July 16, 2016

SECOND EDITION

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

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Shraban 1, 1423, Shawwal 10, 1437

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 80

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

Terror strikes France again

PHOTO: AFP

STORIES ON Page 2, 8, 9››

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SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

Shock, horror and the comfort of strangers n AFP, Nice The living held their hands. They knew they were dead, but they would not let them go.

Hours after unspeakable horror was visited on families who had gathered to watch the Bastille Day fireworks on the seafront in Nice, the dead still lay scattered where they fell across the Promenade des Anglais.

Here and there people sat with them, sometimes alone, sometimes in a little huddles of family and friends.

Some had only the comfort of strangers, after the lorry’s murderous passage.

And one victim, a small child who like so many others had been allowed to stay up late to see the fireworks, lay dead on the tarmac with a doll at its side.

“You would think you could do something to help by being there,” said Tarubi Wahid Mosta, who tried to do what he could in the aftermath of the attack.

“But we were useless.”

The dead remained under sheets as the massive investigation began.

“All these families who have already spent a long time at their sides are likely – given the horrible number of the dead – to spend hours on the ground holding the cold hands of bodies dismembered by the truck. You can’t even speak

Major attacks in France since January 2015 Amsterdam Amsterdam

Paris January 7-9, 2015 17 killed in attacks that started at the Charlie Hebdo office April 19, 2015 Algerian IT student arrested on suspicion of shooting dead a woman in her car November 13, 2015 130 people killed in gun attack on restaurants and the Bataclan concert hall January 7, 2016 Moroccan-born man wielding a meat cleaver tries to attack police station

June 13, 2016 Magnanville 42 year-old police officer and 36 year-old partner killed at their home in knife attack August 21, 2015 Amsterdam - Paris train 25 year-old Moroccan national opens fire on a train.

Bloodbath prevented by passengers who overwhelm him

June 26, 2015 Saint-Quentin-Fallavier 35 year-old man kills and beheads his boss, tries to blow up gas plant

July 14, 2016 Nice

February 3, 2015 July 15, 2016 Nice Three soldiers attacked in front of a Jewish community centre

More than 80 people killed in a truck attack during Bastille Day celebrations

Mediterranean Sea

to them or comfort them,” the actor wrote on his Facebook page.

“That is the hardest thing, to be useless at such a horrible moment.”

- Baby lost in the panic One photograph he posted shows a headscarfed women kneeling over a body.

“In the middle of all this is a

Muslim family, one of whom did not escape this crazy lorry,” he said. “Once again everyone has been touched, whether they were believers or not.”

Outside a Nice hospital a grieving family later told reporters that their mother, a devout Muslim, had been the first of the lorry’s 84 victims.

Long after dawn broke some of the victims were still lying on the promenade covered by blue and white sheets as the first of the morning joggers set out along the Bay of Angels.

Nice is a town that likes to party, that was built to a great extent as a playground for the European aristocracy and industrialists who wintered on the French Riviera in the late 19th century.

Its carnival is the third biggest in the world after Venice and Rio. Like the carnival, the Bastille Day fireworks display is a huge family occasion, with children allowed to stay up well after their normal bedtimes to enjoy the spectacle.

Several children were among the dead, French President Francois Hollande said. Authorities later confirmed that around 50 were hurt, many seriously.

Such was the violence with which the lorry tore through the crowds that a family was separated from its eight-month-old baby that had been in a pushchair.

He was found by a young woman who brought him home with her and reunited him with his parents after they posted a picture of the boy on Facebook, a family friend told AFP. After a night of little sleep and many tears, the resort city was still struggling to come to terms with

the horror.

“I saw a whole heap of dead people in front of me,” said a retired man called Charles, who lives close to where the lorry first drove into the crowds.

“There will be no more parties, no more festivals. Yet if we are to face down the terrorists life has to continue,” he added.

“This will not stop us living our lives,” said Jean, an astronomer who was caught up in the panic with his wife Myriam and his two children and their dog.

He said the dog had led them to safety, to a hotel where the manager told them to go into one of its rooms.

With fears that other gunmen could be on the loose, Myriam told AFP that she locked the children in a shoe cupboard and they remained in the room for three hours before deciding that it was safe to leave.

But the family were back on the promenade on Friday “so the children would not be terrified,” Myriam added.

Many of Nice’s bars and cafes were closed Friday, as was its lifeguard station on the beach.

One lifeguard, Mehdi Zid, 21, told how he had managed to help “four of five people who where frozen by shock” the night before.

“One lone person is impossible to stop,” he said. l

At least 84 dead in terrorist truck rampage in Nice n AFP, Nice A Tunisian-born man zigzagged a truck through a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice, killing at least 84 and injuring dozens of children in what President Francois Hollande yesterday called a terrorist attack.

The attack was the third major strike against France in less than 18 months.

One witness said a motorcyclist tried to stop the rampage by drawing level with the truck and attempting to open the door of its cab before he fell and ended up under its wheels.

Two children were confirmed among the dead and another 50 were being treated in hospital after the attack that left bodies strewn over the palm-lined Promenade des Anglais in the French Riviera resort.

Some of the dead, covered with sheets, remained on the promenade in the bright sun yesterday.

One family lost their eightmonth-old baby boy in the chaos but were reunited with him after

they posted a desperate plea on Facebook.

Two US citizens and a Ukrainian were among those killed, their countries said.

Witnesses said the white truck drove at speed into a crowd over a distance of two kilometres (1.3 miles) after they had been watching a fireworks display on France's national day. City authorities said some 30,000 people had watched the display.

Nice truck attack leaves over 80 people dead PARIS

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At about 2100GMT: a firework display ends, a large crowd has gathered along the Promenade des Anglais

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Driver a 'loner'

Details meanwhile began to emerge about the driver, identified as 31-year-old Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel.

Neighbours described him as a loner who never responded to their greetings.

One neighbour, however, said she was wary of the "good-looking man who kept giving my two daughters the eye."

Witnesses said he had also fired at police before officers shot him dead.

Hollande declared three days of mourning after the assault, as

NICE

Nice

lais A ng

2 A white 19-tonne truck ploughs 2km up the famous Promenade at full speed, crushing revellers Source: maps4news.com/©HERE

shell-shocked France found itself again mourning its dead after attacks on Charlie Hebdo magazine in January 2015 and the November 2015 massacre in Paris.

"France was struck on its national day... the symbol of freedom," said Hollande in a sombre televised address in the early hours Friday.

Massena Museum

Palais de la Mediterranee

The truck comes to a halt An exchange of gunfire takes place The truck driver is shot dead Mediterranean Sea

200m

The attack was of an "undeniable terrorist nature," he said.

Around 50 children were being treated at a paediatric hospital close to the scene of the attack.

Some were "hanging between life and death," a hospital official said.

The State Department said two American citizens were among the dead. A Texas-based newspaper,

the Austin American-Statesman, named the victims as 51-year-old Sean Copeland and his 11-year-old son Brodie.

A Ukrainian citizen was also killed, the country's foreign minister said on Twitter, without giving more details.

Interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said 84 people were killed and scores injured in the carnage, including 18 who were in "critical condition."

Another witness identified only as Nader told BFM television he saw the driver pull out a gun and start shooting at police.

The truck, which a police source said had been rented in the region "a few days ago", remained Friday where it had been halted, its front badly damaged and riddled with bullet holes and its tyres burst.

Hollande announced he would extend France's state of emergency for three months in the wake of this latest attack and "step up" the government's action against Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq. l

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IS disowns 5 attacks they claimed earlier n Tribune Desk

In an infographic released early yesterday, international terrorist group Islamic State listed 11 operations, including the Gulshan mass attack, that their members have carried out this year across Bangladesh killing at least 37 people.

The group, however, mysteriously refrained from mentioning five other attacks committed since January that they previously took credit for, including the murder of two homoeopaths in Jhenaidah and a Rajshahi University professor.

The photo post published by its Amaq news agency also did not claim the IS-style attack on the police near Sholakia Eidgah in Kishoreganj that killed three people on Eid day. IS also did not take credit for two other similar attacks – on a Hindu priest in Gopalganj and a Hindu college teacher in Madaripur.

All 16 attacks this year and the nine others committed since September 28 last year, when an Italian NGO worker was shot dead at Gulshan, have also been verified by USbased jihadist monitor SITE Intelligence Group.

The victims of IS include non-Sunni and non-Muslim preachers, foreigners and law enforcers. They also bombed and opened fire on devotees inside two mosques of the Shia and Ahmadiyya communities, and blasted bombs inside two temples.

The government denies the presence of IS’ organisational base in the country and instead blames the local banned militant groups for the killings. The police suspect that one of the several sections of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) might have established contact with IS. They have found the involvement of several outlawed groups – JMB, Ansarullah Bangla Team (believed to be representing al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent) and Hizb ut-Tahrir – in most of the attacks claimed by IS. Some detained JMB members have also given confessional statements while the investigators have filed charge sheets in some cases.

On the other hand, Ansar Al Islam (believed to be outlawed group Ansarullah) which is representing al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) in Bangladesh has claimed credit for 13 attacks since 2013 killing 11 people including war crimes trial campaigners, secular bloggers, writers, publishers and LGBT rights activists.

Gulshan attack victims 22 or 24?

In another infographic published by the group’s weekly magazine al-Naba on Tuesday, IS boasted 14 terror attacks across the world, including in Syria, Iraq, the United States, Europe, Asia and Africa during Ramadan killing and injuring around 5,200 people.

The victims of the recent attack on a Gulshan eatery on July 1 include

ISLAMIC STATE ATTACKS IN 2016

Gaibandha Businessman 8 Tarun Datta February Shoe trader Debesh 25 Chandra Pramanik May

Panchagrah

Kurigram

Natore

Kushtia

22 Kurigram Christian convert March Hossain Ali Sarker Dhaka

1 Holey Artisan Bakery, July 22 killed

Gaibandha

University 23 Rajshahi Prof AFM Rezaul April Karim Siddique Natore Christian grocer 5 Sunil Gomez June

21 Panchagarh Temple priest February Joggeshwar Roy

Tangail Pabna

30 Tangail Tailor Tangail Nikhil April Chandra Joarder

Dhaka Jhenaidah

20 Kushtia Homoeopath May Sanwar Hossain

What IS wants

Bandarban

Jhenaidah 7 Homoeopath Chhamir January Uddin Mandal Homoeopath Abdur Razzaq

14 March

7 Hindu priest Anando June Gopal Ganguli Hindu priest Shymanondo Das

1 July

22 people, mostly foreigners and two police officers, shot and slaughtered in the country’s deadliest militant attack. Some 40 other policemen were injured in the assault.

The latest IS infographic, however, mentions 24 individuals at Holey Artisan Bakery.

Five of the attackers were killed in a commando operation the next morning when the pizza chef of the restaurant was killed mistakenly. An assistant cook, detained as a suspect, succumbed to his injuries at a Dhaka hospital. A total of 32 guests and staff survived the attack.

During Ramadan, the IS members also killed four others in Bangladesh – three Hindu priests in Jhenaidah and Pabna and an Awami League leader from the Marma community in Bandarban.

Mistakes, denials

Meanwhile, the infographic wrongly mentioned Rajshahi’s Bonpara as the location of an attack on Hindu priest Nityanando Pandey though he was killed near the temple at Hemayet-

Sanwar Hossain, who was killed on May 20, because he was thought to be a Christian. The apparent reason for this was that he ran a free clinic located next to a church.

In the latest statement, the Islamic State group also did not mention the murder of Hindu hardware businessman Tarun Datta which they had earlier claimed. He was found beheaded in Bardhankuthi area of Gobindaganj in Gaibandha on February 8.

On April 23, IS also claimed the murder of RU English department teacher and cultural activist Prof Dr AFM Rezaul Karim Siddique, nearly 10 hours after the attack was carried out near his house in Shalbagan area of the city.

The killing of Prof Rezaul was not on the list of operations the group released yesterday. The police have arrested eight people, mostly leaders and activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, in the case.

10 Pabna Hindu priest June Nityanando Pandey

Claimed

Dropped

pur of Pabna on June 10.

Moreover, it said that Awami League leader Mong Sanu Marma had been killed in Chittagong, Jhenaidah on June 30. But the murder took place in Baishari of Naikkhyangchhari in Bandarban.

Buddhist monk Maung Shue U was slaughtered at Naikkhyangchhari on May 14. This attack was claimed by Amaq on June 5 along with the murder of Christian grocer Sunil Gomez at Bonpara of Baragram in Natore. But in the latest statement, IS dropped the murder of Maung Shue from the list.

The group also did not mention the murder of two homoeopaths in Jhenaidah – Chhamir Uddin Mandal on January 7 and Shia preacher Abdur Razzaq on March 14.

Chhamir Uddin was termed an apostate in a statement IS released to take credit for the murder. But locals say he was converted to Christianity in 1993 but switched back to Islam four years ago and used to say prayers at the local mosque.

