accused of intimidation and repeated attempts of illegal occupation and ballot stuffing at polling stations.

The vote rigging attempts and clashes between party activists and police which led to voting being suspended at 15 polling stations in Satkhira and Bhola are of particular concern, but they were not isolated incidents.

The assault on a BNP-backed chairman candidate in Munshiganj district allegedly by AL supporters and the withdrawal of a number of other candidates raise wider concerns.

It is clear that despite extensive preparations and security, some cadres felt able to act with impunity by attacking rival candidates and entering and occupying voting centres for the purposes of vote rigging.

The EC must deal summarily with all violators to reassure the public of the integrity of the polls.

All necessary measures must be taken to ensure no candidate’s benefit from intimidation and electoral malpractices.

The government and all political parties must co-operate to ensure zero tolerance for any violations of election codes and procedures.

It is vital for democracy that the EC is able and seen to be able to fully uphold the law.

There must be no hiding place for anyone involved in poll violations and attacks on rivals

12

DT

Opinion

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016

An open letter to the visiting UNESCO team Recognising the Sundarbans as a World Heritage in Danger may be its only chance at preservation dolphins. Hours later, the Sea Horse vessel capsized there with 1,245 tons of dirty pit coal. This, of course, follows the December 2014 spill of toxic furnace oil, and the sinking of a ship carrying 510 tons of coal in October 2015 in sensitive ecological areas.

An independent study shows how the flora and fauna of the Sundarbans have been gravely impacted by the oil spill, and, as of now, the October 2015 coal wreckage has not been recovered -- let alone an effective response to the most recent accident this week.

In the months prior to your visit, you received a lot of assurances from my government about how Bangladesh is taking strong steps to ensure the protection of the Sundarbans. I assure you, you will hear plenty more in the course of the week you spend here -- in fact, your entire itinerary will be carefully crafted to manufacture a sense of assurance, to the extent possible by the authorities.

But please, don’t be appeased.

The relentless series of accidents, with one just days before your visit, clearly shows that the Bangladesh government is at best ignorant, and at worst plain lying when it says it has taken adequate precautions. I suspect even the latest decision to halt shipping traffic in the Sela river may not have happened were you not visiting at this particular moment.

Mega coal projects like Rampal and Orion will multiply the volume of coal ships traversing the waters inside remote stretches of mangroves -- and it is a fantasy to

relentless pursuit of these socalled development projects.

When the UN and the Bangladesh government published a joint report assessing damages from the 2014 oil spill, it was criticised heavily for allegedly being revised multiple times at the request of the Bangladesh government, and for making unsubstantiated claims based on weak methodology -- claims that are contradicted by the independent study referred to previously.

With BHEL and the Indian EXIM Bank at the doorstep of sealing the Rampal deal, I wonder how much pressure UNESCO will face to water down or delay its verdict on the Sundarbans.

But know that the people of Bangladesh and India are with you. Just this month, I marched with a thousand others (from Bangladesh as well as India) for the long march that went from Dhaka to 400km down south in Bagerhat.

It was profoundly inspiring to be with so many activists -- chanting slogans together like “Sundarban amar ma, ujar hote debo na” (the Sundarbans is my mother, won’t let her get ravaged).

And our Sundarbans does protect us like a mother. During my trip, she revealed to me her scars from Cyclone Aila -- still manifest seven years later in a barren landscape filled with haunted trunks and parched mud void of mangrove roots. She cradles us lovingly whenever the fierce winds howl too loud, oblivious to the wounds inflicted

is in danger. So, I’m requesting you to lend your credibility and explicitly acknowledge that by putting the Sundarbans in the list of World Heritage in Danger, making it very clear that Bangladesh will lose the status entirely in a year’s time if Rampal and Orion and other harmful activities are not called off.

The UNEP gave Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina the Champions of the Earth award last year. While there were definitely valid achievements that the UNEP cited, PM Hasina has supported, in fact, championed the Rampal power plant without due process, and her position on the issue is instrumental to its completion.

If the UNESCO is able to make a strong decision, it will greatly empower activists to hold the PM accountable and strike a fatal blow to the false assurances that her government has employed on this issue, and eventually be able to safeguard our one and only Sundarbans.

Local activists and experts have voiced concerns for many years. The struggle against the Rampal plant and the destruction of the Sundarbans is now gaining steam, attracting international media coverage regularly and drawing co-operation from global environmental NGOs. UNESCO and the World Heritage Committee’s own credibility is now at stake in this decision, as it is abundantly clear that current projects in the Sundarbans put its Outstanding Universal Value at risk.

Mega coal projects like Rampal and Orion will multiply the volume of coal ships traversing the waters inside remote stretches of mangroves -- and it is a fantasy to claim that these and other industrial activities underway are safe Trading this for ‘development’ is the very definition of a bad deal

n Risalat Khan

D

ear visiting delegation members from UNESCO and IUCN, It really feels like a defeat to ask this, but please, put our dearest Sundarbans on the list of World Heritage in Danger.

Last weekend, I had the privilege of tiptoeing amidst the mangroves in the mysterious morning light and shadow, reveling in the fleeting sight of rhesus monkeys and spotted

deer, all the while keenly aware of the possibility of one of the few remaining Royal Bengal Tigers presenting herself in all her majesty.

I felt a deep desire to share this experience with my children when I become a parent, and someday with my grandchildren too. It is a devastating thought to consider that I may not be able to. On my way back, I crossed Harintana -- an area meant to be a sanctuary for IUCN red list species like Irrawaddy and Ganges river

claim that these and other industrial activities underway are safe.

You know this. The facts speak for themselves, and UNESCO has warned in the past that the Sundarbans may lose its heritage status. What I’m concerned about is whether your past words will be reflected in unequivocal action this year -- against what I imagine is significant pressure from Bangladeshi and Indian authorities who have shown, repeatedly, that they are immune to reason and open to dirty tactics in the

upon herself.

The people of this country reciprocate with deep care and love. As I spoke to a police officer stationed at our rally in Khulna -- he voiced the dilemma of doing what he believes is right (ie protecting the Sundarbans) versus following orders that contradict his values (eg charging anti-Rampal protesters like what happened in October 2015).

Despite this love for our Sundarbans, we have to face the harsh reality that our Sundarbans

Therefore, you must act decisively and rapidly with integrity against all the pressures you may face, with the knowledge that the Bangladeshi people and future generations are with you and will be tremendously grateful to you for your courage. l Risalat Khan is a social activist and entrepreneur specialising in sustainable paradigms. He is a co-founder of NogorBagan, an initiative to cultivate Dhaka’s rooftops and provide safe food to urban communities.

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DT

Opinion

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016

Winning the battle

There is only one Sundarbans, and it is irreplaceable. This is sixth article article in a series about the Rampal power plant

For the people to survive, so must the Sundarbans

n Anu Muhammad

T

he Sundarbans are not only a rare ecological treasure, but also a Ramsar wetland, according to the Ramsar convention, which Bangladesh signed in 1972. The Sundarbans were also declared a World Heritage Site, the only one in Bangladesh.

The Sundarbans, a combination of rich eco-systems for humanity, is the largest mangrove forest in the world. For Bangladesh, it is much more -- a question of life and death. It has protected millions of people from many natural disasters. The forest is now under threat because of profit-seeking groups both home and abroad.

Amid popular protests and despite expert opinion against the establishment of a coal-fired power plant at Rampal, which is close to the Sundarbans, the Bangladesh government and India’s National Thermal Power Corporation keep working on its establishment.

The government also allowed a Bangladeshi company, Orion, to build another power plant near the forest. On March 19, 2014, the government signed a memorandum of understanding with China to set up another 1,320MW coal-fired power plant in Patuakhali, a location that is also close to the Sundarbans.

It seems that the government is keen on going ahead with such projects, being indifferent to protecting people and the environment. These projects and the government’s attitude have

created an environment that encourages denial of national laws to protect the environment, to ignore international laws and convention, to follow certain rules for protecting ecologically sensitive areas, and to pull land grabbers to rush into the area to take possession.

The free zone for grabbers

In 2014, a series of investigative reports in a leading English daily newspaper revealed the government’s role in allowing industrialists “to purchase land” and providing site clearance for the installation of hazardous industries, in gross violation of environmental laws in the Sundarbans area. The reports said that a number of projects, including government-owned silos, naval dockyard, and different commercial projects sponsored mostly by individuals enjoying ruling party blessings, to be set up in the buffer zone, are “posing serious threats to the already vulnerable mangrove forest.”

According to the reports, about 3,000 acres of land in that area, mostly through “unfair means,” have already fallen in the hands of a few groups. Online advertisements are also noticed about the availability of 1,550 more acres of “industrial land” in adjacent areas being eligible for “shipyard, ship-breaking yard, oil tanker, cement factory, and LP gas unit.”

The consequence for the poor local people, including religious minorities, has already been disastrous. Many were forced to

Will the governments of Bangladesh and India stop advancing with weapons of the Sundarbans’ destruction? Or will they continue denying local, national, and international cries against destruction in the name of development? Evidence shows the latter. There have been reports of harassment, surveillance, and threats to unwilling local people too

leave their homes for unknown destinations.

Destructive projects

There are numerous research papers and articles available showing the specialty of the Sundarbans, its ecological importance as well as its economic value, and its role as a mighty natural wall against natural disasters. Dr Y Jhala of India’s Wildlife Conservation Society said that “there are only around five viable wild tiger habitats left in the world for long-term hope. This is one of them. If you break these up into smaller parts you lose that, not ecologically, but biologically.”

Dr Abul Bashar, biologist and a Dhaka University professor, showed that the eco-systems in the Sundarbans are unique in the world, any damage to any part of the system will be disastrous to the whole system. And experts have for long been expressing their concern and protesting against these projects in many ways.

Many research papers and investigative articles have already specified the problems. Local and national

demonstrations, including a six-day Dhaka-Sundarbans long march, raised people’s voices; artists have written several songs and performed plays on the Sundarbans since the government’s approval of the coalfired power plant project.

Protests from India

Meanwhile, different organisations and experts from India have also started raising their voices to save the Sundarbans after realising that an Indian company is the major partner of the leading project of destruction and the Sundarbans spread into India as well. Therefore, if damage to the forest is done in Bangladesh, the effect will not stop at the political boundary.

The Sundarbans must win

Will the governments of Bangladesh and India stop advancing with weapons of the Sundarban’s destruction? Or will they continue denying local, national, and international cries against destruction in the name of development? Evidence shows the latter. There have been reports

of harassment, surveillance, and threats to unwilling local people too.

It seems that local and foreign grabbers and profiteers are influencing the government’s decision making. People and the environment do not have any space in their consideration. Not only have the policy-makers lost the ability to understand scientific arguments, but they have also lost common-sensical vision.

The survival and growth of the Sundarbans cannot be compromised for giving profits to certain business mafias.

The Sundarbans must win the battle because there are many alternatives to power generation, but we have only one Sundarbans that cannot be rebuilt or replaced with any other. l A version of this article previously appeared on anumuhammad.net and New Age. Anu Muhammad is Member-Secretary, National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power, and Port.