On the other hand, Razzaq was

Bandarban Buddhist monk Maung Shue U

14 May

30 AL leader Mong June Sanu Marma described as a “polytheist apostate” and one of the top preachers for the “Rafida” religion – a pejorative term for Shias used by Salafists.

Earlier, IS militants killed Japanese national Hoshi Kunio in Rangpur on October 3 last year believing him to be a non-Muslim and a foreigner. But Kunio actually converted to Islam several months ago and started a farm because he had plans to stay in Bangladesh.

IS also wrongly claimed Kushtia homoeopath and Baul aficionado

The first Bangladeshi group of five people gave Bayah (allegiance) to IS caliph Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi in early August 2014 taking oaths to organise Muslims under his leadership.

In the 14th edition of IS’ Dabiq magazine published on April 13, the group claimed that they have an organisational base in Bangladesh (they term it Bengal), from where they have plans to attack India and Myanmar to “avenge the persecution on Muslims” in those countries.

The chief of its Bangladesh wing also mentioned that Shariah would not be achieved until the local Hindus were targeted in mass numbers.

On July 6, three other Bangladeshi youths released a video from Raqqa of Syria hailing the Gulshan attack and threatening more attacks. The attack on the Sholakia Eid congregation took place the following day.

So far, several dozen Bangladeshis have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join the war for IS. Some have been killed in airstrikes.

On the other hand, law enforcers since 2014 have arrested more than 30 recruiters, trainers and followers of IS, mainly students from well-todo families, who were planning to travel to Syria. But nearly three dozen trained recruits have not yet been arrested. l

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Singapore deportees linked to militancy, charges soon n Mohammad Jamil Khan Investigators have linked 23 of 34 Bangladeshis deported from Singapore to terrorism and militancy and are preparing to press charges against them.

These men who went to Singapore on worker visa six to eight years ago were found to have raised funds for militancy and plotted sabotage activities in Bangladesh, according to sources in the police Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit.

A senior CT unit official involved in the investigation who wished to remain anonymous told the Dhaka Tribune they had linked the 23 deportees to the terrorist group Ansarullah Bangla Team’s activities.

These men were followers of ABT chief Jashimuddin Rahmani, the source said. They also used to listen to the sermons of Jamaat leader Delowar Hossain Sayedee and Islamic televangelist Zakir Nayek.

Cases have been filed against these men under the terrorism act at the Ramna and Uttara East police stations.

According to investigators, all

23 men were well acquainted with the four Bangladeshis jailed by Singapore court on July 12 for terror financing: Rahman Mizanur, Miah Rubel, Md Jabath Kysar Haje Norul Islam Sowdagar and Sohel Hawlader Ismail Hawlader.

Four other Bangladehi men are waiting to be charged in Singapore.

They used to meet in secret locations and collect funds among themselves. Their plan was to carry out sabotage and plotting against ruling government.

However, investigators said the suspects had told them they met each other in Singapore and had no connections while in Bangladesh.

Singapore first sent back 26 Bangladeshis in December last year.

Authorities there reported that a list of Bangladeshi government and military officials had been found in the possession of some of these men and the group had planned to make an attack.

The Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested them after they reached Dhaka.

After a primary interrogation police filed cases against 14 of them on December 21 with Uttara East

police station.

These 14 were Aminur, Abdul Alim and Shah Alam of Tangail, Nurul Amin, Mahmudul Hasan and Golam Zilani of Comilla, Jafar Iqbal of Brahmanbaria, Akram Hossain of Jhenaidah, Abdul Ali of Chuadanga, Ashraf Ali of Pabna, Saiful Islam of Dhaka, Alam Mahbub of Kurigram, Dolar Parvez of Chapainawabganj and Mohammad Jashim of Munshiganj.

Four more were shown arrested later. These are Sujan Shah Alam, Md Rowshan Alam, HM Faruk and Ali Abdul.

On May 3 police arrested eight Bangladeshis who were deported from Singapore. Of them, five will be charged with terrorist activities.

They are identified as Mizanur Rahman alias Galib Hasan, Raha Miah Pilot, Alamgir Hossain, Tanzimul Islam and Masud Rana alias Sallu Khan. The case was filed with Rampura police station.

Sanowar Hossain, Additional Deputy Commissioner of CTTC unit, said, “We have almost completed the investigation of these two cases and charge sheets accusing these men will be submitted soon.” l

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina delivering speech at the Second Plenary Session of the ASEM Summit in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia yesterday PID

Counter-terrorism dominates Asem agenda n Tribune Desk Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has joined other global leaders and government representatives in a two-day 11th Asia-Europe Summit (Asem 11) that began in Mongolia’s Ulaanbaatar yesterday morning with counter-terrorism with high on its agenda.

The Summit titled “20 years of Asem: Partnership for e Future through Connectivity” kicked off in Shangri-La Hotel in presence of high-level delegation from 51 Asem partners - 30 European and 21 Asian countries and two intergovernmental organisations.

The Summit will have two plenary sessions

titled – ‘Two decades of partnership: taking stock and looking forward’ and ‘Promoting Asem partnership for greater connectivity’.

Sheikh Hasina will address the second plenary on partnership for greater connectivity.

A retreat session under the title of “Enhancing the three pillars of Asem” will take place on Saturday which will look into both regional and international issues including counter-terrorism and migration.

The Summit will end tomorrow with the Chair’s Statement followed by “Ulaanbaatar Declaration” on the Future of Asem.

In parallel to the Summit, various bilateral meetings are taking place. l

Police look for owners of vehicles left at Holey n Mohammad Jamil Khan Police are looking for the owners of 13 cars and 11 bicycles that were found abandoned near the Holey Artisan Bakery following the terror attack on July 1.

Although more than two weeks have passed since the attack, no one has come forward to claim the ownership of the vehicles recovered by police’s Crime Scene Unit.

Officials of the Counter-terrorism and Transnational Crimes unit are now trying to find out whether any of these vehicles were used by the attackers or their associates.

They have contacted the BRTA for information about the vehicles.

They are also analysing CCTV camera footage to see whether they can piece together the movement of those cars before the attack.

A source close to the investigation told the Dhaka Tribune that a white-coloured sedan which did not have a number plate had been found in a smashed condition after the attack; another damaged black car was also found at the scene.

However, it was not certain whether the damages were done by any explosives or during the Op-

eration Thunderbolt rescue drive.

Eyewitnesses, meanwhile, described that the attack began soon after an SUV of Toyota Prado model entered and left the Holey Artisan Bakery premises. An SUV matching that description is among the abandoned vehicles.

Saiful Islam, acting deputy commissioner of the CTTC unit, said they suspected that several of the seized cars had been used or owned by the victims.

For this reason, the police have contacted the BRTA to check ownership of the vehicles.

Saiful also said some evidence had been sent to the laboratory of Criminal Investigation Department for tests. If necessary, some major evidence would also be sent abroad for testing to get new leads.

However, a senior-ranking investigation agency official, requesting anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune that they had information that the attackers had walked into the attack site after being dropped off by a car near the bakery.

Meanwhile, the authorities are also checking the bicycles to determine whether those were used by any of the attackers. l

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‘Elite Muslims are the biggest challenge’ Ebrahim Moosa, professor of Islamic Studies and co-director of Contending Modernities at the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs talks to the DhakaTribune’s Abid Azad about the radicalisation of youth in the first of a two-part interview There is a belief that madrasa students are vulnerable to recruitment by violent extremist groups. Is this the case?

First of all, it is incorrect to say that madrasa students are being radicalised. The majority of madrasa students in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan are peaceful and come from poor backgrounds and serve their communities as basic religious functionaries.

Occasionally, on issues like defamation and blasphemy, madrasa students are mobilised to protest offences against the Prophet Muhammad. But the majority of madrasas are neither involved in violence nor radicalisation. They have a different set of challenges.

Madrasa communities do not share the same level of literacy or world view as secular people. And that is the fault line.

There are New York Times reports that Saiful Islam, who was a Bangladesh madrasa student, was arrested in connection with the deaths of bloggers. Yet, we are not told which madrasa. Did he belong to a Qawmi madrasa? Was he a Deobandi, a Barelwi or Salafi?

These reports lack information that make them difficult to believe.

Madrasas appear to serve as a scapegoat for serious political divisions and political failures in law and order and security in Bangladesh.

If six well educated Bangladeshis engage in an IS-influenced terror attack, do we say all Bangladeshi university students are engaged in terrorism? Obviously not. So why the double-standard when it comes to madrasas? When madrasa leaders and students are involved in violence, the media must take their names, identify their madrasa and identify which orientation of the multiple streams of madrasas these people belong to.

So what's going on?

Rich, elite Muslims are the biggest challenge today. Especially the rich and elite who become religious but have a very minimal literacy of Islam.

They do not understand Islam’s teachings. They have little understanding of Islamic law, Quran interpretation and lack complex literacy. These individuals suffer from what I call a poverty of dignity.

Activists of Gonojagoron Moncho bring out a flag procession in Shahbagh, Dhaka yesterday demanding a terrorism-free Bangladesh

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THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN SATURDAY, JULY 16

read English and are aware of global issues they witness the destruction in Iraq and Syria, they see images of Guantanamo Bay prison and their sympathies are cultivated to fight for the “Islamic” cause, because there is also a global lake of Muslim victimhood from Iraq to Burma. Anyone can draw the water of grievance from that lake of victimhood and feel justified in become a jihadi Muslim on steroids.

So these selfie-taking, Facebook and AK47-toting jihadis try to make themselves into Bollywood heroes.

Radical interpretations of Islam offer a language to express political grievances.

They have high levels of education and wealth but do not experience dignity in the globalised world. So they join a global tribe called Islam and they live in that Islam [sic] bubble. They begin to see their self worth not within the context of Bangladesh but within the context of the Umma, as a place of salvation.

Groups like IS target them and tell them not all people in the Umma are good and that IS members are the best. They say they follow the Sharia in its original form and these elite kids with poor Islamic literacy become persuaded. Many of them might previously have lived sinful lives of sex, women and drink.

So the fake-Islam addiction they get from IS gives them a quick path to redemption – a fallacy in terms of proper Islamic teachings.

But they fall for the fake-Islam addiction. Since these elite kids can Dhaka

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What about family guidance?

The families of these elite kids are also not well educated about Islam. Most of their parents lived secular lives and were hardly religious for most of their lives. At some point the parents become devout, but devout not based on sane Islamic literacy. When they see their kids grow beards, pray five times a day and fast in Ramadan, they become happy and boast: “Oh my son is a practising Muslim, my daughter 26

Rajshahi

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wears the hijab so she is a practicing Muslim and will get a good Muslim husband.” Meanwhile they don’t have sophisticated literacy. They don’t know what their kids are doing on their computers and in which chatrooms they are talking to jihadis who are trying to recruit them.

Parents are just too happy to a see a beard and hijab on their children and think they are Islamic. The moral of the story is this: all Muslim parents must adopt a sophisticated Islamic education and procure the same for their children. This do-it-yourself Islam that people get from self-help manuals are most toxic and dangerous. You need qualified scholars to educate your children. Reading the Qur’an unsupervised or reading the hadith unsupervised can create the most toxic misunderstanding and result in dangerous practices.

The most toxic element in these elite Muslim families is this: many elite Muslims believe in conspiracy theories. So if you investigate the Khulna

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YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:21AM

36.0ºC Rajshahi

24.5ºC Teknaf

Source: Accuweather/UNB

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PRAYER TIMES

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

family backgrounds of all elite jihadis you will find that at home many of them believe in fantasy stories about the world. They believe 9/11 never happened and that it was caused by the US government as a pretext to invade Iraq. They believe weirdly that all the problems in the world are caused by Jews or by Hindus. l

Rejoinder A news on Dhaka Tribune’s 14 July 2016 issue was published on page-5 titled “Brainwashing from madrasa to private university” where Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB)’s name was also mentioned. In this regard, IUB authority has made a strong protest and remonstration as this highly reputed institution has never had any kind of allegation or negative impression over the last 23 years. IUB’s image has been clean and flawless all the way through, the authority affirmed.

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Fajr: 4:45am | Zohr: 1:15pm Asr: 5:15pm | Magrib: 7:00pm Esha: 8:45pm Source: Islamic Foundation

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SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

Syndicate pockets Tk100cr shipment, leaving Korean trader in the lurch n Hedait Hossain, Khulna Five cheaters have sold 33,000 metric tonnes of wheat of a South Korean to local markets defying an injunction in this regard.

Later, the court issued arrest warrants against them after an investigation of Anti-Corruption Commission found the allegation to be true, but the law enforcement agencies failed to trace them despite passing long time.

South Korean national Hco Man Woog, president of M/S Samjin cs & t co ltd, in 2014 signed an agreement with Bangladesh Food Minis-

try to supply wheat and the company supplied a consignment of 19,500mt wheat as per the treaty.

Woong assigned Sheikh Ashraf Ali and Sons located in Khulna as local exclusive agent for the job.

When the second consignment of 33,000mt worth Tk100 crore reached Chittagong port, a dispute over the commission percentage erupted between both parties.

Finally Sheikh Ashraf Ali and Sons filed a case against Woong and the court directed to stock the haul under the Korean national until a solution come.

Meanwhile, the local agent ap-

pointed JK Shipping as subcontractor for the task. The organisation’s owners Md Kamrul Islam, Akhtaruzzaman Khan Mamun, Saiful Islam, Malek Majhi and unknown another forged signature of Woong to ensure its release from the port.

The food ministry denied to accept the wheat haul because of the expiry of collection time and the subcontractor stocked it in a silo owned by Malek Majhi according to the court order.

The five later sold the whole consignment to local markets without the knowledge of the local agent as well as Woong.

The matter came to light when Sheikh Azizul Islam, managing director of the local agent, in the next year managed a sale order of 7,000mt from court to realise his commission and he found no wheat stock in godown.

On May 31, 2015, he filed a lawsuit with the port city’s Bandar police station against the five and the ACC run an investigation into the allegation.

ACC Assistant Director of Chittagong and the case’s investigation officer HM Akhtaruzzaman said: “A message has already been sent to the police stations and airports concerned to arrest the accused.

They are now on the run. Even Woong received a threat with death after incurring huge loss and he became mentally imbalanced as a result of the situation.

“The matter has been informed to the Korean Embassy as well. We have all proofs of the wheat embezzlement by the five, but police cannot trace their whereabouts.”

When contacted, JK Shipping Managing Director Kamrul Islam said: “The country’s law bars ACC from any personal investigation except public matters. Woong is real owner of the haul and the allegations raised by Azizul are baseless.” l

The bamboo village of Durgapur Islam Reza, n Tajul Gaibandha Sixteen kilometres from Gaibandha district town lies the village of Durgapur, a quaint old place where almost all residents make their living by making bamboo crafts.

For generations they have been reshaping the bamboos into tools that are part and parcel of the daily rural life.

Some are experts in making Chatai or traditional floor mats, some stay busy making Kula or winnowing fans, while others create small toys using the bamboo that are found locally.

It is a place where villagers are happy with what they do.

Bamboo crafting is a time of community effort.

People gather in groups to work, while music plays in the background on their mobile phones.

Visiting the village in Bhatgram union recently, the Dhaka Tribune found that almost any available space where one could spread out and sit was occupied with bamboo craftspeople.

The entire village is enveloped in a sweet scent which residents say originate when the bamboo is hacked down.

Despite the happy-laid back nature of Durgapur, the lives of the local bamboo craftspeople are full of struggles.

Although not far from the district town, the village lacks proper education, health,

power or communication facilities.

The day’s activities begin at dawn when a lot of the men go out to cut down bamboo for the crafting materials.

Others, meanwhile, get busy with other preparations like shaving and carving the bamboo bark.

The women also join after they finish the day’s cooking, while children also lend their hands as well.

The tasks, however, must be finished in daytime as there is no electricity supply in the area.

Forty-year-old Akkas Miah, who works along with his wife and two children, said they could have gotten more work done if only there was power supply in the village so that they could turn on light bulbs at night.

Rumi Begum, 33, said the profits have suffered a blow recently as it is becoming harder and more expensive to collect bamboo.

Another craftsmen named Akbar Ali, 55, said it is also tough to market their products as wholesalers are reluctant to come to their village because of the terrible condition of the roads.

A different sort of trouble that has plagued the craftspeople lately is a group of unscrupulous wholesalers who lend the poor the initial investment to buy off their products at extremely low rates.

As a result, the craftspeople are being denied the fair share of profits. l

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SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

CU under the scanner over militancy links Surveillance intensified at Cuet, International Islamic University and BGC Trust University their ogranisational activities.

2005-2006, said campus sources.

Of the suspected JMB militants, Mostafizur Rahman said: “We have Mizanur Rahaman, n FM A police official of Chittagong At present, Farabi is suspected Faisal was supposed to pursue his asked all the university authorities Chittagong Law enforcing agencies and intelligence organisations have intensified their surveillance in Chittagong University (CU) campus area following the recent militant activities Gulshan and Solakia.

Police said they were keeping eye on students of the university, as their involvement with militancy have already been found.

Apart from that, three other universities – Chittagong University Engineering and Technology (Cuet), International Islamic University in Chittagong (IIUC) and BGC Trust University – are also under the scanner of intelligence agencies, said police sources.

Chittagong district Additional Superintendent of Police (North)

to keep a close watch on students and their attendance.

According to the police and intelligence sources, two banned Islamic outfits—JMB and Hizb-utTahrir – are active at CU while police have found the involvement of the six CU students with the radical organisations.

CU teachers and students were flabbergasted when police revealed that JMB’s Chittagong Regional chief Raisul Islam Khan Rasel alias Fardin alias Noman was a student of the university.

On December 27, 2015, police arrested three students of CU on charge of their alleged involvement with banned Islamic militant outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahedeen Bangladesh (JMB).

thesis titled “Quantum Field Theory” under the supervision of Physics department Professor Dr Anjon Kumar Chowdhury of CU. According to police and CU sources, JMB regional commander Fardin had joined JMB and started to organise the JMB activists from university after completing his graduation from Physics department in 2012.

Police said Fardin had died with one of his aide in a grenade blast on April 3 in Bogra while he was reportedly making bombs there.

Saifur Rahman Farabi, who is now behind the bars, is also a former student of Physics department of CU and an active member of Hizb ut Tahrir. Farabi was an irregular student of the department under

to have killed blogger and founder of Muktamona blog Avijit Roy, said the sources.

Farabi was previously arrested on February 24, 2013 for issuing threat to an Imam who offered Namaz-e-Janaza of another blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider through facebook.

In the recent development, Abdun Nur, a student of Mathematics department, was arrested by police from Magura for his alleged link with militancy on Wednesday.

It is learnt that most of the Hizbut-Tahrir men who completed their graduation from the faculty are now working in Chittagong city and instructing their fellows through facebook, whats app and other social media and carrying out

Metropolitan Police (CMP) said: “The extremist militant outfits are trying to recruit fresh workers from the physics department or science background as they have sound knowledge on various devices and tools.”

CU Proctor Ali Asgar Chowdhury told Dhaka Tribune that they were working along with law enforcing agencies to trace out any suspicious link to the students.

Vice-Chancellor of CU Professor Dr Iftekhar Uddin Chowdhury said: “We have formed an anti-militant and terrorism cell at the university. Deans and chairmen of every department and faculty have been asked to report about their students who were not present in the class for last 10 days.” l

Decade-long road woes in Horogram Bazar

Munshiganj clash kills two

A kilometre-long stretch of dilapidated road in Rajshahi city has been causing frequent accidents for more than a decade and has been a reason of suffering for locals throughout this time.

The road in question runs through the Horogram Bazaar stretching from the Janata Bank intersection near Rajpara’s court area to the Court Station intersection.

The entire road is riddled with potholes, while commuting becomes an extremely difficult task as many traders who have shops nearby dump their garbage right on the road.

Even if someone braves the stench and ignores the massive holes, they would have to suffer for the regular water stagnation on the road.

Such a shoddy state of the street has caused many local tenants to leave, dropping the renting value of local houses.

A local resident named Mohammad Salauddin told the Dhaka Tribune that vegetable and fishmeat traders dump their trash on the road that eventually just rots there and causes a horrible stench.

People try to avoid this road unless it is an absolute emergency, Salauddin said.

He added that people refuse to rent in the area as daily commute would be a difficult task.

Manik, another local resident, said school-college students suffer a lot every day, especially during the monsoon.

Shafiqur Rahman Badshah, a former principal of Rajshahi Court Mahabidyalaya and also a local, demanded that the road be repaired immediately.

n Tanjil Hasan, Munshiganj

n Abdullah Al Dulal, Rajshahi

A man tries to struggles his van which is stuck in a big pothole on a road near Horogram Bazar, Rajshahi city yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Mohammad Shihab, who owns a hardware store in the bazaar, said the road has not seen any repair in the past 12 to 15 years, while the condition has only been worsened because of constant digging for developing water and gas connections.

A local trader named Md Shariat Ali said the road was built around 40 years ago and last saw repairs over a decade ago.

He added that the city corporation has started buying off land beside the road for a planned expansion and repairs.

Nurul Islam, a trader in Horo-

gram Bazaar, said he had to respond to a government notice and give up 18 feet of his land for a road expansion.

The first notice was served eight months ago, while the final notice arrived three months ago, he said.

Asked about the amount of compensation, Nurul said he will be receiving around Tk8.5 lakh for the land, while the notice also mentions additional compensations for damage to infrastructures.

As road expansion plans slowly get realised, local traders alleged that their businesses continue to suffer. They also blamed the Ra-

jshahi City Corporation, which they said only collected taxes but did not clean the road.

Mithu, a van puller who regularly uses the road, said no passenger can sit straight when they are passing through this road. Small accidents are a daily occurrence and damage to passing vehicles is also very common.

Asked for comments, the city corporation’s Chief Engineer Ashraful Haque said the entire road would be repaired soon, but only the stretch of road from RDA Court Station to Lily Cinema Hall would be expanded. l

A newly elected UP member and his brother was killed in a gunfight on Thursday night in Charbalaki village of Hosendi union under Gazaria upazila of Munshiganj.

The deceased are Ward 8 UP member Golap Hosen Bepari and his brother Eiyub Ali Bepari.

Ten people were also wounded by bullets during the clash that broke out over a business deal over filling a ditch with sand.

The wounded are Yusuf Mridha, 50, Rehana Begum, 45, Fulchand, 60, Rubel, 30, Kamal Hosen, 40, Nabi Hosen, 35, Zahirul Haq, 35 and Imran Hosen, 32.

Gazaria Police Station Officer in Charge Hedayetul Islam Bhuiyan confirmed the incident.

Nine men were arrested, three from the Munshiganj General Hospital in connection but no case has been filed yet.

Sources said the incident happened when supporters of the newly elected chairman Mahbubul Haq Majnu and supporters of ex-chairman and UP Awami League President Abdul Matin Mantu locked into the clash.

Two others, Aowlad Hosen and Jewel, have been since the incident.

OC Hedayetul Islam Bhuiyan said: “Additional forces have been deployed in the area to avoid any escalation of the situation.”

Almost all male villagers of Charbalaki village and surrounding areas have gone into hiding to avoid arrest. l

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SOUTH ASIA

Pakistan declares Hizbul terrorist Burhan Wani a ‘martyr’

Further needling India on the Kashmir issue, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday declared slain Hizbul terrorist Burhan Wani a “martyr” and said July 19 will be observed as a “black day” to express solidarity with people of Kashmir.

-TOI

INDIA

India seeks further discount on Rafale, deal in final stages

India is pushing for a final discount of nearly 1,50,000 Euros in the much-anticipated Rafale fighter jet deal with France even after successfully bringing down the price by nearly two billion Euros. The French side, however, is adamant on the price it had offered way back in April which comes to about 7.89 billion Euros for the 36 fighter jets.

-TOI

CHINA

China detains 53 people for deadly Shenzhen landslide

China has detained 53 people in connection with a landslide that killed 73 people last year in Shenzhen, the official Xinhua news agency said on Friday. Investigators found that the December 20 disaster, which was characterised as an “extraordinarily serious” industrial accident, occurred because too much waste construction material had been dumped in a landfill.

-REUTERS

ASIA PACIFIC

N Korea arrests defector who ‘worked as S Korea agent’

North Korea on Friday paraded a defector accused of involvement in a child abduction plot it says was masterminded by South Korean agents, as Seoul demanded the man’s immediate release. In a carefully stage-managed press conference in Pyongyang, Ko Hyon-Chol, 53, who fled the North in 2013, “confessed” to attempting to kidnap two orphans and take them to the South.

-AFP

MIDDLE EAST

Russian strikes kill 18 IS fighters in Syria Russian air strikes have killed 18 Islamic State group fighters in central Syria, including near the historic city of Palmyra, over the past 24 hours, a monitor said on Friday. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said European members of IS were among the dead in the strikes around the town of Sukhna and near Palmyra -AFP

A man reacts near bouquets of flowers on July 15 as people pay tribute near the scene where a truck ran into a crowd at high speed killing scores and injuring more who were celebrating the Bastille Day national holiday, in Nice, France REUTERS

The world stands with France Ulaanbaatar/ n Reuters, Moscow

World leaders united in horror and pledged their determination to fight terrorism on Friday after a truck attack on a Bastille Day crowd in the French Riviera city of Nice killed 84 people.

US President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin and European and Asian leaders meeting for a summit in Mongolia joined in condemnation of what they called a terrorist attack in messages to French President Francois Hollande.