He is also a Professor of Economics at Jahangirnagar University.

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DT

Opinion

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016

You are loved We have failed our street children

Everybody dreams of a proper home

BIGSTOCK

n Rubaiya Murshed

O

n March 18, Friday at midnight, I was in bed trying to fall asleep. But whenever I closed my eyes, I kept seeing Amzad’s face.

I just heard an hour ago the confirmed news of Amzad, Shohag, Miraj, and Yamin not being in this world anymore. They had died around a fortnight ago when a fire suddenly broke out in the go-down they’d been spending the night in. Amzad died on the spot, while Shohag, Yamin, and Mehedi succumbed to their burn injuries in Dhaka Medical College a couple of days later.

Who were Amzad, Shohag, Yamin, and Mehedi?

Technically, the only introduction I can give to them is that they were four street boys that we’ve known for the last five years. I first met Amzad and Shohag in 2012 when I joined the “Bot-tola school” family. “Bot-tola” literally means “under the banyan tree.”

It’s not just a school, it’s a family.

Sadly, I don’t remember Mehedi and Yamin very well because they didn’t come to school on a regular basis. But the memories of Amzad and Shohag are vividly alive in my mind. These four boys had nobody to care for them, nobody to think about their safety -- but us. Each of their families had abandoned them, a long time ago, not being able to afford taking care of them.

When they died, their bodies were kept for a few days in the Dhaka Medical College morgue.

We’re all to blame. Because we’ve accepted that in this capitalistic society, some are meant to sail through life, while some are meant to get lost. And such acceptance is what makes me question whether we deserve to be called part of the most civilised race on Earth

Shohag’s father, upon hearing the news of his son’s death, took away Shohag’s body for burial. The other three bodies (Amzad, Yamin and Mehedi) weren’t claimed by anyone and were handed over to the philanthropic group Anjuman Mufidul, who fulfills the responsibility of burying unidentified corpses.

It’s still painstakingly hard to accept that we found out about the incident almost two weeks after it had happened. Or else we could’ve, at least, identified our boys and they wouldn’t have had to be buried as lone souls.

I’m sorry. I’m sorry you had to depart, unidentified, as if nobody loved you. But we did love you. We just failed to protect you.

What use was it that we taught these boys to read and write?

No use, when their lives had no protection, no security. These children had no home, no shelter, nor guarantee of food. They managed to collect plastic bottles and disposed paper to sell at small shops called “bhangaris.”

There are many such bhangaris

all over Dhaka, and it was in one of such bhangaris that our four boys worked. The owner of the bhangari had a go-down near her house. The boys collected their stuff during the day and organised the collectibles. They were paid Tk40 for every 2kg of stuff they could submit.

The owner of that particular bhangari used to give them three meals a day -- it kept the boys from starving. She also allowed the boys to take shelter in the go-down at night, but she locked the door from the outside. Apparently, she started locking it after many boys stole from her. We heard all this from Akash, the only survivor of that horrible fire.

They were all well-mannered, obedient, and kind boys. One may assume that they would be insolent because of their background, but they were kind and amiable. The only bad habit they had was that they were addicted to “daandi.” With drugs like daandi so easily available, and with these children leading such traumatic lives -- they were bound

to be victims of drug abuse.

On the night of February 24, Akash had been the only one who hadn’t taken daandi before sleeping. When, at 2am, a fire broke out from the mosquito coil -Akash was the first and only one to realise it. The heat had awakened him and in his frantic attempt to get out, he didn’t wake the others.

There was a small hole in the exhaust fan hole through which Akash screamed into the night that a fire had started. A man nearby heard him, notified the owner, and soon people started coming to the scene. Amzad, with fire all over his body, died right in front of Akash.

Shohag, Yamin, and Mehedi had large parts of their bodies burned and were taken to DMC where they departed.

They died in pain, they died too early. Only Akash lives today, a forlorn soul -- too young to have lost his comrades. His heartbroken face makes me wonder whether he’ll ever be able to laugh the same way again.

They’re gone. Nothing we do will change that. However, some-

where out there more children like them will keep living in great danger. Their deaths were reported in many leading newspapers, but somehow in every report their ages were exaggerated. Amzad was mentioned to be 25 years old in one report.

In truth, all four boys were below the age of 20. Maybe the variance in the reports were due to misinformation or negligence. It just goes to show that, in the end, the boys are just statistics now.

But sometimes even statistics can make a difference. Like how the death of these four boys has robbed our sleep, making us realise that we simply cannot let another child have the same fate.

Whose fault is it that our society is structured in such a way that street children are not given birth certificates and thus, are not even recognised as citizens of this country? Whose fault is it that drugs are so easily available? That something like daandi is so easy to be used by destitute children? Whose fault is it that these children have to resort to labour? Whose fault is it that they have no security, no shelter? Whose fault is it that their families can’t afford to rear them?

We’re all to blame. Because we’ve accepted that in this capitalistic society, some are meant to sail through life, while some are meant to get lost. And such acceptance is what makes me question whether we deserve to be called part of the most civilised race on Earth.

I deserve to lose sleep, because I failed them. We all failed them.

If we could’ve made a difference, maybe Amzad, Shohag, Yamin, and Mehedi wouldn’t have suffered like they did.

I don’t want to fail another child. I don’t want Amzad and his friends’ deaths to be in vain. I want to make sure the rest of our street children at Bot-tola school and around stay safe. I don’t know exactly how to do that, or where to start, but I’m going to try. And I invite you to try too. I know you’re in heaven Amzad, all four of you.

I know you’ve finally found the peace you deserve, the happiness that this world denied you. Watch over us from above, little brothers.

And know that you are loved.

We are holding a milad for Amzad, Shohag, Yamin and Mehedi on March 24, Thursday at 5pm at the bot-tola field (in front of the Arts building of Dhaka University). l Rubaiya Murshed is a co-founder of Shomman, Blue Roses Foundation, and member of the Bot-tola family.

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Business 15

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016

INSIDE

Survey: 91% Nordic firms in Bangladesh plan expansion n Tribune Report

Hanne FuglEskjaer and Norwegian Ambassador Merete Lundemo attended the event.

There has been a 9% rise in favorability of doing business in Bangladesh since 2013 with 56% of the Nordic businesses reporting a very favorable outlook in 2015, said the survey.

ating in Bangladesh think that the business climate in Bangladesh is favourable.

Some 53% believe that the power supply situation has improved significantly over the last two years. Such belief over the power situation was almost 19% in the 2013 survey.

The survey, however, said the scenario is not a 100% optimistic as many companies have identified scope of improvements in certain areas which the national decision makers should look into in order for Bangladesh to remain an attractive business and investment destination.

The main objectives of the survey were to monitor the business confidence of Nordic companies in Bangladesh, to assess Bangladesh’s future role among the emerging Asian economies, to gather the joint experience and knowledge of Nordic companies in order to facilitate future establishment of Nordic companies in Bangladesh and to be able to better understand trends in the Bangladeshi business environment, as the survey will be repeated in 2017. l

All Share Index 13,572.8 -0.7% ▼ 30 Index 12,209.3 -1.0% ▼ Selected Index 8,243.4 -0.7% ▼ Turnover in Mn Tk 203.1 -17.4% ▼ Turnover in Mn Vol 7.9 -17.3% ▼

Around 91% of Nordic companies operating in Bangladesh plan to increase their activities in Bangladesh over the next three years, reveals a new survey released in the city yesterday.

According to the survey, the reason behind increasing business activities in Bangladesh could be higher profits as 34% of the firms made higher profits compared to other markets they are active in a rise from 25% in 2013.

The Nordic Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Bangladesh (NCCI) with the Sweden Bangladesh Business Council (SBBC) and the three Nordic Embassies (Embassy of Sweden, Royal Norwegian Embassy and Royal Danish Embassy) conducted the survey titled “Business Confidence Survey 2015”. This is the second survey after 2013.

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed launched the survey at a functionorganised by the Nordic Embassies.

NCCI President ShamimUlHuq, Swedish Ambassador Johan Frisell, Danish Ambassador

NOVOAIR adds three new aircraft to fleet

Tk88,000 crore RADP to be placed in next NEC

China’s debt mountain will get even bigger China’s debt burden is only going to get bigger. Total borrowing has grown rapidly to reach about 250% of GDP last year, raising concerns about runaway credit. But pressure to meet unrealistic economic growth targets will delay any sustained effort to bring debt back down. PAGE 17

Capital market snapshot: Tuesday DSE Broad Index Index 30 Index

4,410.2 1,068.2 1,673.9

Turnover in Mn Tk

3,234.8 -24.9% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

97.8 -31.8% ▼

-0.7% ▼ -1.0% ▼ -1.0% ▼

CSE

n Tribune Report

NOVOAIR – the premium and largest private airline of Bangladesh – has added three new ATR 72-500 aircraft to its fleet recently.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon inaugurated the addition of 68 seater three aircraft to NOVOAIR fleet recently.

A programme was held yesterday at the conference room of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to mark the addition of new aircraft.

Aviation Minister also inaugurated the operation of Dhaka-Saidpur, Dhaka-Barisal and Dhaka-Rajshahi flights of NOVOAIR at the same programme.

With the new fleet, the number of NOVOAIR’s aircraft stands at six.

Outgoing chairman of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Air Vice Marshal Sanaul Huq, newly appointed CAAB Chairman Ahsanul Gani Chowdhury and high ups of NOVOAIR were present on the occasion. l

n Tribune Report Revised Annual Development Programme (RADP) of more than Tk88,000 crore will be placed for approval at the next meeting of National Economic Council (NEC), the country’s highest policy making body.

The proposed RADP was Tk9,000 crore or 9.3% down from Tk97,000 crore which the government targeted to spend in improving standard of the people’s life in the current fiscal year.

The planning ministry at an extension meeting held yesterday finalised the RADP outlay for placing it at the next meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) for seeking approval. Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal was present at the meeting.

Of the total RADP outlay, the government will provide Tk58,000 crore, down 6% from original allocation of Tk61,660 crore, and donors over Tk29,000 crore, down 17% from original

About 56% Nordic firms operating in Bangladesh think that the business climate in Bangladesh is favourable “The most common reason for starting a business in Bangladesh is the market demand, 16% of the respondents entered Bangladesh for cost efficient production and 12% of the respondents for efficient sourcing”.

About 56% Nordic firms oper-

allocation of Tk34,160 crore, according to the draft RADP. According to the RADP, the transport sector will get the highest allocation of around Tk19,640 crore, followed by the education and religious sector Tk 9,901.74 crore.

Other major allocation sectors, power will receive around Tk15296 crore, physical planning, water supply, and housing over Tk9,507 crore, rural development institution around Tk 8,120 crore, agriculture over Tk 4,284 crore and the health, nutrition, population, and family welfare around Tk5407 crore.

“The revision is a crucial to the government’s attempt to achieve the government’s annual economic targets,” said an official. The proposed RADP will be placed in NEC meeting likely to be held on March 29.

In the previous fiscal year, the government trimmed over Tk20,000 crore in framing RADP, down 25% from original ADP out-

lay of Tk80,314 crore.