Police sources said the truck was driven by a 31-year Tunisian-born Frenchman known to authorities for petty crime but not Islamic radicalism, who was eventually shot dead after an exchange of gunfire with police.

Dozens more people were injured. The dead included foreign tourists and students.

European Council President Donald Tusk, speaking in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar, captured the global shock when he spoke of the "tragic paradox that the subject of #NiceAttack was the people celebrating liberty,

equality and fraternity."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on the sidelines of the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Mongolia: "All of us who have come together at the ASEM summit are united in our feeling of disbelief at the attack of mass murder in Nice."

New British Prime Minister Theresa May, whose country has just upset Paris and other European capitals by voting to leave the European Union, said Britain stood "shoulder to shoulder" with France.

Putin, whose relations with the West have been strained over Russian actions in Ukraine and Syria, went on Russian television to convey his condolences to Hollande after apparently being unable to reach him by telephone.

"Dear Francois, Russia knows what terror is and the threats that it creates for all of us. Our people have more than once encountered similar tragedies and is deeply affected by the incident, sympathises with the French people, and feels solidarity with them," he said, adding that Russian citizens were among the victims in Nice.

Domestic Agendas

In France itself, far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen, expected to do well in next year's presidential election, faulted the country's response to past attacks.

"The war on the scourge of Islamist fundamentalism has not begun. It is urgent now that it be declared," she said on Twitter.

In the Middle East, many messages of sympathy and condemnation were laced with domestic agendas.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, whose country was hit just days ago by a coordinated gun and bomb attack on Istanbul airport by suspected Islamic State militants, said Turks could understand what France and the French people were going through.

Saudi Arabia's top clerical body condemned the French attack but said it should not distract the world from "the crimes of the Syrian regime".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose settlement policies on Palestinian land have been criticised by France and other foreign countries, said Israel stood ready "to help the French government fight this evil until it

is defeated".

Neighbours Discuss Security

Italy, Spain, Germany, Britain and Belgium, all of which are neighbours of France, held separate meetings to review their own security after the Nice attack, which came just after the French had successfully hosted the Euro 2016 soccer tournament and launched a massive security operation during it.

Germany said it had boosted border controls at airports as well as road and rail crossings into France in response, as did Italy.

Britain and Belgium said their threat level was already severe, indicating they regard an attack is "highly likely".

It was the third time that France has been hit in 18 months, following the attacks on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket in January 2015 and a wave of gun and bomb assaults in November on a concert hall, restaurants and bars and the national soccer stadium.

Last month, a knife attacker killed two French police officers in their home before being shot deal by police. l

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SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

When vehicles become weapons n AFP, Paris Transforming a vehicle into a simple but deadly weapon of terror - as happened to such bloody effect in Nice on Thursday - is a tactic well known to intelligence agencies.

A truck smashed into revellers celebrating France's Bastille Day, killing at least 84 and injuring scores as its ploughed two kilometres through the crowd.

In Israel and the Palestinian territories, car-ramming attacks have featured heavily in a wave of violence that has killed at least 215 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese since October last year.

Western authorities have had to deal with three similar attacks in recent years: two in Britain and another in Canada.

In May 2013, two Islamists smashed their car into British soldier Lee Rigby before attempting to behead him on a London street in broad daylight.

The pair, who were of Nigerian heritage, said they attacked the 25-year-old fusilier to avenge the deaths of Muslims at the hands of British troops.

Just 18 months later, a man claiming to be acting in the name of radical jihad ran over and killed Canadian soldier Patrice Vincent, also injuring a second man.

Shortly after, the 25-year-old Muslim convert, Martin Couture-Rouleau, called the police emergency line to dedicate his attack to the cause of jihad.

And in June 2007, two men in a burning jeep smashed into the main terminal building at Scotland's Glasgow Airport. One of the men was jailed for life, with the judge describing him as a "religious extremist".

For several years, extremist

In striking the jewel of the French Riviera on a national holiday the truck attack on Nice delivered a new blow to France’s tourism sector already reeling from repeated terror attacks.

The place of Thursday’s Nice attack was a top tourist destination: the palm-lined Promenade des Anglais along the Mediterranean coast in the city which is the number two destination in France behind Paris.

Georges Panayotis, head of the MKG hotel and tourism consultancy, expressed concern about the effect the repeated attacks were having on the industry.

“This is no longer a classic terrorism situation where a couple of

USA

US carries out first execution in more than two months Georgia executed a prisoner by lethal injection early Friday, the first US execution in more than two months, ending a pause that reflects a decline in capital punishment. John Conner, 60, died at 0429 GMT in Jackson the state’s prison authorities said.

-AFP

THE AMERICAS

Venezuela will temporarily reopen border crossing Venezuela will temporarily reopen its border with Colombia on Sunday, a state governor said, a move that will allow desperate Venezuelans to stock up on food, medicine and other basics sorely lacking in their country. “We will not put up any obstacle...whoever wants to cross can cross,” Jose Vielma Mora, governor of the border state of Tachira, told reporters Thursday.

-AFP French police forces and forensic officers stand next to a truck July 15, 2016 that ran into a crowd celebrating the Bastille Day national holiday on the Promenade des Anglais killing at least 60 people in Nice, France, July 14 REUTERS groups such as Islamic State and Al-Qaeda have exhorted followers via videos or messages to carry out such attacks using whatever comes to hand.

In September 2014, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, an IS spokesman who Western intelligence agencies have dubbed the group's "attacks minister", issued chilling instructions that some have since apparently followed.

"If you cannot (detonate) a bomb or (fire) a bullet, arrange to meet alone with a French or an American infidel and bash his skull in with a rock, slaughter him with a knife, run him over with your car, throw him off a cliff, strangle him, or inject him with poison," he said. l

Nice attack a new strike against French tourism n AFP, Paris

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World

months is enough following an attack for economic activity to recover,” said Panayotis.

The successive attacks and high number of victims “will dissuade tourists for a certain time”.

The number of tourists arriving on regular flights has fallen by 5.8 percent since January, including by 11 percent in Paris.

The number of hotel nights foreigners spend in Paris is expected to be down around 20 percent for the prime summer season, tourism minister Matthias Fekl said in a recent interview with TourMag. The tourism industry is critically important for France, the world’s top tourism destination that welcomed nearly 84.5 million visitors last year. l

UK

Slain MP Jo Cox laid to rest in private ceremony The funeral of MP Jo Cox, whose murder shocked Britain in the run-up to last month’s EU referendum, was being held on Friday in the northern English constituency she represented. Cox, a 41-yearold mother of two young children, was shot and stabbed in the street in the village of Birstall, West Yorkshire, on June 16 as she made her way to an advice session for the people she represented in parliamen.

-REUTERS

EUROPE

A body is seen on the ground July 15, 2016 after at least 30 people were killed in Nice, France, when a truck ran into a crowd celebrating the Bastille Day national holiday July 14 REUTERS

Tour de France stage goes ahead amid high security n AFP, Bourg-Saint-Andéol Friday's 13th stage of the Tour de France went ahead amid heightened security despite the terror attack which killed at least 84 people in Nice on Thursday night.

Some 600 security forces were deployed along the 37km-long route from Bourg Saint Andeol to La Caverne du Pont d'Arc in the south of France.

"All access roads leading to the route have been blocked," assistant Tour director Pierre-Yves Thouault, who is in charge of security, told AFP. The Tour is officially in mourning according to organisers, with festivities suspended on

the day's stage.

"We want this day to be dignified in hommage to the victims," said Tour director Christian Prudhomme ahead of the start of the stage, a 37km time-trial from Bourg Saint Andeol to La Caverne du Pont d'Arc in the south of France.

Despite the extra security, former world champion Rui Costa of Portugal admitted he was afraid that the Tour could also be targeted, in particular because of the thousands of people who line the streets every day to watch the cyclists go past. "#prayfornice I don't feel safe here in France," he wrote on Facebook. l

Afghan man killed in Greek migrant camp brawl An Afghan asylum seeker died Thursday after a brawl in a Greek migration camp involving 50 others, a police source said. The man, aged around 20, was seriously injured by his countrymen in the camp at Hellinikon, in Athens’ southern suburbs, and transferred to a neighbouring hospital where he died from his wounds. Two other migrants, whose nationality was not confirmed, were also hospitalised.

-AFP

AFRICA

7 loyalist troops killed fighting IS in Libya’s Sirte Seven Libyan unity government fighters were killed and 49 wounded Friday in clashes with IS in the jihadists’ coastal stronghold of Sirte, pro-government forces said. Fighting was fiercest around Sirte’s conference centre, which has become a command headquarters for IS, a statement from forces loyal to the GNA said.

-AFP

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May says won't trigger EU divorce until UKwide approach agreed n Reuters, Edinburgh Prime Minister Theresa May said on Friday that Britain would not trigger formal divorce talks with the European Union until a "UK approach" had been agreed, bidding to appease Scots who strongly oppose Brexit.

May made the comment after meeting First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, head of the pro-independence Scottish government which says pro-EU Scots should not be dragged out against their will and has been looking at ways to keep Scotland in the bloc.

Scotland voted by 62-38 percent to stay in the European Union in the June 23 referendum while the United Kingdom as a whole voted 52-48 percent to leave, a result which Sturgeon has said made the prospect of another vote on Scottish independence "highly likely".

"I have already said that I won't be triggering Article 50 until I think that we have a UK approach and objectives for negotiations - I think it is important that we establish that before we trigger Article 50," May told broadcasters, referring to the procedure through which a country would withdraw from the EU. May's said her decision to visit Sturgeon on her own turf less than 48 hours after taking office underlined her determination to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom after the Brexit vote had revived the issue of independence, which Scots rejected in a 2014 referendum.

New British Prime Minister Theresa May meeting First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon at Bute House in Edinburgh, Scotland on July 15 REUTERS Sturgeon has said she will explore all options for keeping Scotland in the EU and May, who herself had backed the campaign to remain in the bloc, said she wanted the Scottish government to be involved in the Brexit talks.

"I will listen to any options they bring forward. I've been very clear with the first minister today that I want the Scottish government

to be fully engaged in our discussions," May said. "I want to get the best possible deal for the whole of the United Kingdom."

'Scotland has had its independence vote' Scots rejected independence by 5545 percent in the referendum two years ago, but since then, Sturgeon's Scottish National Party has gone

from strength to strength, winning 56 of Scotland's 59 seats in the British parliament in the 2015 election.

"As far as I'm concerned the Scottish people had their vote, they voted in 2014 and a very clear message came through, both the United Kingdom and the Scottish government said they would abide by that," May said.

Sturgeon said on Wednesday she

wanted May to enable the Scottish government to explore possibilities for Scotland to remain in the EU as a central part of the overall negotiations with the bloc over the terms of Britain's exit.

She has also repeatedly said that Scotland should be able to conduct talks directly with EU counterparts, and met several EU leaders in Brussels during a visit there days after the referendum.

If independence then turns out to be the best way for Scotland to remain an EU member, Sturgeon argues there should be another referendum on the issue. Polls suggest support for independence had risen since the Brexit vote.

On Friday, Sturgeon said it would be inconceivable for a British prime minister to block a referendum voted for by the Scottish parliament.

"I work on the basis that trying to block a referendum, if there's a clear sense that that's what people in Scotland want, would be completely the wrong thing to do," Sturgeon told Sky News after the meeting with May on Friday.

May's Conservative Party, unpopular in Scotland for decades, holds only one of Scotland's 59 seats in the Westminster parliament, although it has recently improved its standing, coming second to the SNP in the Scottish parliamentary election in May. It is now the official opposition to the SNP in Edinburgh, having beaten the once dominant Labour Party into third place. l

Trump announces Pence as running mate n Reuters, Washington

Republican Donald Trump announced Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his vice presidential running mate on Friday, putting a seasoned conservative politician at his side who could help rally more party loyalists behind his White House bid.

Republican sources said on Thursday that Trump had decided on Pence, but the campaign had not confirmed this until now.

Trump had postponed a Friday event to announce his decision following the deadly truck attack in France.

Viewed as a safe pair of hands, Pence, 57, has diverging views with Trump on his proposed Muslim ban and trade, and is more socially conservative. But he could help unify Republicans left divided by Trump's campaign to win the party presidential nomination for the November 8 election.

"I am pleased to announce that I have chosen Governor Mike Pence as my Vice Presidential running mate. News conference tomorrow at 11:00am," Trump said in a tweet.

Trump had faced a midday deadline to announce Pence because the governor had to declare by then whether he would be on the ballot in his home state for re-election.

Trump, a New York businessman who has never held elected office, had chosen Pence from a short list that included two other finalists, former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

In a Fox News interview on Thursday night, Trump said Pence had done a great job in Indiana and that of all the people he had interviewed for the job, "there's nobody that agrees with me fully on everything."

His choice was slammed by the

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (R) and Indiana Governor Mike Pence (L) wave before addressing the crowd during a campaign stop at the Grand Park Events Center in Westfield, Indiana, on July 12 REUTERS campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. “By picking Mike Pence as his running mate, Donald Trump has doubled down on some of his most

disturbing beliefs by choosing an incredibly divisive and unpopular running mate known for supporting discriminatory politics and failed economic policies that fa-

vour millionaires and corporations over working families,� said Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.

Trump said on Thursday he postponed his planned announcement on Friday out of respect for the victims in Nice, France. An attacker in a heavy truck drove into crowds celebrating Bastille Day, killing at least 84 people and injuring scores more in what President Francois Hollande called a terrorist act.

Trump, 70, is set to be formally nominated as the party's candidate for the presidential election at the convention in Cleveland.

Traditionally, the vice presidential choice is used to build enthusiasm among party loyalists.

The Republican National Committee expects the convention to draw 50,000 people to Cleveland and US authorities were preparing for the possibility of violence - whether from demonstrators or planned attacks. l

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Death toll hits 38 as Indian Kashmir clashes spread n AFP, Srinagar Two people including a teenager were killed Friday as clashes spread in India-administered Kashmir despite a curfew, with the death toll reaching 38 in a week, officials said.

The teen died, while three protesters were

Nalanda Mahavihara

Nan Madol

Zuojiang Huashan rock art

Qanat Niavaran water systems

Unesco adds four new sites to World Heritage list n AFP, Turkey The UN's cultural agency on Friday added four new sites in Iran, India, China and Micronesia to its World Heritage list.

The sites named by UNESCO include the so-called qanat water systems in Iran, the Zuojiang Huashan rock art cultural landscape in China and the archaeological site of Nalanda Mahavihara in India.

The landscape in China is all that remains today of the bronze age culture – known as "bronze drum" after its most characteristic artifacts – once prevalent across the country's south, the agency said in a statement.

The site in Iran is an example of an ancient water-supply system - known as qanat

- suited for the most arid areas.

The fourth site is Nan Madol – a ceremonial centre of eastern Micronesia in the Federated States of Micronesia containing mediaeval palaces and tombs.

The Micronesian site is a series of 99 artificial islets built with walls of basalt and coral boulders.

It was, however, immediately placed on UNESCO's list of heritage-in-danger.

The UN agency warned threats to the site were notably the construction of navigation channels which was leading to the uncontrolled growth of the mangrove, making the historic edifices more fragile.

The heritage-in-danger list is intended to highlight the risks facing world herit-

age sites that need protection and allows the committee to allocate immediate support from the World Heritage Fund.

UNESCO named the old towns of Djenne in Mali and Shakhrisyabz in Uzbekistan on Wednesday on its heritage-in-danger list during its 40th meeting of its World Heritage Committee in Istanbul.

All five of Libya's World Heritage sites were named on Thursday by the agency as at risk of damage from the civil war that continues to rage in the country.

Meanwhile, the complex of churches and holy sites in the Georgian town of Mtskheta was removed from the in-danger list, where it had been listed since 2009.

The meeting will end on July 20. l

UN seeks probe into violence against asylum seekers in Hungary n Reuters The UN refugee agency urged Hungary on Friday to investigate reports that its forces had beaten asylum seekers and unleashed police dogs on them - and decried a new law allowing irregular migrants to be taken back outside a border fence.

Janos Lazar, minister in charge of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's office, denied on Thursday that Hungarian police or soldiers had mistreated asylum seekers and

described their performance as "outstanding".

Hungary, a member of the European Union, last month adopted a law that allows police to send illegal migrants detained up to eight km inside its southern razor-wire border-fence back to the other side of the barrier.

"These restrictions are at variance with EU and international law, and reports of abuse need to be investigated," William Spindler, spokesman for the UNHCR, told a news briefing.

"Reports include cases of bites by unleashed police dogs, the use of pepper spray and beatings. UNHCR has requested the Hungarian authorities to investigate these reports," he said, calling them "consistent".

Hungarian prosecutors last month opened an investigation into possible criminal abuse by police in the case of a Syrian migrant who drowned in the Tisza River as he was trying to cross into Hungary from Serbia. l

critically wounded, when Indian soldiers opened fire on an angry group that attacked their camp with stone, a police officer speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP. Another young man died when police fired live bullets at a group of protesters who set fire to a police station. l

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Interview

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

The need of a F-commerce platform in Bangladesh n Rad Sharar Bin Kamal

A

zim Hossain joined PRAN-RFL Group back in January 2011, and is now the head of Digital Media at the established conglomerate.

After a comprehensive meet, he opened up on the effectiveness of the National F-commerce Summit 2016 hosted by GEEKY Social, a national 360 degree digital marketing company, and how important it was for the little guys in the F-commerce sector and our nation.

What is your opinion on the National F-commerce Summit?

Do you think it was helpful to revitalise the industry?

Yes! It was definitely helpful.

When there is a singular and uniform platform for an industry which is organised, it helps that sector grow. Previously, concerned parties were very interested in propelling the SME sector. They organised nationwide events in order to encourage it. The same should be done here.

With regard to F-commerce, the industry refers to those businesses which are Facebook centric. These small business units usually have little capital to begin with, but using Facebook as a medium, they are being able to spur out revenues 10 times more than their initial investment. This, in turn, provides them with the initiative to invest further and gain more revenue. If such businesses are given a platform to stand over, it would inevitably

help the economy to excel.

Most startups halt in operations after a year or so of operations at best, simply because they do not have a platform to support them. These startups generally come into the market with unique ideas, but face issues with the implementation of those ideas.

The absence of a platform is strong felt when they seek guidance in that area.

How would you describe the intersection of digital marketing and F-commerce entrepreneurship?

The digital marketing ecosystem and penetration in Bangladesh is led by Facebook. Maximum Bangladeshi audiences are Facebook centric, as I mentioned.

The media provides superb communications tools for F-commerce businesses to reach their target audiences, all in a costeffective manner.

Facebook audiences are mostly dominated by the youth in our country, and they help carry forward any form of movement which requires attention. The youth represents the digital media, and if they are encouraged to be so, the generation which proceeds them shall be even more adaptive to innovative technologies. In turn, this shall create immense momentum in the F-commerce business cycle in the years to come.

What is your take on digital marketing in Bangladesh? How developed is the market?

In my opinion, the digital marketing sector in Bangladesh has not even reached a stage of maturity, and is following the trends of developed economies around the world. There are a lot of digital inventory which the Bangladeshi market is not matured enough to adapt to as of yet.

The bittersweet truth is, developed economies require decades of research and innovation to come up with new digital commodities and make it available to the world. But as a developing economy, all we have to do is adapt.

The population catches up on such trends quite fast, but if a platform is present to aid businesses to make those trends lucrative, it helps the economy stride just as quickly.

I believe that social media should not be used as a sole platform for business and communication. Facebook makes it efficient to begin operations and connect to your target market, but it should only grow from there into a personal and branded media (like your own website, blog, app outside of Facebook) to which you pull your current and potential customers.

What potential do you see for digital marketing in the overall marketing budget mix in the coming days?

The marketing budget is calculated by understanding how much money it would need for a company to reach their target

PHOTO: BIGSTOCK

The youth represents the digital media, and if they are encouraged to be so, the generation which proceeds them shall be even more adaptive to innovative technologies audience.

Traditional forms of marketing followed a “spray and pray” theory, where the intended message is dispersed amongst the masses with crossed fingers that it reaches the right people.

Digital forms of marketing allow a much more targeted approach, where a company can reach 20-year-old university students directly when they target, indeed, 20-year-old university students. It may be costly in some cases, but the effectivity of the approach is ensured.

It helps you get the right people, at the right time, with the right product, and by communicating the right message.

This helps the customers as well, as their search cost for innovative solutions is decreased.

How big is your organization’s (PRAN-RFL Group) digital footprint?

I won’t necessarily say that PRANRFL Group’s digital footprint is large, for the whole world have been engrossed in the digital movement. It would be prudent to consider every Facebook user as a personal TV channel, using which businesses can reach every one of them. Everyone is now live and everyone can play the role of media now.

The traditional media channels have now began to merge/blent

with digital media channels in order to provide customers with the best of both. It was previously believed that digital media would result in a conflict between the two platforms, but it was realised that they were actually complementing each other. Hence, whoever begins adapting the earliest, the better it shall be for them.

At PRAN-RFL Group, we are a very marketing driven entity. Our movements tend to be persistent in nature, and as a part of that movement, we have a digital marketing side. We have a separate department for the task, for our products are exported to more than 120 countries around the world. Hence, naturally, the digital inventory we utilise are operated and invested in on a global scale.

Here, the role of my department is to make a perfect media mix to reach the brands objective effectively.

For conglomerates like ourselves who are export centric, it has become a necessity to adapt to digital marketing and excel at it. The more time we take to adapt this, the greater our losses shall be.

“Brand is for the consumer. The role of a brand manager/custodian is to give the audience a good platform to interact and build a connection with those brands.”

You can get in touch with Azim Hossain by sending a mail to pranazim@gmail.com l

DT

13

Feature

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

Seriously laid-back humour Max Mystel is a stand-up comedian, magician, a terrible writer and a professional bum

n Max Mystel Staring at a glass of water, sometimes I wonder how I feel.

Some days the glass is half full, some days the glass is half empty.

Other days, I wish the glass had lemonade in it. Therefore, even if I felt the glass was half empty, the lemonade would be worth it.

If you read the above carefully, you will notice that there is a very important message here. Have you figured it out yet? If you still can’t figure out what the message is, it’s basically this: “I love lemonade; get me some if we ever hang out.”

On that narcissistic note, let’s talk a little about current affairs.

We are slowly starting to recover from what has recently transpired.

No amount of words can help express the sadness I feel. What happened was an extremely

traumatic experience for us, the people, and the nation as a whole. I would like to forward my condolences to the relatives of all the people who died on July 1 and 7. Yes I said ALL THE PEOPLE, and that means including the families of the terrorists. Losing your life is the ultimate price anyone can pay and I believe no one deserves to die.

Am I angry? Yes I am, in fact, I am furious at what happened.

But even more so at how we are slowly succumbing to this fear.

Instead of being collectively aware we’re playing the blame game.

The most recent development has been the sad yet strategic targeting of students, among other institutions, of a certain private university that I will not name.

You see, I have many friends from North South University (NSU). And

It is said that you can’t buy friendship with money. True! Every time I do a show I make new friends. And my client pays for it

they are doing an excellent job of representing our country both at home and overseas. Therefore, saying that NSU only breeds terrorists is the same as saying all our fruits and vegetables are formalin free. The bad may have been highlighted, but let’s not forget the good and stop with the stereotyping and hate mongering.

All this does is create more divide between us in a time when we all need to be united.

I am done with the serious commentary, so now let’s move on to the laid-back humour part of the column. As I feel the only thing that can help us cope with the current situation is a bit of laughter. Because laughter is the best medicine, unless you have asthma, then you need an inhaler…filled with laughing gas.

And on that terrible joke, here’s a compilation of some one-liners that I have written, which are definitely much better than the one you just read. Here’s to hoping they help lighten up your mood and wish your glass was halffull or half-empty with watery lemonade.

Laid-back humour:

• In my mind, you are either married or happy. Never both at the same time, unless…you’re Saudi. Then you are four times happily married.

• Introducing a YouTuber as a comedian is like introducing Ananta Jalil as an expert in

English. Because none of the introductions are true. They’re “PALSE!” • When I was young, my father used to beat me. My sister never got hit though. He used to beat me so much that if he ever directed a sitcom, he’d call it How I beat your brother!

• Saudi woman in Saudi Arabia walks into a burqa shop asking for a coloured burqa. Shop attendant: “What colour would you like? We have black, dark black and midnight black.”

• My mom calls me fat and dark.

I wonder whose DNA messed that up for me.

• Roses are red, violets are blue, I am schizophrenic, so am I. • It is said that you can’t buy friendship with money. True!

Every time I do a show I make new friends. And my client pays for it.

• Some of my friends say I can’t spell for the life of me. I want them to know, I am NOT yxlesdic!

• During an earthquake Most people: “Hurry, let’s go downstairs! Let’s go downstairs!”

My mom: “Let’s go upstairs and see what’s happening downstairs.”

• Went to a restaurant and ordered a waffle and alphabet soup. Waitress asked me: “Are you a crossword puzzle expert?”

What do you call a master in botching, breaking and stealing? The MBBS course for malpraciticing doctors. l

DT

14

Teen

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

Popularity for dummies n Noor-E-Shahrin

M

eet Tania. She is an average high school girl, too plain to notice, too unimportant to remember. Right now, she is sitting forlorn on her bed, checking her Facebook newsfeed like any other day. She notices her current profile picture, which was uploaded two days ago with an artillery of 30 likes, and no comments. She thought of her best friend, Tuhin, who managed 365.

Okay, this was the limit. Rion uploaded a post saying, “It’s summer and I’m bored.” A few hours, and fifty likes emerged!