The government in first eight months of the current fiscal year spent 34% to Tk34,674 crore out of entire annual allocation of TK97,000 crore, according to Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division. The current ADP consists of 1,215 projects, including own-funded ones under 53 ministries and divisions. l

DSEX slips to 4-month low n Tribune Report

Stocks declined yesterday with the benchmark index DSEX slipping to four-month low.

After remaining in green zone briefly in the morning, the market continued to decline till close of the session on selling pressure mainly on low cap issues.

The benchmark index DSEX was down almost 32 points or 0.8% to close at 4,410—its lowest since November 11 last year.

The Shariah index DSES shed 11 points or 1% to 1,068. The blue chip comprising index DS30 moved down 17 points or 1% to 1,673.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX ended at 8,243, dropping 61 points.

Sluggish trading activities were seen during the trading session.

The DSE total turnover stood at Tk323 crore, down more than 25% over the previous session’s value.

All the sectors suffered sell-off except banks and engineering, which remained almost unchanged in their stock prices.

Non-banking financial institutions experienced the highest loss of 1.3%, followed by telecommunication 1.2%, power 1%, textile 1.04%, pharmaceuticals 0.82% and food & allied 0.04%.

Shares of 314 companies were traded on the day. Of these, 90 companies closed positive, 175 negative while 49 remained unchanged.

Lanka Bangla Securities said after a rocky start in the session, stocks dropped sharply amid lackluster participation of investors.

Square Pharmaceuticals was the top turnover leader with shares worth about Tk24 crore changing hands, followed by Keya Cosmetics, AFC Agro, BSRM Limited, Beximco Pharmaceuticals and Aman Feed.

Eastern Lubricants was the biggest gainer with a rally of almost 8% while Summit Alliance Port Limited was the top loser falling over 9%. l

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18

Business

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016

Ecnec approves Tk398cr for public officials accommodation n Tribune Report The government will build 672 residential flats for public officials and employees at a cost of over Tk398 crore in Narayanganj.

The project got approval of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) in its meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair at the NEC conference yesterday.

The Public Works Department (PWD) under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works will implement the project by June 2019.

Under the project, some eight 15-storey buildings would be built

on 12.84 acres of land of PWD at Aliganj, which is barely five kilometres from the city’s Jatrabari area to address the accommodation problem of the government officials and employees.

Of the 672 flats, some 168 with 1,250 square feet, 168 with 1,000 square feet, 168 with 800 square feet and 168 with 650 square feet would be constructed.

About the project, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said the stance of the present government is very clear on solving accommodation problem faced by the government officials and employees.

He said such kind of accommo-

dation facilities would be built in the divisional cities, too. Considering the growing demand, multi-storey buildings would also be built at upazila level for the government officials and employees, he added.

The above construction project was one of the approved six projects worth Tk1,219 crore. Of the total project cost, Tk894.92 crore will come from the national coffer, Tk84.19 crore from the project related public agencies and Tk240.15 crore from the development partners.

The ECNEC also gave nod to another project titled “Embankment Protection of Rajapur and East Ilisha Union under Bhola Sadar

upazila from the erosion of River Meghna” with Tk279.42 crore.

Bangladesh Water Development Board under the Ministry of Water Resources will implement the project by June 2020.

The other approved projects are Tk324.34 crore poverty alleviation initiative at northern region (1st revised), Tk128.81 crore expansion of Rajshahi BSCIC industrial estate, Tk54.41 crore conducting inter-relation affairs survey of ecosystem of haor and rivers and Tk34.12 crore developing management framework of listed water bodies and permanent water bodies, fisheries development in greater Jessore. l

China’s debt mountain will get even bigger n Peter Thal Larsen China’s debt burden is only going to get bigger. Total borrowing has grown rapidly to reach about 250% of GDP last year, raising concerns about runaway credit. But pressure to meet unrealistic economic growth targets will delay any sustained effort to bring debt back down.

The government’s latest fiveyear plan highlights the dilemma.

Prime Minister Li Keqiang pledged that the world’s second-largest economy will expand by at least 6.5% a year, in real terms, until 2020. Meanwhile, planners expect total “social financing” – a broad measure of private sector credit – to grow by 13% in 2016 alone. So even if inflation reaches the optimistic target of 3%, debt will outstrip nominal GDP. Extend those trends, and borrowing will hit about 290% of annual output by 2020.

Central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan has expressed concerns about rising corporate debt levels but there’s little sign that China is

The headquarters of the Angolan state oil company Sonagol. Angola has found itself with a dwindling amount of crude to sell as more of its oil flows to China for debt repayment REUTERS reining in credit. Banks extended new loans worth 3.5tn yuan ($540bn) in the first two months of 2016, a third more than in the same period of last year. Meanwhile, Chinese companies are using domestic debt to help finance an overseas M&A binge which totals near-

ly $100bn this year, according to ThomsonOne. Though a healthier stock market would allow corporations to deleverage by issuing more equity, the collapse of last year’s bubble has made investors understandably skittish.

The government could perhaps

take on a greater burden: official borrowing was about 44% of GDP last year, according to Breakingviews calculations based on data from the Bank for International Settlements. That’s well below the level in developed countries.

However, this excludes borrowing by state-owned entities and local governments. Moody’s puts these contingent liabilities at between 50 and 70% of GDP. That leaves consumers, whose borrowings are just 39% of GDP. So households have plenty of scope to load up on mortgages and credit cards. A consumer credit boom might help deliver growth targets while also shifting the economy towards greater consumption. Whoever does the borrowing, however, debt levels will keep rising. As in the rest of the world, deleveraging will have to wait. l Peter Thal Larsen is Asia Editor of Reuters Breakingviews, based in Hong Kong. The article was initially published at Reuters.

German business confidence looks brighter again n AFP, Frankfurt Business and investor confidence in Germany rose in March, survey data showed yesterday, as scepticism about the outlook for Europe’s biggest economy fades slightly.

But caution is still warranted in view of ongoing uncertainty about the economic fallout from the slowdown in China, weak oil prices and the strength of the euro, analysts said.

And it was also too early to gauge what effect a string of deadly explosions in Brussels yesterday

will have on overall economic sentiment in the long run.

Both business and investor confidence have taken a battering in Germany in recent months amid concerns it cannot remain untouched by global uncertainties.

But in March, sentiment seems to be stabilising again, the survey data showed. The Ifo institute’s closely-watched business climate index rose by a stronger-than-expected one point to 16.7 points in March, Ifo said in a statement.

At the same time, a separate investor sentiment index compiled

by another think tank, ZEW, also edged up slightly, rising by 3.3 points to 4.3 points, but slightly short of analysts’ expectations.

The Ifo index is regarded as providing a more accurate gauge on real economic sentiment because it quizzes around 7,000 companies and businesses in the manufacturing, construction, wholesaling and retailing sectors.

It is calculated each month on the basis of companies’ assessments of the current business environment and the outlook for the next six months.

“German businesses are less sceptical than in February,” said Ifo chief Hans-Werner Sinn.

“Assessments of the current business situation improved, reaching their highest level in six months. After last month’s sharp decline, expectations also recovered somewhat,” Sinn said.

The ZEW barometer, on the other hand, polls around 200 analysts and institutional investors about their current assessment of the economic situation in Germany, as well as their expectations for the coming months. l

Janata Bank suspends officer n Tribune Report Janata Bank yesterday suspended one of its executive officers for an alleged embezzlement of around Tk2 crore.

The name of the suspended officer is Rajibul Hasan and worked at the deposit and cash department of Dilkusha local office, according to a press release issued by the stateowned bank.

However, the bank said it was able to recover an amount of Tk1.589 crore from him.

Informed by the local office, Janata Bank’s vigilance department investigated into the matter and found the irregularities. The bank filed a case on the matter with Motijheel thana.

The bank said a check in advance and original documents of a flat located in the capital’s Rayer Bazar were seized in an effort to recover the rest of the money.

Chief Executive Officer Abdus Salam said the depositors’ money was safe from the alleged misappropriation. He said the money was taken from the clients’ profit against fixed deposits. l

Dollar buoyed in Asia by bullish Fed comments n AFP, Tokyo The dollar held firm against the yen and the euro yesterday, after two Federal Reserve officials suggested the US central bank may raise interest rates as soon as next month.

The greenback reeled last week after Fed chair Janet Yellen evinced a decidedly dovish rate stance at the conclusion of a policy meeting on Wednesday.

Yellen had cited concerns about the impact on the US economy of recent global market turmoil, weakness in China and Europe, and the plunge in crude prices.

But San Francisco Fed President John Williams and Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said Monday that recent economic data may justify additional policy tightening after the central bank raised rates in December - its first hike in almost a decade.

“The US dollar has continued to recover some of its lost ground post the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) announcement last week” as it was partly supported by Fed officials’ suggestion that hikes could come sooner rather than later, National Australia Bank (NAB) said in a note to clients.

The comments helped the global reserve currency rebound from a near nine-month low touched last week after the decision, but further gains will depend on comments by other Fed officials, including Yellen. l

19

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016

| meals |

| festival |

Stand out starters at 3 Dragons at Pearl

Pohela Boishakh and Summer Exhibition at ERA HOUSE

3 Dragons at Pearl is a fine dining restaurant that has a selection of the finest Chinese food. Two of their specialities that stand out from the rest are:

On April 1 and 2, Friday and Saturday, ERA HOUSE is organising a fest of shopping focusing on upcoming Pohela Boishakh and summer season. The fair will be held at ACCL (All Community Club Ltd) at House 40, Road 35, Gulshan 2 in the capital. The main attractions for the visitors will be the very best designers’ party wear, wedding wear, regular wear, saris, bags, shoes, modern and ethnic jewelleries, home décor products, branded make-up products, etc. Designers will be showcasing products keeping the

Braised Beef Shin with tripe soaked in special Szechuan oil A starter that is served cold, special imported black beans are used for this dish. In China it is called Fuchitepian which means “husband and wife.”

Each ingredient used in the dish complements the other, making it a well rounded starter suited for just about any palette.

Black Fungus infused pickle chilli vinaigrette This is also another starter but it’s more on the dry side. Imported black mushrooms are marinated with garlic, ginger and special vinegar to give it a spiced feel.

Similar to the consistency and taste of pickle, this dish is not for the light hearted.

DT

Biz Info

upcoming festival and season in mind. The free-to-attend event will be open from 11am–9pm on both days. This event joined hands with renowned fashion labels and retail outlets, featuring Viola, Suvastraa, Sparkling Emotions, Muskaan Boutique, Shunanda, Zayna’s, Winglet, Vibgyor and 22 other brands. This is the 12th fair organised by ERA HOUSE to encourage more and more young entrepreneurs, especially women, by becoming a part of a successful platform of exposition. l

| ceremony |

Graduates from Founder Institute Dhaka

For more information, or to make reservations contact 3 Dragons at Pearl, Rangs Pearl Tower, Rd 12, Banani 1 or call +8801735-889118. l

| event |

Public Speaking Competition at BRAC

352 people had attended the pre-enrollment events. 132 applications were received. 29 were accepted and enrolled into the program and finally, after the grueling sessions, three startups successfully graduated from Founder Institute Dhaka. The graduation night was held at BASIS Auditorium on March 20, with Shameem Ahsan, president of BASIS and general partner at Fenox Venture capital honouring the event as the chief guest. The

graduating start-ups pitched their business in front of an esteemed panel of judges and top investors including Ahsan, Sajid Rahman, chief executive officer at Telenor Health and director of Founder Institute Bangladesh and Igor Kostenko, representative of the European Arm of Fenox. Minhaz Anwar and Anita Ghazi Islam, the two other directors of Founder Institute were also present at the event. l

| offers |

Combo meals at Crise Cardiac Grill and Clinic Cafe BRAC University Communication and Language Club’s (BUCLC) hosted a Public Speaking Competition among the undergraduate students on March 21, in the university Auditorium from 3pm to 6.30pm. Solaiman Shukhon, head of Business, WE phone,

aamra smart solutions, graced the occasion as the chief guest.