“How is that more fascinating than my profile picture? I used a Snapchat filter on it for heaven’s sake,” thought Tania. She knocked some of her friends online. They all ignored her texts after seeing them. Unsurprised, Tania smashed the screen shut and put away her laptop.

She lay in the darkness of her blanket, like it would protect her from her messed up emotions. She stayed up all night thinking about why she isn’t popular enough to get a three-digit number of likes. She mentally listed down everything wrong with her, simultaneously drowning in the voids of her sub-consciousness.

If you can relate to Tania, don’t be embarrassed to admit it to yourself. Believe me, you are not the only one whose insecurities goes ricocheting up when life keeps presenting evidence of your almost invisible existence. Your friends are busy with their other friends and you never even got asked out. No shame. We can work this out. A tall glass of popularity coming right up!

First step of solving a problem is to agree that there is one. Some people are born with millions of friends. You are not one of them; discard that headstrongness and own up to yourself. The first thing to do is to bring a positive attitude in you about your mission to become popular. Never act like you don’t care about your reputation.

Always show your friends, teachers and colleagues that you are interested in impressing them.

What you have to do now is to get yourself noticed. Your wardrobe plays a significant role here. Don’t hide yourself in clothes that you think might make you seem dull. Wear comfortable clothes but be trendy in your own style. You might have heard or read it that looks don’t matter.

However, it does work as a catalyst for this particular mission.

PHOTO: BIGSTOCK

Learn how to strike up a light-hearted conversation with anyone you like. Be careful to avoid controversial topics like politics and religion; but if your companion wants to discuss such topics, just go with it. Do not expect your friends to chase after you while you sit on a different table from them. Be social and approach them yourself. But if you see that s/he is busy or showing signs of not being interested in you, do not badger them. Just don’t hide yourself in the corner, give others the privilege of knowing a smart and fun person like you.

And a sense of humour is a crucial matter; crack jokes every now and then (not clichéd knock-knock jokes, though).

Here’s a helpful tip - give direct observational compliments towards your friends, but make sure they are relevant. Use body language casually and keep yourself relaxed. Nobody wants to hear you go on and on about the finals coming up.

Talking smart isn’t all. Half the work you have to do is simply listen to your companion. And then, tactfully relate their stories to yours. For example, if they are talking about their siblings, compare yours to them. Make them feel like their feelings and experiences matter to you.

Once you are an expert on the previous stages, it’s time to get you up in the club. Building rapport will become much easier if you are a member of some club that matches your interests.

Remember, your mission is to make yourself visible to as many people as possible.

“Be yourself,” and, “Popularity isn’t a thing,” these are some hackneyed phrases you learn through Netflix and such. If you feel like you have bigger mountains to move and these issues are trivial to you, then good luck with that. But there are some of us who see the celebrities in school and our work place and fantasise about what the spotlight actually feels like. The feeling of

What you have to do now is to get yourself noticed. Your wardrobe plays a significant role here. Don’t hide yourself in clothes that you think might make you seem dull

being on the outside looking in is a painful one.

But don’t let desperation drive you too far. Never try to do something illegal or unethical to attract attention. In particular, don’t just take a friend as a camera man, go beat somebody up beside a lake and then upload the video on Facebook to earn likes (people actually do that). That’s old hat.

Adding strangers online and

getting too comfortable with them just so that they will act as your “like-bank” is very dangerous as well. Don’t play with fire, especially in these troubled times.

Most importantly, be confident with whatever you say or do.

Never cry in public. No matter how sick you are, get out of your bed and attend the party.

Mission accomplished. l

15

DT

Climate Change

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

Fight disaster, fight child marriage n Laurie Goering

F

or the 127 families of Medical Slum, a warren of tin shacks set in the shadow of a towering yellow-brick pharmaceutical factory, just listing all the problems the community faces is no easy task.

There’s a lack of water, as ever-longer dry spells and overuse of the city’s groundwater empty wells. There’s flooding when heavy rains do come, washing sewage from the community’s open toilet and effluent from the nearby factory into homes and forcing families to wade to their wooden beds, propped up on bricks out of the flood waters.

Electricity is scarce and costly.

Jobs are hard to come by, and poorly paid. Credit is available largely at loan-shark rates.

Girls are married too young, and many women fear for their safety in the slum’s narrow alleyways after dark, residents say.

“And the heat!” lamented Abdul Sattar, an old man in a white prayer cap, his long beard tinged orange with henna. “The summer is longer, and the heat is bad.

Winter is disappearing. There’s a big shift.”

Climate change is making an already tough life even harder for many of the estimated 20 million people now crammed into heaving greater Dhaka. Its population continues to grow at nearly 5% a year as migrants -- many of whom have lost their farms to worsening erosion, storms and sea-level rise -- flood in, seeking new work. “If we told them to go back, where would they go?” asked Sirajul Islam, chief urban planner for the Dhaka South City Corporation, which manages the southern half of Dhaka.

But at least some of the city’s 3 million slum dwellers -- many squeezed into one-room shacks of tin, bamboo, plastic sacks and wood -- are now looking for ways to lower the risks from climate change and a host of other problems.

Solar panels to pumps

In Medical Slum, in Tongi district, a newly formed community development committee has, over the last year, mapped out threats to the neighbourhood, from flooding to pollution from the pharmaceutical plant, as well as resources, including a nearby police station, and hospital.

With the map in hand, the community -- most of them migrants who lost land in different parts of the country -- has drawn up a list of its priorities for action.

Residents of Medical Slum, in Dhaka’s Tongi district, watch a community theatre performance on the problems of child marriage and dowry payments Those include buying submersible pumps to clear away flood-water, and obtain clean drinking water from a well, installing solar panels to power street-lights, and eventually creating a few roads wide enough for fire trucks and other emergency vehicles to pass.

The community’s top priority -- garbage collection, to help keep clear the drains that carry away flood-waters -- has already been arranged for the first time through the municipal authority.

Some young members of the new committee have also been trained as emergency volunteers, to assist fire-fighters and police in the event of disasters.

“The community was not united earlier. We didn’t interact with each other much. Now we do,” said Poly, a 32-year-old development committee member who goes by one name, like many people in Bangladesh.

“We are a team, and we are ready to act if something happens,” she said.

Women’s rights

The new social cohesion, and a big role for women in planning, are key to helping communities like Medical Slum begin to tackle some of their problems, said Palash Mondal of aid agency CARE.

It, with the Village Education Resource Centre (VERC), a local partner, is working with the community development committee to build resilience to threats in Medical Slum, backed by funding from the Switzerlandbased C&A Foundation.

“Women are now aware of their rights, and can raise their voices.

Before, we couldn’t do this,” said committee president Kalpona Begum, 55.

The community’s meeting hall, a tin-roofed shed with a cardboard ceiling, and orange tarp stretched over its concrete floor, is plastered with hand-drawn posters illustrating ways to reduce earthquake and fire risks, and to combat social ills -- including one image of an old man and a young girl in a red wedding veil, with a big red X marked over it.

The efforts to unite the community to build resilience to climate change and disasters have already helped halt at least one child marriage, said Shaheen, a VERC community coordinator.

Two months ago, she stopped by the home of a local widow, to find out if her 14-year-old daughter Jasmine, who had been forced to leave school as money was short, was interested in some training to become a garment factory worker.

Many slum residents find work

COURTESY

The efforts to unite the community to build resilience to climate change and disasters have already helped halt at least one child marriage

at Dhaka’s garment factories, earning about $50 per month of 12-hour shifts, or spend their days recycling plastic wrapping in sheds within the slum.

Jasmine’s mother said the training wasn’t necessary, as she planned to send her daughter back to their native village to marry.

Shaheen contacted members of a women’s group, who visited to urge Jasmine’s mother not to break the law by marrying her daughter at such a young age. The woman relented, and Jasmine, a shy, quiet girl in a red tunic, now stays at home in Medical Slum.

Jasmine watches her younger brothers during the day, and spends time in the late afternoon with her 13-year-old friend Farjana, in the shade of the coconut trees just outside the slum’s entrance.

She is relieved not to be on her way to becoming a bride just yet.

“Early marriage is not healthy for us,” she said. “I am not yet mature enough to give birth.” l This article was originally printed by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, women’s rights, trafficking and property rights. Visit http://news.trust. org/climate.

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

16

DT

Heritage

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

The baron and the laird How the foundations of the British Empire were secured

n Tim Steel

R

obert Clive and Hector Munro, two men who built for themselves a formidable record of military achievement, might well be regarded as those who, after a century and a half of English activity on north-east India, secured the foundations of the British Empire that grew out of the lands around the Ganges and its delta; lands that are now those of Bangladesh.

One of the most significant characters in the mid-18th century drama that unfolded, as the British secured their control over the vital lands of Bengal, Bihar, and

Orissa -- a major source of both their supplies of gunpowder, and all the wealth accruing from manufacturing and trade -- was, unquestionably, Hector Munro, Laird of Novar.

The other, of course, was Robert Clive, who became the 1st Baron Clive, Lord Clive.

Born in 1726, in his family’s lands in Ross Shire, Scotland, Munro was commissioned into a highland regiment, Loudon’s Highlanders, in 1747. He was under the patronage of the Duchess of Gordon, who he had rescued from a coaching misadventure.

A minor aristocrat himself, such distinguished patronage was helpful then -- as even now -- in

Britain.

Through that influence, when the highland regiment in which he was then commissioned, the 89th Foot Regiment, sailed to India in 1760, leaving behind the 17-yearold fourth duke of Gordon, whose mother was Munro’s patron, and who had been anxious to go but was forbidden by the King (presumably at the behest of his mother), Munro held the rank of major.

The role of his regiment was as a mobile support force to others, especially those of the East India Company, as the Company’s influence spread.

First, to overcome the constant attempts by the French and their

Such men as Clive and Munro were the builders of Empires. In a more ancient, smaller world, these lands of Bangladesh bred, surely, their own such adventurers

allies to take control of the Indian territories, and, also, to overcome the resistance of local rulers.

In 1764, following a number of defeats of the Company and British forces by the resistance of the Mughal imperial forces and

their allies, he found himself as “commander in chief” of the Royal British forces in India. He was commanding the British forces, which also included those of the East India Company, at Buxar, near Patna.

His first task on assuming command was that of overcoming a mutiny by local troops in his own forces. He achieved that in a brutal fashion, which may have owed something to his experience of Scottish warfare in the suppression of the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, and the aftermath of the final Battle of Culloden.

The aftermath of that battle for the English and Scottish crowns was followed by as much brutality as the battle itself. The Hanoverian regime -- which had been somewhat generous in the aftermath of the earlier, 1715 Rebellion in the same cause -- had learned that generosity in victory is not always rewarded.

His victory at Buxar laid the foundations for the opportunity that Robert Clive (who had led the British forces in the 1757 battle of Plassey, overcoming the forces loyal to Sirajud Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal) gladly seized, moving into “negotiation” with the defeated Mughal Emperor Shah Alam ll, and effectively securing control of the vital and valuable territories of Bengal, Orissa, and Bihar.

These territories were the various sources of many of the most vital and valuable of local commodities, including the all important saltpetre for gunpowder, together with diamonds, fabrics, spices, fragrances, and agricultural products.

The Mughals themselves had built much of their own power and wealth upon those resources.

Munro, following a spell in England -- including becoming an

This is not to forget the thousands of young adventurers from these lands who left their homes to sail the oceans, and even making their own small ‘conquests,’ by settling in foreign lands, opening businesses, and even joining the ruling elites Inverness Member of Parliament -- returned in 1778 for a highly successful spell of activity, defeating both the French at Pondicherry, and the famous Hyder Ali (although previously defeated by the father of the more famous son, Tipu Sultan).

There is no real evidence that Munro made the kind of fortune in India that others, such as Clive, managed. But he lived a further 23 years, to die at the age of 79, unlike his early contemporary, Robert Clive, the First Baron Clive “Clive of India.”

Clive had been born a year earlier than Munro, in 1725. His somewhat disturbed childhood probably marked him from an early age as having the potential to become an adventurous soldier with strong leadership qualities,

and greedy for wealth.

The India he found, on arrival at the age of 19, was already in thrall to the Mughal regime. As the Kishoreganj born historian Nirad C Chaudhuri has suggested, it was also the subject of “destructiveness of the Marathas and Afghans,” and the “greed of the high caste Hindus.”

Indeed, contemporary journals seem to bear out such a contention in their observations. The Mughals in Bengal themselves may have, almost, amounted to a challenge to the adventurous, and acquisitive, Clive.

The treasure collected from governance of the three provinces of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa by the viceroy Shaista Khan, and taken back with him on his recall to Delhi, is estimated in modern

values as billions, if not upward towards a trillion pounds sterling.

It certainly required a substantial flotilla of barges to carry the gold, silver, gems, and coins that he had succeeded in squeezing from the poorest farmer, to the wealthiest merchant.

Perhaps he took that as a measure of success. And fairly successful, both on his own behalf, that of East India Company investors, king and country, he certainly was!

Whilst he served his time as a clerk, as all such arrivals of East India Company association, it was very apparent that his military skills were rapidly recognised by the Company. Perhaps his youthful follies, which included organising a “mafia-like” protection racket in the town where a part of his schooling took place, along with his clear qualities of leadership, stood him in good stead.

His military achievements, and his powers of negotiation and organisation, spoke for themselves.

Clearly, he was a versatile, high achiever.

He was, without doubt, one of the key figures of a period in which Britain became, historians now observe, “rulers of the world” through both naval and military success. Both together, the prerequisite of global domination.

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17

Heritage

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

He ranks with the duke of Marlborough and wolfe of Quebec in the gallery of those who laid those foundations of empire.

From his refusal to “sit out” the French occupation of Madras at the opening of the First Carnatic War, the Indian theatre of the War of Austrian Succession, in which British and French were savagely opposed, until his final departure from India in 1767, and death at the comparatively early (even for those days) age of 49, his was an astonishing record of achievement against both European and local forces.

For better or worse, he and Hector Munro stand out amongst those who built the military, as did Admiral Pocock, who laid the naval foundations for Britain being an empire that arguably commenced its life in and around the lands that are now those of Bangladesh; shaping, too, those of India and Pakistan, today.

Such men as Clive and Munro were the builders of empires. In a more ancient, smaller world, these lands of Bangladesh bred, surely, their own such adventurers.

If “Datis,” the chief of the Gangaridai, who makes his appearance in the civil war on the shores of the Black Sea in the 3rd century BCE rewrite of the Homeric legend of Jason and the Golden

Fleece, by Apollonius of Rhodes, ever existed, he would, surely, have been such a man. And if he never did exist, it may be instructive that Apollonius felt the need to invent him!

So, too, would the men of whom Virgil, the great Roman poet, wrote in the last century BCE, as “men of Gangaridai,” whose victory in Asia Minor as mercenaries in the Roman Army, he would celebrate in ivory and gold.

Qualities, no doubt that some -- especially victims and failures -- would view with horror. But there is plenty of evidence that young Bangladeshis themselves have, throughout history, been more than capable of both conquest and defence, and of accumulating wealth. A custom that is rarely practiced with the admiration of others.

And this is not to forget the thousands of young adventurers from these lands who left their homes to sail the oceans, and even making their own small “conquests,” by settling in foreign lands, opening businesses, and even joining the ruling elites, in such as the UK parliament, today ... a more “civilised” form of conquest, perhaps. l Tim Steel is a communications, marketing and tourism consultant.

DT

18

Opinion

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

The Bangladesh we are losing Our urban landscape is showing signs of decay

n Israfil Khosru

A

s an impressionable teenager, Dhaka in the 90s was a great place to grow up in. The urban divide was apparent among income classes much like in the present, but the ideological divide did not have much room for hate, violence, or heinousness as we are witnessing in the present.

The 90s began with the fall of an autocratic regime that reflected a milieu of political consensus and consciousness.

There was a sense of positivity and accomplishment exuded by the youth who believed that we were hallowed by a new beginning.

The debates between the left and the right were often centred around each side’s perspective on equity, justice, governance, social system, and economic management.

The discourse hardly ever included the issue of religion or anything pertaining to it as a focal point.

We would occasionally have discussions on religion and what it meant to us on a very personal level, but those discussions were almost never in the context of Bangladesh.

It did not matter what the constitution stated, the vast majority of the urban class of Bangladesh did not see religion as a defining factor or a possible game changer.

Fast forward to a decade down the line, and we have a starkly different scenario. The mainstream conversation has changed radically.

The concept of blissful pluralism that we urbanites took for granted is now often questioned. Manifestation of this new urban divide was apparent in the carnage that unfolded in Gulshan on the first day of July.

There were whispers of urban radicalisation which we conveniently decided to ignore simply out of smugness and impudence.

We were convinced that we outnumber them by many, and hence they will not be able to penetrate our tightly wound social fabric built on belief and general tolerance.

The extent of barbarism and misguided single-mindedness displayed by the attackers of the Holey Artisan Bakery has shattered that notion to pieces.

The stray killings around the country preceding the Gulshan

attack had most of us concerned, but did not substantially deplete our general sense of security.

This is where they have managed to strike now with purpose and audacity. They have managed to promulgate fear coupled with mistrust.

They are telling us that the upper echelon of the Bangladeshi society is not beyond their agenda as well. The identity of at least three of the attackers reveals that they belonged to the affluent class much like the victims of the tragedy.

So what has led to such decay that exposes our urban youth to such violent doctrines? What are the factors that led to this seismic change in the thought process of a considerable portion of our youth in just over a decade?

While there might be no specific answers to these questions, there is no denying the fact that a sense of complacency seemed to have taken refuge in our society for a while now.

The urban class is often labelled as the “critical mass” or the “opinion shapers,” but a deep analysis of our thought process will reveal that at some point, we stopped striving.

We started believing that our liberal views were everlastingly preserved, and the battle against the radicals and the

We can’t let our country fade

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Hence, it is imperative that we no longer assume that our youth and our children inherently share our conception of a tolerant and pluralistic Bangladesh. We must admit there is a weakness plaguing our youth

fundamentalists were won a long time ago.

We also believed that the radical elements that remained were mere remnants of a bygone era, and those who were subscribing to such doctrines were miniscule in number.

We automatically assumed that our children will adopt the liberal dogma that we adhere to, and cannot be swayed otherwise.

Recent events have now dealt a deathly blow to that sense of comfort.

A liberal society is a work in progress. The process to attaining a pluralistic society must be inclusive and continuous. What is happening now in Bangladesh cannot merely be attributed to

failing governance, incompetence, and inefficiency. The political class, despite its many flaws, cannot be held solely responsible for what is unfolding in Bangladesh.

When the urban youth of this country, equipped with the best possible education and resources are leaning towards such extremist views, we must admit that there is something fundamentally wrong in our society.

The first step must be to launch a concerted and comprehensive effort to ensure that the youth in our society feels to be a part of it despite varying differences.

This effort must be unrelenting and ongoing. The culture of shunning, alienating, or ignoring

differing views must be bunged.

There has to be a conversation across the board, and our politicians can lead by example here. Denial and complacency has already led us to this slippery predicament.

Hence, it is imperative that we no longer assume that our youth and our children inherently share our conception of a tolerant and pluralistic Bangladesh.

We must admit there is a weakness plaguing our youth which warrants the risk of an exposure and hence we must approach it with sagacity and calm.

I must reiterate that I do not exclusively blame our sense of complacency and comfort for

the adverse course our society is taking today, but it is something that we have control over.

If the state has the responsibility to protect us, then it is our responsibility to simply wake up. It is the least we can do.

In Bangladesh the notion of secularism should not be merely political capital. Again our complacency is partly to blame for this development, and it needs to be reclaimed by us.

The fact is, we are losing the Bangladesh that imbibed me with optimism and pride as a teenager and we must first admit it.

The urban landscape in terms of ideals, thoughts, and tolerance are showing signs of decay, and we must not sit back anymore.

The urban and the enlightened class of Bangladesh must again lead by example. It is time to be vigilant, moral, and tolerant. The time for complacency is indeed over. Our foundations are shaken, and nothing ever will be for granted. l Israfil Khosru is an entrepreneur and runs a youth-led think tank called The Bangladeshi.

19

DT

Feature

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

Learning to co-exist The unique role of BRAC University’s Residential Semester

n Rehan Ahmed “The Residential Semester has helped us to socialise with our peers. We have learned how to adjust in an unknown environment and help each other,” shared Shuchok and Sadia, students of BRAC University, about their unique experiences from attending the residential semester three months ago.

Lately, a growing tendency towards browsing through social media and electronic gadgets on their phones and computers has been observed among students.

Although it enables them to establish vibrant communications with each other virtually, it cannot dim the importance of maintaining direct interactions with their peers. Direct interactions broaden a person’s outlook and give him/ her a more credible idea about society. Again, one notices that a large portion of students are unaware of the national and international news and events.

As students carry on their daily activities, they seldom pay attention to issues that have impact on their surroundings and society. Moreover, the over-usage of social media has a deleterious effect on people’s ability to communicate directly with their fellow human beings.

Keeping such realities in mind, the Residential Semester has been designed for the students of BRAC University, with an aim to bring about qualitative improvement in students’ social skills.

It is a unique programme among the private universities of Bangladesh, that provides students with opportunities to meet and closely interact with people from diverse backgrounds.

Each semester, some 500 students spend about three months at the BRAC University residential campus at Savar,

living in dormitories, attending classes, taking their meals, and participating in different cocurricular and social activities.

Each of these daily activities give them the chance to communicate with each other and thus, improve their interactions with people, aiding them in acquiring communication skills that will give them a competitive edge in the job market.

RS, which is compulsory for all students of BRAC University, is a requirement for the fulfilment of their degree.

It aims at improving students’ communication skills, leadership skills, patriotism, morality and global competitiveness. Kibtia, a former RS student, observed that the residential semester improved her sense of responsibility towards herself and others. While living at the campus, she learned to

take responsibility for seemingly regular tasks like locking her door, switching off the fan and light in her room, preparing herself to get ready on time to attend classes and a range of works that she reminisced, never noticing so minutely before.

Surely, at different stages of life, everybody needs to learn how to develop themselves as a mature and responsible human.

However, in our social system, as long as we live with our parents, we seldom face the necessity to take responsibility for our own actions. It is only when we live away from home that most people in the society learn and develop certain social skills which are expected from responsible human beings. RS strives to provide this opportunity to the students of BRAC University and aims at shaping the students into

responsible human beings.

Rayon, another former RS student, observed that the residential semester has provided him with the unique opportunity to see the life of other people closely and refrain from being judgemental about others.

Simultaneously, he realised that all jobs in the society are important and that, people need to respect one another, irrespective of their social standing. This, he felt was the most significant leaning from his experiences from the Social Learning Lab program. During the course of the semester, every student participates in the social learning lab, a unique learning program where the students take over the responsibility of running the residential campus for an entire day. They not only take over the role of the administrative officers, but also work as cleaners, gardeners, chefs, cooks, labourers, and so on. Rayon admitted that he did not hold much respect for these people, but ever since his experience at RS, he has learned to appreciate the people working in these professions. He realises that these people are an integral part of society, they deserve to be respected; the value of their work must be recognised, and all must contribute to creating a congenial working atmosphere for them. Rayon, like many other RS students, has learned to be empathetic towards people belonging to all walks of life.

RS is a pool of students coming from a wide array of backgrounds

and possessing different habits, and they all need to co-exist in a residential life. Their daily practices are often absolutely opposite to one another. For instance, some like to keep the light on while sleeping while others prefer to keep it off. Jefroon shared her RS experience in this regard that living with people of different kinds of practices actually helped increase her tolerance level and learn how to negotiate with each other. Such social skills, like learning to coexist, would not only help them in their everyday life as a student but would also contribute to their professional and social lives, later on.

After the completion of a Residential Semester, positive changes are reflected in the behaviour of students that set them apart from others. The experiences they share about their stay in RS and its impact on their life, assert that it has played a vital role within the university education system in building future leaders of our country.

We hope that more students will benefit and learn vital social skills by being a part of the Residential Semester and shape up to be great leaders. l The author is the Campus Superintendent of BRAC University, Residential Semester, Savar Campus.

DT

20 Editorial

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

INSIDE

Security isn’t skin-deep By now, Bangladeshi law enforcers should have been equipped with indepth knowledge about terrorism and small-scale militancy PAGE 21

A political earthquake SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

It is not that the Vote Remain campaign was a sitting duck. It was lead by the prime minister and the chancellor PAGE 22

Do the right thing and stop Rampal. There’s still time

The terror in us The mosques are the homes of Allah, and all are welcome. But in a Gulshan area mosque, the imam gave a sermon saying that those who did not fast or committed various subversive activities were not welcome for Eid prayers PAGE 23

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

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

M

oving ahead with the proposed 1,320MW coal-powered Rampal power plant gives Bangladesh a bad deal -- bad for the environment, bad for the economy, and bad news for all of us.

The $1.49 billion power plant, which is to be financed by India and is scheduled to start generating power in 2019, would endanger the Unesco World Heritage Site of the Sundarbans in ways that cannot be fully anticipated at present.

The environmental and social costs will be dire, and effects on the delicate ecology of the region could be catastrophic.

These losses would be further compounded by the fact that the main beneficiary of the plant would be a foreign government who would be unwilling to care about damages or pay the true cost of this project.

It is regrettable that in spite of the formation of the National Committee to Protect the Sundarbans, and objections from experts and respected figures of the nation, the government has refused to budge on the issue of Rampal.