The sole purpose of this event was to promote public speaking skills among the students for their social and corporate excellence and create dependable critical thinkers and. introduce “Thought leaders,” who can lead

in their professional lives with confidence.

Roshni Shamim was the winner of the competition, Warda Asif, the first runner-up, and Muhtasim Rafid Ahmed, the second runner-up. l

Crise Cardiac Grill and Clinic Cafe have two brand new combo meals added to their already sumptuous menu. Combo Meal 1 features grilled chicken, fried rice, rolls, salad and more, price at only Tk275. Combo Meal 2 stacks up a combination of salad, vegetables, prawn in gravy, fried rice, along with other items just for Tk295. To avail this offer, grab your favourite combo set before time runs out. l

DT

20

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Popular drink (4) 4 Book of the Bible (4) 8 Not bright (3) 9 Period of time (4) 10 Says further (4) 11 Put at rest (5) 12 Shout (4) 14 Egg drink (3) 15 Rowing implement (3) 17 Dry, of champagne (3) 19 Drink slowly (3) 21 Organic compound (4) 23 Tasmanian river (5) 26 Protuberance (4) 27 Relief for the needy (4) 28 Unwell (3) 29 Mountain top (4) 30 Snow vehicle (4)

DOWN 1 Redskin warriors (6) 2 Whirlpool (4) 3 Got up (5) 4 Boring tool (3) 5 Stringed instrument (5) 6 Beverage (3) 7 Firmament (3) 11 Colloidal substance from kelp (5) 13 Unlucky contestant (5) 16 Lacerated (6) 18 Punctuation mark (5) 20 Place where votes are taken (5) 22 Soothe (4) 23 Faucet (3) 24 Beer (3) 25 Enquire (3)

Downtime CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 9 represents M so fill M every time the figure 9 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

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016

INSIDE

ANALYSIS

Is Belgium a hotbed for extremists?

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump exchanged jabs Monday as they separately courted a massive crowd of pro-Israel lobbyists, putting their differing views on supporting the Jewish state front and centre in their White House battle.

PAGE 22

Mission accomplished for UN Bosnian war crimes court?

Srebrenica, Vukovar, Sarajevo: towns and cities indelibly scarred by a painful and shameful history and seared forever into Europe’s collective conscience.

PAGE 23

BRUSSELS

Airport

PARIS BRUSSELS

Schaerbeek

Brussels International Airport

e

Molenbeek nn

Clinton, Trump spar in addresses to proIsrael lobby

Belgium seems an unlikely location for a hub of European extremist violence. But there are good reasons for the concentration of radical activity in the small Western European state.

Many of the problems that lead to militancy are common across the world, developing and developed, and though they may differ in severity, have the same consequences.

These include a sizeable and poorly integrated Muslim minority, high levels of youth unemployment in that community, the availability of arms, a highly developed communications and transport network passing through the country, authorities that have been often complacent, and always under-resourced and domestic political instability.

Like other countries, Belgium has also seen the apparently inexorable spread of a violent ideology through social media and among peers which, if it does not directly encourage violence, certainly promotes a hate-filled, intolerant and deeply conservative worldview.

The historic roots of the current problem are deep. As elsewhere in Europe, Belgium suffered waves of terrorism in the 1980s and 1990s linked to unrest in the Middle East.

In the 1990s, militancy in northern France connected to the Algerian civil war spilled over into Belgium. In the first half of the last decade, as European security services struggled to understand the new threat they faced, and bombs exploded in Madrid and London, Belgium was largely ignored, despite mounting evidence of ex-

The attacks in Belgium: what we know so far

Se

n Tribune Desk

Forest

Passenger terminal

Maelbeek metro 2 km

March 22

A little after 9:00 (local time) Explosion at Maelbeek ZAVENTEM metro station Around 8:00 Two explosions at Brussels Federal International Airport parliament March 21 Prime minister’s residence Najim Laachraoui, whose DNA was found on explosives found in police raid, still on the run Parc de Bruxelles March 18 Maelbeek Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam arrested in Brussels March 15 Shooting in Brussel’s Forest Palais Royal district. Mohammed Belkaid, who had links to the Paris European attackers, shot dead. Salah 200 m Parliament Abdeslam’s fingerprints found on site.

tremist networks based in the country.

While a sizeable contingent Belgians made their way to Iraq, another large one travelled to Afghanistan. In 2008, a network sending young Belgian Muslims to al-Qaeda training camps was broken up. Many appeared disappointed by what they found in the combat zone but that did not seem to stem the flow. Several returned with the intention of com-

mitting attacks at home, Belgian prosecutors claimed.

However, as in other European countries, it was the war in Syria that catalysed deep existing problems. By some estimates, Belgium has supplied the highest per capita number of fighters to Syria of any European country. Experts say about 450 out of a total population of 11m that includes fewer than half a million Muslims have travelled.

500 m

European Commission

Council of Europe

Maps4news.com

Molenbeek, a borough of 90,000 in the capital where some neighbourhoods are up to 80% Muslim, is seen by many as a particular problem. Some commentators have claimed Molenbeek is a virtual no-go area where “police have little grip”. But interviews on the ground reveal a diverse community struggling to come to deal with a significant problem.  PAGE 22 COLUMN 1

CHRONICLE

String of attacks in Western Europe in recent years US commander apologises for Afghanistan hospital bombing The new commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan apologised on Tuesday for the American bombing of a hospital last year that killed 42 people and wounded 37 more.

PAGE 23

Deadly attacks Tuesday at the Brussels airport and a metro station in the city are the latest in a string of attacks in Europe in recent years.

Here are some of the most recent major ones--

November 13, 2015 Dae’sh-linked extremists attack the Bataclan concert hall and other sites across Paris, killing 130 people.

A key suspect in the attack, 26-yearold Salah Abdeslam, is arrested in Brussels on March 18, 2016.

January 7, 2015

March 2012

July 7, 2005

A gun assault on the Paris offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo kills 12 people. al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claims responsibility for the attack, saying it was in revenge for Charlie Hebdo’s depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.

A gunman claiming links to al-Qaeda kills three Jewish schoolchildren, a rabbi and three paratroopers in Toulouse, southern France.

52 commuters are killed in London when four al-Qaeda-inspired suicide bombers blow themselves up on three subway trains and a bus.

July 22, 2011

March 11, 2004

Anti-Muslim extremist Anders Behring Breivik plants a bomb in Oslo then launches a shooting massacre on a youth camp on Norway’s Utoya island, killing 77 people, many of them teenagers.

Bombs on three commuter trains in rush-hour, bound to Madrid’s Atocha station, kill 191 people in Europe’s worst extremist attack. l

May 24, 2014 Four people are killed at the Jewish Museum in Brussels by an intruder with a Kalashnikov. The accused is a former French fighter linked to Dae'sh group in Syria.

Source: AP

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22

World

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016

SOUTH ASIA

Suu Kyi to be Myanmar foreign minister Aung San Suu Kyi will be foreign minister in Myanmar’s first civilian government for decades, her party said Tuesday. The NLD only named 15 ministers for 18 posts, sparking speculation that Suu Kyi would take on four portfolios - widely believed to be foreign affairs, education, energy and the president’s office.

-AFP

INDIA

India to host BRICS summit in October India will host a summit of the emerging BRICS nations in October, New Delhi said Tuesday.

Leaders of the so-called BRICS nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - will meet in the western Indian state of Goa on October 15 and 16. India last month took over chairmanship of the grouping, which represents 40% of the world’s population.

-AFP

CHINA

China protests Japanese textbook revisions Beijing has protested to Tokyo over its approval of new highschool textbooks that describe disputed islands as Japanese territory, China’s foreign ministry said Tuesday. Beijing also objected to reports that the books will alter descriptions of the Nanjing Massacre, a period of mass murder and rape committed by Japanese troops after the fall of the Chinese city of Nanjing in 1937.

-AFP

ASIA PACIFIC

UN lifts North Korea sanctions on 4 ships The UN Security Council agreed on Monday to a Chinese request to remove sanctions on four ships the UN had blacklisted for ties to Pyongyang’s arms trade.

The agreement came after China secured assurances the vessels would not use North Korean crews. China conducts 90% of the trade with North Korea and is the key to enforcing them.

-REUTERS

MIDDLE EAST

Amnesty urges US, UK to halt arming Saudi in Yemen

Amnesty on Tuesday urged Washington and London to halt arms deliveries to Saudi Arabia for the sake of saving civilian lives.

In a statement released one year into the Saudi-led intervention and titled Reckless arms flows decimate civilian lives, the rights watchdog urged the two Western powers and other states to halt all transfers of arms for use in the Yemen conflict.

-AFP

Clinton, Trump spar in addresses to pro-Israel lobby n AFP, Washington, DC Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump exchanged jabs Monday as they separately courted a massive crowd of pro-Israel lobbyists, putting their differing views on supporting the Jewish state front and centre in their White House battle.

Democrat Clinton positioned herself as an unwavering friend to Israel, while bashing her rival as prejudiced and insufficiently supportive of one of America’s closest allies.

It was a sign of likely points of attack should she face the Republican front-runner in November’s US presidential election.

“We need steady hands, not a

president who says he’s neutral on Monday, pro-Israel on Tuesday and who knows what on Wednesday, because everything’s negotiable,” the Democratic front-runner told nearly 18,000 attendees at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s annual policy conference.

“Israel’s security is non-negotiable.”

Trump traded the guerrilla tactics of his campaign for a day of more strategic political positioning, making three separate stops in Washington in a bid to look and sound more presidential as he and Clinton appeared to shift from their primary contests toward the general election.

At Aipac, he dismissed the former secretary of state as “a total disaster,” and proclaimed his own “lifelong” love and support for Israel.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

Is Belgium a hotbed for extremists?

The role of mosques in Belgium is controversial too.

Reports emerged lately of several clerics preaching in mosques who travelled to Syria last year.

Counter-terrorism investigators believe there are two profiles of militants: the naive idealists who were the first wave to travel to Syria, and a second wave of much more violent extremists prepared to strike in their homeland. The latter have often long histories of involvement in sometimes serious crime.

One of those was Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who organised the attacks in Paris. The causes of the attacks are still unfolding but previous outrages show that terrorists often strike close to home.

But few were reassured as a wavering government of a country that has always had difficulty reconciling its French- and Flemish-speaking communities and is prone to political instability, made a series of seemingly contradictory announcements about the security situation.

Belgian security services appeared – despite the quality of many individual officials – overwhelmed.

It was revealed that a few hundred agents were supposed to watch over thousands of potential militants. However, A £200m counter-terrorism package was announced last month. It was too late.

Once again it was the one who got away who may have led to many more deaths, Salah Abdeslam.

Local officials admitted on Tuesday they were well aware of what sympathisers might do in response to that arrest. Over coming days, and years, they will have to explain why they failed to stop an attack they knew was coming. l

[The full version of the article was first published in The Guardian. You can find the full story here at http://bit. ly/1px3lHz]

“When I become president, the days of treating Israel like a second-class citizen will end on day one,” Trump told America’s most influential pro-Israel lobby in a speech notable in part because it had been crafted in advance and he read off teleprompters.

Trump’s appearance was a point of contention for some, including a number of rabbis who vowed to walk out in protest. His address went ahead uninterrupted.

Clinton earlier implored the crowd: “If you see a bully, stand up to him.”

Republicans Ted Cruz and John Kasich also addressed the meeting, while Clinton’s Democratic nomination challenger Bernie Sanders, who is Jewish, declined citing a heavy campaign schedule.

Trump has stressed in the past he wanted to be a neutral broker

between Israel and Palestinians and not take “sides” when it came to peace talks.

On Monday, he seemed to change tack.

“We will move the embassy (from Tel Aviv) to the eternal capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem,” he said to a standing ovation.

“And we will send a clear signal that there is no daylight between America and our most reliable ally, the state of Israel.”

Clinton said she would forcefully counter anti-Semitism, thwart Iran’s proxies like Hezbollah and fight against a movement to boycott Israeli products.

But where she supported President Barack Obama’s historic nuclear deal with Iran, Trump insisted his “number one priority” would be to dismantle the agreement. l

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016

ANALYSIS US commander apologises for Afghanistan hospital bombing n Reuters, Kunduz n AFP, The Hague The new commander of US and Nato

USA

Mission accomplished for UN Bosnian war crimes court?

forces in Afghanistan apologised on Tuesday for the American bombing of a hospital last year that killed 42 people and wounded 37 more.

General John W Nicholson met family members of victims and the staff of the now-closed Medecins Sans Frontieres hospital in Kunduz.

“As commander, I wanted to come to Kunduz personally and stand before the families, and people of Kunduz, to deeply apologise for the events” that led to the bombing, Nicholson said.

A US investigation found that the October 3 air strike was a “tragic and avoidable” incident, primarily caused by human error. The US military has disciplined more than a dozen personnel, including officers following the strike.

MSF, known as Doctors Without Borders in English, has in the past publicly cast doubt on the idea that the strike could have been a mistake.

The brief capture of the Kunduz provincial capital was arguably the biggest victory for the Taliban militants in the 15-year war.

Afghan security forces, who suffered a record number of losses last year, have been struggling to contain Taliban militants who are fighting to topple the government of President Ashraf Ghani.

Violence is at its worst since the departure of most foreign combat troops from Afghanistan in 2014 as the country is bracing for the start of the spring fighting season. l

Srebrenica, Vukovar, Sarajevo: towns and cities indelibly scarred by a painful and shameful history and seared forever into Europe’s collective conscience.

For 23 years, their names and the memories of tens of thousands of victims have stalked the halls of the UN tribunal set up to punish those behind genocide, mass rapes and ethnic cleansing during Yugoslavia’s violent death throes.

Now as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) prepares to deliver its final verdicts before closing its doors in 2017 and handing over to another mechanism, opinion on its legacy is divided.

Established by a UN mandate in May 1993, the court based in The Hague was a trailblazer in laying down ground-breaking jurisprudence for trying the worst of all crimes -- a decade before the creation of the International Criminal Court.

With a judgement on Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Kardazic due on Thursday and a verdict expected in 2017 against notorious military chief Ratko Mladic, prosecutors say they have fulfilled a tough mission.

The ICTY itself boasts “it has irreversibly changed the landscape of international humanitarian law and provided victims an opportunity to voice the horrors they witnessed and experienced”.

Brazil’s political crisis Timeline 2014 March Extensive moneylaundering network revealed 2015 February Graca Foster quits as Petrobras president 2016 February 23 Rousseff and Lula’s campaign chief Joao Santana detained

A Bosnian Croat soldier blindfolds Muslim prisoners before turning them over to Bosnian Serb forces for interrogation in Konjic in this 1993 file photo REUTERS It also has an unrivalled record -- all of the 161 people indicted on charges of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity have been caught and processed.

No fugitives

Even though former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic died in his cell in 2006 before his trial ended, 80 others have been sentenced, most of whom are still serving long jail terms.

The court played an important role in investigating atrocities on the ground -- even during the height of the fighting -- amassing nine million pages of documents, leaving a major legacy for historians and activists.

Brammertz also highlights the ICTY’s outreach to national courts established in Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia where thousands of individuals are still under investigation.

Prosecutions and accountability are “one of the ways you remove the poison that affects the

1

April 1st convictions over Petrobras scandal

At the centre of the storm

Dilma Rousseff

68 years old President (2011-) She faces moves to have her impeached

Source: Ministerio Publico Federal

December First accusation against firms for having over-valued Petrobras contracts

June Chiefs of 2 Brazilian construction giants detained as part of the Petrobras probe

March 4 Police briefly detain Lula at his home

March 8 Ex-building boss Marcelo Odebrecht gets 19-year jail term for money laundering, corruption

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

70 years old President (2003-2010) Accused of corruption, money laundering

Trump calls for tough border security after Brussels attacks Donald Trump wasted little time reacting to the terrorist attacks in Brussels — weighing in with multiple television interviews before even talking to his new foreign-policy advisers. In an interview on NBC, Trump said as president he would be very tough on the borders, and would be not allowing certain people to come into this country without absolute perfect documentation. -REUTERS

THE AMERICAS

whole body politic,” added Rapp, now an expert with The Hague Institute for Global Justice.

But the court’s reputation was undeniably blemished by several high-profile acquittals, amid unsubstantiated rumours of pressure by the US. And experts caution that some of the tribunal’s loftiest ambitions -- such as its UN mission to restore and maintain peace in the region -- remain unfulfilled.

Another problem was that, over time, the court was to some extent “hijacked” by the political agendas of the new Balkans nations as they jostled to join the European Union.

And while justice has been served for many, the sheer scale of the barbarity means it has not been delivered to all, experts agree.

Perhaps the court’s most telling legacy are the haunting statements of those who pleaded guilty. l

The state oil giant issues calls for tender

4 $

Petrobas executives, politicians, implicated

August Lula’s former chief of cabinet, Jose Dirceu, accused of corruption

43 years old Judge leading the Petrobras probe, has aggressively pursued politicians but accused of being too political

3

September Ex-ruling party treasurer Jose Vaccari Neto jailed for 15 years for money laundering

March 9 Prosectuors call for Lula’s arrest on money laundering charges in the Petrobras affair

Sergio Moro

2

Constructions companies form a cartel and propose overpayments of 1-6% Front companies are set up with foreign bank accounts December First moves towards impeachment of President Rousseff for alleged abuse of public money

March 17 Rousseff swears in Lula as cabinet chief but a judge suspends his appointment

Petrobras

State oil company Losses of nearly $ 1 billion in Q3 of 2015 One of Brazil’s flagship companies worldwide

Crack smoking ex-Toronto mayor dies at 46 Rob Ford, the former mayor of Toronto who gained global notoriety for admitting to smoking crack cocaine while in office, died from cancer on Tuesday, his office said. The Toronto city councillor, 46, had been undergoing treatment for an aggressive form of cancer that had reoccurred despite surgery and several rounds of chemotherapy.

-REUTERS

UK

Cameron seeks to end party infighting British Prime Minister David Cameron backed his embattled finance minister George Osborne on Monday in a bid to stem a bout of infighting triggered by the resignation of a senior minister. Cameron’s Conservative Party, already divided over a forthcoming referendum on membership of the EU, descended into chaos over the weekend after Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith resigned with a fierce critique of Osborne.

-REUTERS

EUROPE

UNHCR won’t work in Greek detention centres

The Petrobras affair: heart of the scandal

October Dilma Rousseff re-elected with 51.65% of the vote

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World

March 18 A court overturns the judge’s stay on Lula’s appointment

El ‘Club’

Cartel of Brazil’s main construction firms (Odebrecht, Andrade Gutierrez, Camargo Correa...)

The United Nations refugee agency said on Monday it would not operate in detention centres on the Greek island of Lesbos for migrants and refugees arriving from Turkey, dealing a blow to the EU agreement with Ankara last week. The UNHCR said migrants and refugees were being held against their will at the reception facilities. The EU-Turkey deal has crossed a red line in its policy, the UNHCR said.

-REUTERS

AFRICA

65 Shabaab insurgents killed in Somalia Somalia security forces have killed 65 al Shabaab insurgents who attacked coastal towns in the semi-autonomous Puntland area in the country’s northeast, the regional army chief said Monday. General Muhidin Ahmed Muse said 65 of the militants had been killed so far and 31 others, most of them children, were captured alive.

-AFP

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INSIDE

V Bangladesh

60 20 38 2 0

Nehra fully aware of Tigers’ strength

India Played Won Lost No result

Head-to-head

70 43 26 1 4

PLAYERS TO WATCH

In their pursuit of the World T20 title, hosts India received a jolt as they fell to a comprehensive 47-run defeat against New Zealand in their Super 10 opener. The home side somewhat recovered their composure in the next game against eternal rival Pakistan. PAGE 27

Bangladesh V India

MAHMUDULLAH Bangladesh

Legendary footballer Arzoo no more Former legendary footballer Fazlur Rahman Arzoo has passed away due to old-age complicacies in Chittagong yesterday. He was 89. The national award winning footballer was one of the most decorated names in the football arena and was a regular in the East Pakistan football side. PAGE 27

Bangladesh limited-over vice-captain Shakib al Hasan gestures during a press conference in Bangalore yesterday

‘Mathematically its still possible to make the semis’ Uddin Khan n Minhaz from Bangalore

Bangladesh hails ‘valiant’ T20 Tigers Bangladesh hailed its “valiant” cricketers after a narrow threewicket loss to giants Australia at the World T20 that all but puts the Tigers out of the tournament. The Aussies condemned Bangladesh to a second straight defeat. PAGE 28

'Alonso ‘would have died’ 20 years ago' A crash like the one suffered by Fernando Alonso in the Australian Grand Prix would have been fatal in a previous era, former FIA president Max Mosley said.

Since Ayrton Senna’s death, Jules Bianchi is the only F1 driver to have lost his life in a race. PAGE 29

ICC

Given the current scenario, the Bangladesh-India cricket rivalry has all the ingredients in place to become one of the hottest rivalries in the world.

The political history of the India-Pakistan and England-Australia rivalries has been a major factor behind their on-field animosity but there is a slight difference with the Bangladesh-India rivalry.

Granted, there has been some spicy on-field incidents between Bangladesh and India but it is more the off-field incidents that made the cricket-mad Tigers supporters adopt a war mode whenever the two sub-continent sides meet each other.

Be it India limited-over captain MS Dhoni clashing shoulders with Bangladesh pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman last year or the recent conspiracy theories behind the suspensions of fast bowler Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny; the Bangladesh fans are never short of excitement whenever they are up against their neighbour in a game of cricket.

A wounded Bangladesh face hosts India today in their third Super 10 game of the ongoing 2016 World Twenty20 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium and thus the social media, mostly on this side of the border, has gone soaring again.

Bangladesh limited-over vice

TODAY'S MATCHES 3:30PM, GROUP 1

England v Afghanistan 8:00PM, GROUP 2

India v Bangladesh Maasranga TV, Gazi TV, Star Sports 1

captain Shakib al Hasan though believes the Tigers cricketers do not feel the same heat as the supporters and said the India tie will be just another day in the office for both sets of teams.

“I do not think any (Bangladesh) player thinks about all these. These are all for social media, and mainstream media. I have never felt the heat as a cricketer, to be honest. Never thought

of it in such a way regarding a particular game. I am sure none in the India camp thinks about all these,” Shakib explained to the media in Bangalore yesterday.

“Everyone in the team are matured. I do not think we need to do anything special to keep the team moving and motivated. The biggest inspiration for one should be playing for his country. You going into the middle means you have the opportunity to do something for your country. So thinking that way should be the biggest inspiration for a player,” said the ace all-rounder.

Following two wins in the first round that guaranteed the Tigers’ progression to the Super 10, all the attention suddenly turned to the semi-finals of the flagship event but after defeats against Pakistan and Australia, Bangladesh’s last-four hopes have been dealt a major blow.

“Mathematically, it is still possible to make it to the semis but then again, we also know how tough that is going to be. We are taking game by game. I am sure the team have an ambition but you have to take it step by step,” said Shakib. l

The ever dependable Mahmudullah once again proved what he is capable of against Australia. The stylish right-hander, revered for his consistent displays, took charge coming in at No 6. Just when his side required some lusty blows, Mahmudullah duly delivered, smashing a delightful undefeated 29-ball 49 to enable the Tigers to a challenging total of 156.

The men in red and green will surely be hoping for yet another heroic effort from the Mymensingh lad when they take on hosts India today in a crucial Super 10 clash.

VIRAT KOHLI India

He has probably been the most successful batsman for India in the last couple of years. The 27year old is in scintillating touch, having scored a match-winning unbeaten 55 against arch-rival Pakistan last Saturday at Eden Gardens. When the going gets tough, Kolhi gets going so the Bangladesh bowlers will be desperate to dismiss Kohli early. Because if the righthander stays at the middle for long, the opposition suffers greatly more often than not.

MAZHAR UDDIN

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Nehra fully aware of wounded Tigers’ strength Uddin n Mazhar from Bangalore

Indian cricket team director Ravi Shastri (L) watches Jasprit Bumrah bowl in the nets during training yesterday ahead of their match against Bangladesh AP

Eng determined to avoid fresh humiliation n AFP, New Delhi Skipper Eoin Morgan vowed that England would not take lowly Afghanistan lightly in a must-win WT20 tie today after exiting their last two major tournaments with egg on their face.

England’s 2014 World T20 campaign ended in an embarrassing 45run defeat against the Netherlands while a disastrous showing at last year’s 50 over World Cup was capped by a chastening loss to Bangladesh.

Morgan’s side will hope to record a resounding win against Afghanistan today. Speaking to reporters on the eve of the match, Morgan recalled the “horrific” feeling in the dressing-room at the time of the Dutch debacle but said the atmosphere was totally different after Friday’s morale-boosting victory over.l

V England

83 40 39 4 1

Afghanistan Played Won Lost No result Head-to-head

46 28 18 0 0

In their pursuit of the 2016 World Twenty20 title, hosts India received a jolt as they fell to a comprehensive 47-run defeat against New Zealand in their Super 10 opener.

The home side somewhat recovered their composure in the next game against eternal rival Pakistan, coasting to a six-wicket victory.

With a win and a loss in their two Super 10 matches, India are fully aware that today’s clash against sub-continent rival Bangladesh will be a do-or-die affair as a defeat can very well dash their hopes of making it into the semi-finals.

On the eve of the Bangladesh encounter, India left-arm paceman Ashish Nehra praised the opposition and said they need to be on their guard against the Tigers who have come of age in recent times following several series wins against the established orders.

“Everyone knows that Bangladesh are playing good cricket as they have beaten Pakistan and Sri Lanka to reach the final of the Asia Cup [Twenty20]. In the last two-

three years, Bangladesh have improved a lot, which is outstanding, and there is no room for us to take them lightly. We have to play our best cricket to beat them,” Nehra told the press conference previewing the India-Bangladesh tie at M Chinnaswamy Stadium yesterday.

The Bangladesh camp was rocked recently in the shape of the suspensions of fast bowler Taskin Ahmed and spinner Arafat Sunny, who were barred from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect. Despite the absence of the bowling duo, Nehra still believes the Tigers are a formidable unit.

“Taskin is undoubtedly one of their best in-form bowlers and it was crucial losing him. But Mustafiz [Rahman], who made a comeback in the side from injury, will be vital along with Al Amin [Hossain] and Shakib [al Hasan] so I don’t think losing one or two bowlers will make their bowling attack weak,” said the 36-year old Nehra, who scripted a return to the side in the ongoing World T20 following a five-year hiatus.

“I think Mustafiz is brilliant in limited-over cricket. Especially his

Kiwi Guptill flays Pakistan n AFP, Mohali New Zealand booked their place in the semi-finals of the World Twenty20 after beating Pakistan by 22 runs in their Super 10 stage match yesterday.

Pakistan managed only 158 for five wickets in their 20 overs after New Zealand, who secured their third straight win, posted 180-5 after opting to bat. Opener Martin Guptill smacked a quickfire 80 off 48 balls hitting three sixes and 10 fours in his entertaining knock after skipper Kane Williamson won

the toss and elected to bat on what looked like a sporting wicket at the Punjab Cricket Association ground.

Ross Taylor chipped in with an unbeaten 23-ball 36 to help his side put up a strong total to defend.

After a tentative start, Guptill smacked a huge six and a boundary off left-arm paceman Mohammad Irfan in the second over to set the pace for his innings.

Irfan's new ball partner Mohammad Amir was not spared either, whacked for three fours by Guptill, the last two off consecutive balls.

The Kiwis raced to 62-0 off

slower deliveries are outstanding.

He has a God-gifted slower delivery which he does along with a very good bowling action. He is a very bright prospect in limited-over cricket. The good thing is he is in my team at the IPL (Indian Premier League) and it’s a good thing for me as I said he is a very talented bowler,” he added.

Future team mates Mustafizur and Nehra will turn out for the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise in the upcoming ninth edition of the IPL starting next month.l

SCORECARD

eight overs before Williamson was caught off Irfan for 17.

Pakistan struck again soon with captain Shahid Afridi (2-40) sending back new batsman Colin Munro (7) in the first over that he bowled.

Guptill appeared unruffled as he raced to his 10th half-century in T20 internationals with a couple off Afridi, prompting a standing ovation from his teammates in the dressing room. But just as Guptill looked set for a bigger score, he chopped on to his stumps off Mohammad Sami, who was most impressive among the bowlers with figures of 2-23. l

NEW ZEALAND INNINGS Guptill b Sami Williamson c Afridi b Irfan Munro c Khalid b Afridi Anderson c Malik b Afridi Taylor not out Ronchi c Malik b Sami Elliott not out Extras (lb 4, w 3) Total (5 wickets; 20 overs)

R 80 17 7 21 36 11 1 7 180

B 48 21 6 14 23 7 1

FoW: 1-62, 2-75, 3-127, 4-132, 5-164 Bowling Amir 4-0-41-0, Irfan 4-0-46-1, Sami 4-023-2, Imad 4-0-26-0, Afridi 4-0-40-2 PAKISTAN INNINGS Sharjeel c Guptill b Milne Shehzad c Guptill b Santner Khalid c Elliott b Santner Umar c Guptill b Milne Afridi c Anderson b Sodhi Malik not out Sarfraz not out Extras (lb 5, w 4) Total (5 wickets; 20 overs)

R 47 30 3 24 19 15 11 9 158

B 25 32 7 26 9 13 8

FoW: 1-65, 2-79, 3-96, 4-123, 5-140

New Zealand's Martin Guptill goes big during their World Twenty20 match against Pakistan in Mohali yesterday

Bowling

REUTERS

TEAM

M W

L Pts

New Zealand Pakistan Australia India Bangladesh

3 3 2 2 2

0 2 1 1 2

Santner 4-0-29-2, Anderson 2-0-14-0, Milne 4-0-26-2, McClenaghan 4-0-43-0, Elliott 2-0-16-0, Sodhi 4-0-25-1 New Zealand won by 22 runs MoM: Martin Guptill (NZ)

GROUP 2 3 1 1 1 0

NRR

6 +1.283 2 +0.254 2 +0.108 2 -0.895 0 -1.749

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Belgium training called off after blasts n AFP, Brussels

QUICK BYTES BJMC, Naogaon face off in Junior Handball final BJMC and Naogaon district reached the final of the Lotto 3rd National Junior (Under-19) Women’s Handball Championship after winning their respective semi-finals convincingly at Shaheed M Mansur Ali National Handball Stadium in Paltan yesterday. BJMC outplayed Faridpur district 24-7 in the day’s first semi-final while Naogaon also earned a comfortable 12-6 victory over Panchagarh district. The grand finale and the third-place deciding match will be held today at the same venue.

–TRIBUNE REPORT

Cech wins Czech award for eighth time Czech Republic international goalkeeper Petr Cech was named Czech player of the year for the eighth time on Monday, in a vote by coaches, players and club officials.

The 33-year-old Arsenal player capped 118 times since making his international debut in 2002 - beat fellow internationals David Lafata, a striker with Sparta Prague, and Hertha Berlin midfielder Vladimir Darida. Cech joined Arsenal from Premier League champions Chelsea last June after making over 400 appearances during 11 years at Stamford Bridge. The Czech Republic have qualified for Euro 2016 in France where they play Spain, Croatia and Turkey in Group D.

Former Tottenham and QPR boss Harry Redknapp (C), who has been appointed manager of the Jordan team for their next two games, attends a training session ahead of an Asian qualifying Group B match against Bangladesh at Jordanian International Stadium in Amman on Monday REUTERS

Lights go out on Brazil ahead of friendly match n Reuters, Sao Paulo

Brazil’s Olympic soccer team trained in the headlights of a lorry on Monday after the floodlights failed at their training ground, local news media reported.

Officials called for a truck to be parked alongside the pitch after the lights went out at the Engenheiro Araripe stadium, allowing the players to practice ahead of tomorrow’s friendly against Nigeria.

The match is being played in Espirito Santo, a small coastal state where no games were held during the 2014 World Cup. Brazil built or renovated 12 stadiums for the competition. Rafinha Alcantara (Barcelona), Andreas Pereira (Manchester United) and Felipe Anderson (Lazio) are among the biggest names in the squad. l

–AFP

City fans ready to stage ticket prices walkout Manchester City supporters are considering walkout protests after criticising the club’s ticket prices for the forthcoming Champions League quarter-final showdown against Paris St Germain.

City claim the £60 ($86) cost of top-priced tickets is a “fair reflection of the profile of the game”, with the cheapest seats available for £45.

–AFP

Hulk Hogan gets $140 mn in sex-tape case Jurors on Monday awarded wrestling star Hulk Hogan a total of $140 million - $25 million more than he was granted last week over a sex tape posted by entertainment website Gawker. The 62-year-old Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, successfully argued that the posting of the secretly recorded video featuring him and a friend’s wife - which is less than two minutes long - invaded his privacy and humiliated him.

–AFP

Legendary footballer Arzoo no more n Tribune Report

Fazlur Rahman Arzoo, the former legendary footballer and first ever captain of Dhaka Mohammedan Club in the 1950s, has passed away due to old-age complicacies at his residence in Chittagong yesterday. He was 89.

The national award winning footballer was one of the most decorated names in the Dhaka football arena and was a regular fixture in the East Pakistan football side. He was also one among very few players from Bangladesh to have played for the Pakistan football team.

Arzoo, whose preferred playing position was in and around the right wing, began his Dhaka league career for Wari Club in 1951 before plying his trade for Wanderers Club from 1953-55. Arzoo then joined Dhaka Mohammedan and stayed there for three seasons. Arzoo also played in one of the oldest tournaments in the world – the IFA Shield in Kolkata for both Wari and Wanderers.

After hanging up his boots in 1958, Arzoo played a key role in developing the game as an organiser. Following the liberation war, he worked tirelessly for the Bangladesh Sports Control Board.

He also coached BKSP, Chittagong Army and Navy teams. He was awarded with the national award in 1979 for his contribution in sports. l

Training for Belgium’s friendly football match against Portugal was called off yesterday following the deadly explosions that rocked Brussels airport and metro.

“All our thoughts at this moment are with the victims (of the blasts). Football is not the priority today. Training cancelled,” the Belgian Football Federation posted on its Twitter account.

There was no immediate word if the match, due to be played next Tuesday at the King Baudoin stadium in the Belgian capital, would go ahead. Belgium are the top ranked team in the world. l

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Bangladesh hails ‘valiant’ T20 Tigers n AFP, Dhaka

The front page of some local dailies following Bangladesh’s Super 10 match against Australia

MEHEDI HASAN

Bangladesh hailed its “valiant” cricketers yesterday after a narrow three-wicket loss to giants Australia at the World T20 that all but puts the Tigers out of the tournament.

The Aussies condemned Bangladesh to a second straight defeat but a late fight back by Mashrafe Mortaza’s depleted side earned universal praise from print and social media in the cricket-mad nation.

“Valiant Tigers go down fighting,” declared the Dhaka Tribune.

The New Age and Daily Star newspapers also praised Bangladesh’s “fighting” spirit in Monday’s Super 10 Group Two match in Bangalore.

Australia opener Usman Khawaja hit a quick 50 as his team successfully chased down Bangladesh’s total of 156 for five, with only nine balls to spare.

But Bangladesh’s string of bowlers had mounted a spirited attack after suffering a devastating blow when ace pacer Taskin Ahmed and spinner Arafat Sunny were suspended for illegal bowling actions at the weekend.

The team’s most successful batsman Tamim Iqbal, who has been in great form prior to the match, was also pulled out at the last moment after he suffered stomach trouble.

Bangladesh lost heavily to Pakistan in their Super 10 opener. l

Five things we’ve learnt so far in World T20

Aussies still to master Twenty20

World champions in ODI cricket and number one in Tests, the Australians arrived in India determined to fill the one major gap in their trophy cabinet. But after defeat to New Zealand in their opener followed by a scrappy win over Bangladesh, skipper Steve Smith admits his youthful side are struggling to adapt to different conditions and “we’ve got to improve”. The experiment of dropping David Warner down the order from his usual position as opener has not paid off.

Never write off the Black Caps

After their talisman Brendon McCullum retired on the eve of the tournament, this was meant to be a period of transition for New Zealand. In both their matches against India and Australia, most pundits saw their batting totals as some way short of being winning scores. But marshalled by astute new skipper Kane Williamson, their bowlers held their nerve and skittled out their opponents’ illustrious top-orders cheaply.

Rookie spinner Mitchell Santner tops the wickets chart.

New-look England walk the talk

England have long struggled in cricket’s shortest form due to an inability to score runs - not any more. Captain Eoin Morgan promised a new, “brash and aggressive” England and they lived up to that billing in a thrilling win over South Africa when they pulled off the highest successful run chase by any team at a World T20. Their 230 for 8 with two balls to spare was also England’s record total.

Morgan will fancy his side’s chances of posting big scores in their two remaining group matches.

It was known that defending champions Sri Lanka might struggle with the bat after the retirements of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. But pace spearhead Lasith Malinga’s injury withdrawal and Rangana Herath’s lack of bite mean the holders lack obvious match-winners ahead of their tougher assignments against England and South Africa. Herath was one of the stand-outs in the 2014 triumph but he went wicketless in Sunday’s defeat against the West Indies.

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

Spin is king as Santner would attest to

Indian wickets are famous for being happy hunting grounds for spin bowlers and that’s certainly been the case at the World T20. Slow-armers are commanding the top positions in the bowling tables while even at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, a flatter ground known to favour pacemen, fast bowlers are finding life difficult.

New Zealand spinners Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi and Nathan McCullum all feature in the top 10 most economical bowlers at the tournament.

Terms & Conditions:

Prizes: (Second Round)

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.

1st prize 2nd prize 3rd prize 4th prize 5th prize

v

01: Who scored the first T20I century for Bangladesh?

Ans: Tamim Mashrafe Taskin

Hard times ahead for Sri Lanka

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016

Argentina players Lionel Messi (L) and Sergio Aguero take part in a training session on Monday ahead of their match against Chile REUTERS

Arsenal give football practice to Iraqi children n AFP, London Children trying to escape the war in Iraq are being taught football by Arsenal coaches as the Premier League club tries to bring some joy to the troubled country.

The conflict has forced more than three million people to leave their homes in Iraq since January 2014 and half of those are children. But Arsenal are using their vast wealth and global brand in a bid to create happiness amid the suffering.

Alex Scott, Arsenal’s ladies’ captain, flew out to teach children the basics of the sport

when she visited Alwand One camp in Kurdistan, northern Iraq, which is home to more than 6,000 displaced people.

Arsenal have teamed up with Save the Children to build pitches at the camps and 2,500 children have already used them.

The Gunners have also sent a coach who has taught Save the Children’s in-camp staff the club’s training programme.

“When I was playing in a metal football cage in the east end of London, with the A12 on either side, football was more than a game and it’s given me so much,” Scott told the BBC.l

Alonso ‘would have died’ 20 years ago: Mosley n AFP, London A crash like the one suffered by Fernando Alonso in Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix would have been fatal in a previous era, former FIA president Max Mosley said yesterday.

Since Ayrton Senna’s death at Imola in 1994 prompted tightened security measures, Frenchman Jules Bianchi, who died at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, is the only F1 driver to have lost his life in a race.

Asked if Alonso would have survived a similar accident 20 years ago, Mosley told British

newspapers: “I don’t think he would have. You wouldn’t know for sure without a detailed analysis, but generally speaking those sorts of accidents resulted in serious injury or death.

“Happily that seems to have stopped. There are still freak accidents, like Jules, but those sort of serious racing accidents, you do expect the driver to walk away. That wouldn’t have been the case 20 years ago.

“This was thanks to (former FIA chief medical officer) Sid Watkins and a team of really competent people and the teams themselves. l

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Showtime

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016

AJ hunting new Dhallywood faces

n Showtime Desk Ananta Jalil or AJ, is known for making impossibilities a possibility. This time around he has undertaken a fantastic initiative to help bring new, young faces into the Bangladesh film industry. Recently, he was involved in a talent hunt program called Monsoon Films Talent Hunt where they planned to find two fresh faces for the film Agrojatrar Mohanayok-The Spy and 23 new

faces for other categories.

At the gala night, it was announced that the role for the lead heroes were found in Sabbir and Shahed. On the other hand, Sara and Maheen were chosen as the lead actresses for the film.

Other winners were Russel, Riaz, Milton, Nixon and many others chosen to play various roles in the film. Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu and ICT Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak were present at the grand finale night. Several

Miss India Urvashi Rautela unveils BMW in Dhaka n Showtime Desk Miss Universe India Urvashi Rautela arrived in Dhaka yesterday to unveil the latest model of BMW’s 7 series.

The Bollywood actress and Miss Asia Super Model arrived in the capital around 11:15am via a Jet Airways flight, staying at the Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel.

Urvashi unveiled the brand new model of the luxurious car in the evening, Executive Motors Ltd, the importer of BMW in Bangladesh, confirmed.

Born in 1994, Urvashi aspired to become an IT engineer. In 2011 while studying in engineering school she was selected as the Miss Asian Super Model in South Korea. She won the Miss Tourism Queen of the Year competition

World Mime Day celebration at BSA n Showtime Desk Marking the 93rd birth anniversary of Marcel Marceau and World Mime Day 2016, Bangladesh Mime Federation has arranged a program which includes memorial lectures and the staging of mimes at the Studio Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy at 6pm.

In the first session, Zahid Repon, the chairman of Bangladesh Mime Federation, will present a memorial lecture on “Pantomime Practices in Bangladesh and Contemporary Tendencies.”

In the second session, various mime troupes, Swapnadal, Dhaka University Mime Action, Paribartan Mime Academy, Muktamancha Nirbaak Dal, Shamuk Theatre and Shruti Cultural Academy, will stage their respective mime productions. artists including Popy, Nipun, Robi Chowdhury, Kona and Hridoy Khan performed at the gala.

Debashish Bishwas and Ambreen hosted the show while the central attraction of show was none other than the dynamic couple Ananta and Barsha.

The judges of the competition were TV personality Gazi Mazharul Anwar, actress Barsha, Photographer Chanchal Mahmud and actor and chairman of Monsoon Films Ananta Jalil himself. l

the same year.

In 2012, she won the Miss Universe India competition, however, her victory came under controversy over her age. In 2015 she won the Miss Diva 2015 competition and represented India in the Miss Universe 2015 contest.

She made her debut in Bollywood through the film Singh Saab the Great by Anil Shwarma in 2013. Urvashi has acted in Bhaag Jonny (2015) and Sanam Re (2016). She has also worked in Porobashini directed

by Bangladeshi director Shwapan Ahmed set to be released soon.

Urvashi is currently shooting for the third sequel of Maasti which is titled as the “Great Grand Maasti.” The super model has acted in movies of Kannada and Punjabi languages as well.

The young actress has won a number of awards including the Star Guild, Stardust, Zee Cine Awards, Big Star, and ETC Bollywood Business Awards. l

World Mime Day celebrates the birth of one of the mime artists that marked the art of mime and the history of mime, theatre and art in general of the 20th century - Marcel Marceau, thus it is celebrated on March 22.

World Mime Day celebrates mime, pantomime as well as silent films and non-verbal communication. l

The trials and tribulations of a Bihari family

n Showtime Desk

Swarnalata, a brand new drama series consisting of hour-long daily episode has premiered on Banglavision TV on March 22.

The story of the drama series revolves around Rehma, a Bihari girl, whose family recently shifted to Old Dhaka’s Chakbazar area leaving behind their dire days in a Bihari camp.

The family consists of four sisters and two brothers who lost their father five years ago.

Since then, the youngest brother shouldered the responsibility of running their family. Rehma started to live in a three-storied building in old town with two of her her other sisters, Hiroma, Najia and Sajia and her oldest brother Omar. Omar too, is in dire straits as he’s out of work.

When all sisters are married off, they are continuously stigmatised by their husbands

for being Bihari. There are scenes where their husbands admit that the marriage was a mistake to begin with. On the other end of the storyline, the rest of the family members try to stay focused on coping with the struggles that come with living in a new neighbourhood.

The director said, “Swarnalata depicts the woes of a Bihari family, from every angle possible.”

The drama series cast includes Mamunur Rashid, Shahidul Alam Sachchu, Intekhab Dinar, Sadia Jahan Prova, Shamima Tushti, Sabbir Ahmed, Majnun Mijan, Sushama Sarkar, Munira Mithu, Ishrat Nishat, Lutfor Rahman George, Sanjida Tanmoy, Sadika Swarna and Jui. Swarnalata is scheduled to air on Banglavision every Tuesday and Wednesday at 9:05pm l

Jolie out, Daisy in?

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016

Nargis plays Sangeeta

n Showtime Desk Daisy Ridley, who picked up the Best Female Newcomer award at the Empire Awards, held in London on Sunday has confirmed that she has been in talks to star in the Tomb Raider reboot.

Sources say, there were some rumours that claimed that she was about to pick up Lara Croft reins left by Angelina Jolie, but she has not been offered the role.

“I’m waiting for someone to say ‘I want you, let’s do it’,” she said, adding that there wasn’t a script for the film yet.

Although she’s currently filming the 8th episode of Star Wars, Ridley said she would have time to take the additional role, given the opportunity.

Ridley’s co-star John Boyega, winner of Empire’s Best Male Newcomer award - admitted that he himself had eyed Ridley to play the iconic archeologistadventurer. He said that, Daisy can be Lara Croft, informs the source. l Source: Hollywood Life

n Showtime Desk Emraan Hashmi, Prachi Desai and Nargis Fakhri are clicked here on the sets of their film Azhar. While Prachi plays Azhar’s wife, Nargis plays the role of his girlfriend Sangeeta Bijlani. Directed by Tony D’Souza, the film will narrate the highs and lows of Azharuddin’s life as the captain of the Indian cricket team for most of the 1990’s. The story revolves around him being tainted by a match-fixing scandal in 2000, later getting banned for life.

“I’m working with Emraan after four years and of course so much has changed in our personal and professional life. We have evolved as a person and as professionals, but when it comes to shooting

together it is just the same with the amazing rapport, comfort level and the chemistry we share. In fact, it has become better,” Desai says.

The film Azhar is set to release in May. l Source: Bollywood Life

Why are Ujan Ganger Naiya actors crying?

n Showtime Desk Why are all the actors from Ujan Ganger Naiya crying? To find out, audience have to keep eye

on ATN Bangla where the drama serial airs every Tuesday at 8:40pm and repeats Wednesdays at 3:10pm.

Sister programme Natoker

Pore is presented by Nabila and follows directly after the repeat broadcast of the drama on Wednesdays at 3:40pm. The show provides a space to discuss

the issues explored in the drama, and features artists from Ujan Ganger Naiya talking with families and specialist doctors. The combination of the two shows is designed to encourage families to do things that help women have safer pregnancies and childbirth and take better care of themselves and their new born babies.

Produced by BBC Media Action and directed

by Samir Ahmed and Bashar Georgis. The third series has been created

by Anisul Hoque and is written by Monirul Islam Rubel, Rafiqul Islam Poltu, Golam Rabbani and Shusmin Afsana. The series cast includes Riaz, Tarin, Mousumi Hamid, Dolly Zahur, Nazmul

Huda Bachchu, Shatabdi Wadud, Jyotika Jyoti, Lutfur Rahman George, Rawnak Hasan, Maznun Mizan, Ashok Bepari, Tawsif, Nadia, Shamima Islam Tusty, Reekita Nondini Shimu, Iqbal Hossain, Mim, Opu, Uttam, Kabir, Rana, Rabiul Hasan, Shaikot Pramanik, Alamgir, Afzal and Jainal.

Ujan Ganger Naiya and Natoker Pore are produced by BBC Media Action and are part of the BBC Agomoni project, which uses a range of media outputs to support people all over Bangladesh to adopt healthier behaviour and practices connected to pregnancy, childbirth and nutrition. The program is made with funding from the UK Department for International Development and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation. l

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Back Page

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016

91% NORDIC FIRMS IN BD PLAN EXPANSION PAGE 15

NEHRA FULLY AWARE OF TIGERS’ STRENGTH PAGE 27

AJ HUNTING NEW DHALLYWOOD FACES PAGE 30

First case of Zika virus detected in Ctg n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong

The government has reported its first confirmed case of the Zika virus in a 67-year old man from Chittagong.

The infected man, whose blood sample was collected almost two years ago, tested positive.

State Minister for Health and Family Welfare Zahid Malik made the disclosure at a press briefing at his office in Dhaka yesterday.

He, however, did not disclose the identity of the Zika virus victim.

Soon after the announcement

by the junior minister, Chittagong Civil Surgeon Dr Mohammad Azizur Rahman Siddiqui also held a press briefing at his office in the city yesterday.

Dr Siddiqui said: “The Zika virus was found within a blood sample collected in 2014 from the sexagenarian patient. Doctors had collected blood samples from 101 patients infected with the Chikungunya and dengue diseases in Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulna medical colleges in 2014, and found traces of the Zika virus in one of the blood samples.

“The blood sample was sent to

a World Health Organization approved laboratory where it tested positive again,” he added.

“The Zika virus-infected man, who resides in Chittagong, is now well. However, we refrain from disclosing his identity in fear of social stigma about the disease,” he said.

He however said There is no cause for worry about the Zika virus-infected man, as he is no longer a danger.”

“There is no reason to worry or panic, since it is a non-communicable disease, though the infected person does need to be hospitalised. In 80% of the cases, the symptoms of the virus, which was

first detected in Uganda in 1947, remain dormant,” he added.

“The available information on the disease states there is no death risk as the major organs of a human being, like the brain, heart, kidney, liver, and veins, are not reported to have been attacked by the virus,” the civil surgeon said.

“Till now there has been no vaccine or medication for the virus.

Zika is reported to mainly affect pregnant women causing deficiencies in babies – babies are born with smaller heads,” he added.

“In the wake of discovering the trace of Zika virus, a four-member

Inefficient policy, an obstacle to water safety n Abid Azad

Inefficient implementation of water plans and policies is the main reason why a large portion of the country’s population still do not have access to safe water, speakers said yesterday.

Moreover, the existing water laws and regulations do not sufficiently cover rights and responsibilities of users as well as the employees in the country’s water sector, they said at a seminar in the capital.

The seminar, held at the Department of Public Health and Engineering (DPHE), was organised jointly by the DPHE, Dhaka Wasa, Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), UN Information Centre in Dhaka, the World Bank, Bangladesh Wash Alliance, NGO Forum for Public Health and Unicef Bangladesh to observe World Water Day. The topic of discussion was access to safe water as well as “Water and Jobs,” this year’s theme for World Water Day which focuses on the quality and quantity of water which is fundamental in the lives and livelihoods of workers in every sector.

Addressing the seminar, special guest and LGRD Ministry Secretary Abdul Malek said water is essential in every single job and contributes to the country’s development.

“Agriculture, industries, fisheries, transportation, social entrepreneurship – water is an essential requirement everywhere. Around 47% of total employment in the country is in the agriculture sector, where water is an integral element,” he said.

medical team headed by Dr Ahmed Raihan Sharif, the medical officer of Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research, was dispatched to Chittagong to conduct a survey called ‘contract tracking,’” said Dr Siddiqui.

He said: “The medical team stayed in Chittagong from March 14 till March 19 and collected blood samples of the people around the virus-infected person.”

“However, people around the victim, including family members, tested negative for Zika transmission. l

Freedom fighter hacked to death n Our Correspondent, Kurigram

The water containers, being transported to different areas in the capital, come from mineral water factories in Keraniganj and then supplied to different establishments for water filters. There is no measure in place to determine whether the water supplied by these factories is safe for drinking or not. The photo was taken on Babubazar Bridge on Monday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN He also emphasised the necessity of recognising those who are involved in water-related works – both paid and unpaid – to ensure a better and dignified life for them.

Presenting the key note paper, Bangladesh Water Development Board’s Deputy Director Dr Anwar Zahid said the national water coverage as of 2013 is about 83%, according to the World Health Organisation and Unicef.

He further said the water coverage in hard-to-reach areas around

the country is around 24%.

Unicef Representative in Bangladesh Edouard Beigbeder called upon policy makers to prioritise the most arsenic affected areas for the provision of water supply in the ongoing government projects.

“For Bangladesh, to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of safe drinking water, at least 24 million people must have access to safe water by 2030.”

Dhaka Wasa Managing Director Taqsem A Khan said by the end of

this year, all the slums in the capital would be brought into Wasa’s legal water supply network to ensure that they have access to clean water.

Water resource and climate change specialist Dr Ainun Nishat put emphasis on the commitment of political leaders in this regard.

He said: “It is the political commitments by our decision-making ministries that can carry out necessary policy directions and actions to increase efficiency in water management.” l

A freedom fighter, who converted to Christianity from Islam, was hacked to death by miscreants at Kurigram Sadar’s Garialpara yesterday.

Hossain Ali, 65, was walking on the road beside his house when three miscreants riding on a motorcycle hacked him with sharp weapons around 7am. Later, the miscreants fled the scene after exploding hand bombs.

Two unexploded hand bombs were recovered from the spot, said senior assistant superintendent of police, Masudur Rahman. The victim’s body has been sent to Kurigram Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy.

Locals said Hossain Ali, along with his family members, had converted to Christianity from Islam 17 years ago.

Meanwhile, police detained three Shibir activists for questioning from a Garialpara dormitory, known in the area as a mess for Shibir supporters.

The suspects are: Shibir’s Kurigram Government College unit President Mostafizur Rahman, 22; and Shibir activists Shariful Islam, 20, and Jahidul Islam, 18.

However, superintendent of police, Tobarok Ullah, said police were looking at all possible motives behind the killing including the victim’s conversion of religion, family disagreements, and three ongoing land dispute cases of the victim.

Sadar police OC Bazrul Rashid said search was on for a tenant named Bashir, who had moved into the victim’s house just a week ago and has been missing since the attack. l

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