Committee Convener Sultana Kamal is correct in her assessment that the plant is against the spirit of liberation. It would release toxic gases and chemical wastes into one of the most precious regions of Bangladesh, adversely affecting not just the lives of 20 people million, but endangering iconic creatures such as the Royal Bengal Tiger, and the deer.

Human intervention is forests in certainly one of the top reasons for dwindling wildlife and extinction.

There is no reason Bangladesh cannot find better locations in which we can build faciltiies to satiate the need for electricity.

If the government moves ahead with this project, it will be willfully destroying one of the greatest treasures of the nation to serve shallow business and political interests.

The environmental and social costs will be dire, and effects on the delicate ecology of the region could be catastrophic

DT

21

Opinion

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

Security isn’t skin-deep Checking people’s bags is just skimming the surface

Are we well-protected?

n Ekram Kabir

O

ne of my teammates came in on the morning of July 12 with her acute dissatisfaction over the overall security measures taken across Dhaka city. It’s not because she was annoyed by the measures enforced by the government, but the lack of it.

She said she was coming to Gulshan from Bashundhara, and saw a few restrictions on the people’s movement. The buses weren’t allowed into Gulshan, but the private vehicles were.

The questions she asked were: “What if the passengers were carrying something with them? I was inside a private car, and they didn’t check my bags that I was carrying with me. You can’t call this a heightened security!”

She could be right. When the most gruesome killing at the Gulshan café happened, all local and international media agencies started terming Gulshan as a “well-protected” area. The phrase came as a shock to me, as I, a resident of the area, have hardly seen Gulshan well-protected.

The only time Gulshan looks secured is on every December 31, on the eve of every New Year. On

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

other days, anyone can enter and exit the area. The only apparent security measure is seen as police barricades at the entrances of the area. The barricade is meant for slowing the vehicles down,

against him at Shahbagh Police Station. Unfortunately, the report said the police did nothing about it. What kind of act of security was that, given the wake of events we’re in right now?

I saw hundreds of news reports in Bangladesh media detailing on militant activities including the locations of their training camps across the country. Some actions were taken at that time.

By now, Bangladeshi law enforcers should have been equipped with indepth knowledge about terrorism and small-scale militancy

and having a good look at the passengers inside.

But can you really call that an effective security measure? I doubt it. You can at best call it a stopgap-measure that can create some impact, or awareness among the minds of the common people, or the potential criminals.

Perhaps they’re the necessary external feel-good exercises during a crisis. But proper security measures are something that goes much deeper than that.

According to a report in daily Prothom Alo, the police came to know about Nibras Islam’s involvement in militancy five months ago, when there was a case

If we look back, and analyse how our two police officials received bullets, and ultimately were killed by the militants, we can see that these valiant officers didn’t have any clue as to where they were heading.

So, it was evident from their action that our law enforcers operate in ways that make them vulnerable; they themselves operate in an insecure manner.

Then, please allow me to talk about the importance of monitoring as well as analysis.

As far as I remember, after the gruesome grenade attack at Sheikh Hasina’s rally in 2004, and serial blasts across the country in 2005,

That was a decade ago. By now, Bangladeshi law enforcers should have been equipped with in-depth knowledge about terrorism and small-scale militancy with the all available tools and technology to fight and prevent them.

What we’ve just experienced was the result of the denial that runs through the nooks and corners of the country -- the lack of knowledge in global terrorism, and the lack of monitoring of what was going on inside the country.

Preventing terrorism isn’t just police work, it also requires the involvement of other professionals such as social scientists, psychologists etc.

The recent horrible crimes have led almost all the government and private offices to step up their own security measures.

In doing so, the authorities of are checking everyone’s bags while entering the office premises.

It’s a great initiative, but I think it’s more important to do background checks of the people rather than checking everyone’s backpacks.

Given the current scenario and the seriousness of what just happened at the Gulshan café, our sense of security would have to be more than just checking people’s bags, which I term as “skin-deep security.” This won’t do.

I am not suggesting any mass surveillance to be in place for the members of the public, but there has to be a mechanism to prevent the growth of potential terrorism.

The idea of mass surveillance hasn’t worked anywhere.

Again, there’s also no magicbullet solution to the scourge of terrorism.

There’s no overnight solution to our security concerns since security itself isn’t skin-deep.

It’s a continuous and pro-active process. l Ekram Kabir is a writer.

22

DT

Opinion

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

A political earthquake that shattered the Richter scale The Brexit agenda showed early signs of success. This is the second part of a three-part long form Exports in the form of education to Bangladesh and imports in terms of garments and fisheries were getting stronger than ever. The EU never stopped or held either of the countries back from flourishing together. I did not think much of what else she said until after the referendum results.

What I realise now, something I did not realise then, is that Priti Patel had friends who were doing exactly the same thing as her, relentlessly, every day.

Pushing their Brexit agenda, the embodiment of which were

It is not that the Vote Remain campaign was a sitting duck.

It was lead by the prime minister and the chancellor Brexit holds potentially grave repercussions for the UK’s economy

n Nabila Rafique

W

hat contributed to this fast transformation?

Brexit had to be made real and given a face.

Soon after David Cameron’s announcement of the referendum, MPs had to come to terms with their own views and take sides.

Brexit manifested itself in the form of a cross-party campaign called Vote Leave. It had members from all the leading parties, economists, and historians -- slowly but steadily gained numbers.

It formed a company, set up a headquarters, and formulated action plans. It opened a website (http://www.voteleavetakecontrol. org/) complete with an app you can download in your mobile device.

In a quiet part of East London where I live, I must have received twice the number of flyers from Vote Leave than Vote Remain. The flyers were always single-paged and had a simple, clear message “take back control” on one side and the key pointers on the other.

Leaving would: 1. Stop the handover of £350 million a week to EU. Money which they said could be given to the National Health Service (NHS) 2. Take back control of UK

borders and the ability to kick out violent criminals 3. Take back the power to make laws (suggesting EU forces laws on UK) 4. Free businesses from damaging EU laws and regulations 5. Take back the power to make UK’s own trade deals 6. Regain influence in the wider world and become a global nation

Vote Leave members worked hard

The £350m statement was also sprawled across big, red coach buses which crisscrossed the country, making an unavoidable impact on anyone visualising it that £350m are lost every week to the EU. The Vote Leave campaign ensured that their statements were disseminated across the nation by meticulous leafleting. Vote Leave members worked diligently, turning up in every possible public appearance and every opportunity to further their campaign.

In fact, my first encounter with any of the EU referendum campaigners was with a staunch Vote Leave campaigner, and this was as early as February. I was attending a conference arranged by the British Bangladesh Chamber of Women Entrepreneurs. The aim of the conference was how to encourage more Brit-Bangladeshi woman in trade and commerce.

REUTERS

One of the speakers was Priti Patel, a conservative MP of Indian heritage, and the Minister for Employment. This was the first time I met her and seeing her I was quite pleased that a woman with roots in my sub-continent made it in the upper echelons of British politics.

However, within minutes, my image crumbled as it was obvious she was making a case for Brexit. She started talking about why British-Bangladeshi woman should vote leave as they can trade beyond EU and more importantly with their country of ethnicity -Bangladesh.

She said EU held UK back from forging trade ties and that she dreamt of “a world of open markets and free trade, where a customer in Dartford can place an order from Dhaka simply and securely.” As I listened to her, I was shuddering. Being a practising lawyer of business laws of Bangladesh in the UK and serving the British-Bangladeshi community members and businesses in both countries, I knew very well that Britain and Bangladesh had very strong ties economically, politically, and socially.

There was nothing from stopping her vision from being reality. Anyone from Dartford could place orders in Dhaka.

the six points above, and they started doing it early. They picked occasions where commoners gathered, spoke freely, built mistrust of the EU and made a financial case for Brexit.

They demonised migration and played on the people’s worst fears: Financial distress, lack of public resources, and unsecure borders.

It is also notable to mention Farage was never an official member of Brexit, as he was never a sitting MP, yet he did everything he possibly could to make a case for UK independence from EU. His campaign of 20 years was finally gaining momentum, even through by people completely unrelated and unaccustomed to him. He even went to the heinous extent to unveil a poster which showed waves of Syrian refugees with the title “Breaking Point: The EU has failed us all.” Politics in this country had hardly been this nasty and divisive.

The Vote Leave campaign gained further momentum when former London Mayor Boris Johnson, and Michael Gove, Minister for Justice, decided to join. They added star power and intellectual depth to its movement.

It is not that the Vote Remain campaign was a sitting duck. It was lead by the prime minister

and the chancellor. They brought in experts such as the Bank of England governor to say that a poor financial forecast was imminent in the event of Brexit.

The PM even invited President Obama across the Atlantic to assert that the UK would be at the back of any trade deals with the US if they leave EU. A 16-page booklet was disseminated nationwide, outlining that jobs, businesses, and the young workforce would be lost, households would be worse off, exports would decrease as the EU was the prime trade partner, and that the UK would be left high and dry on legal, environmental, and worker’s rights fronts.

Experts, lead economic organisations all warned of doom and gloom. The brutal murder of prominent In campaigner, Labour MP Joe Cox, tragically and unwittingly furthered the Vote Remain cause. Despite these efforts, the British people only saw the PM and the chancellor making remarks which they no longer wanted to understand, and gravitated towards the Leave campaign as a means of change.

By the early weeks of June, polls were predicting a neck-andneck outcome. For the first time, I learned that the Labour party leader, Jeremy Corbyn campaigned to stay in. I also received a frantic letter from my local Labour MPs stressing the need to vote In. I believe the case was already lost by then. The people had already decided to vote out.

Come referendum day, the polls showed a lead for In. In London, the in campaigners were optimistic. I exchanged words with one outside my local train station. He was young, energetic, and open -- typical features of those campaigning In. They want to be part of the EU, travel without restrictions, work without borders, have and make friends from all over the continent.

They believed in progress through diversity and they felt that their voice mattered more over the older generations as “they will be around for a longer time,” as one youngster put it in BBC news. l The concluding part of this long form will be published tomorrow.

Nabila Rafique is a Barrister.

DT

23

Opinion

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

The terror in us We must do something about the dangerous beliefs that are leading our youth astray

What our youth are being exposed to can hardly be called Islam

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

The mosques are the homes of Allah, and all are welcome. But in a Gulshan area mosque, the imam gave a sermon saying that those who did not fast or committed various subversive activities were not welcome for Eid prayers

n Nadeem Qadir

A

fter the two recent acts of terror in Bangladesh, it is natural that would be the talking point when I met people in London. They are very sympathetic, and want us to get out of this situation, but they have many questions.

The question that keeps cropping up most frequently is: “Why is it that Bangladesh has been targeted by the extremist Islamist groups?” followed by, “what can done now?”

Most here do not know the

history of Bangladesh, where pro-Pakistani, anti-liberation elements infiltrated the country’s politics after the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975.

Now that his daughter, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is leading the country with the mission of establishing a secular country, free from war criminals as well as pro-Pakistani elements, she has become a target.

But what we need to do right now is a bigger topic of discussion, and it is not easy to explain our local political situation to

outsiders, where BNP and its ally the Jamaat-e-Islami seem to be backing these extremist elements as far as the arrests indicate.

My sources tell me that the Bihari camps are riddled with crime, and tend to breed antiBangladesh sentiments.

Many well-off Biharis have now infiltrated the mainstream, but there are rumours that they fund and harbour pro-Pakistani elements.

Why should we continue to host individuals who oppose the independence of Bangladesh?

They not only collaborated

with the Pakistani army during our Independence War but themselves were involved in looting, arson, and murder in 1971.

I remember my father telling our Bihari neighbours in Chittagong where we were staying in 1971 to leave the then East Pakistan as they were opposed to the demands of Bangalis.

I believe he understood that these elements would never pledge their allegiance to a new country when it will appear on the world map sooner or later.

The other factor is to look at the sermons given by imams in mosques and madrasas both small and big.

I remember once going to the big mosque in Mahakhali that was built with funding from Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussain.

The imam was preaching wrong Islam, urging to fight (Jihad) for an Islamic Bangladesh. During the prayers, he sought the divine blessings from Allah for war criminaI Moulana Abdul Mannan.

I left, to the surprise of others present.

The mosques are the homes of Allah, and all are welcome. But in a Gulshan area mosque, the imam gave a sermon saying that those who did not fast or committed various subversive activities were not welcome for Eid prayers. A blatant lie.

Those who are well-versed in Qur’an were surely furious at such a statement. Needless to say, we need a new generation of imams who are actually well-versed when it comes to the Qur’an.

We must try to bring in clerics from Saudi Arabia who would tour Bangladedsh, giving sermons against Islamist terrorists that are being indoctrinated with wrong Islam. Last but not the least, is the role of the media.

All media houses should undertake comprehensive efforts to send out the clear message that Islam preaches: Love and peace. l Nadeem Qadir, a senior journalist, is a UNCA Dag Hammarskjold Scholar in journalism. He is the Press Minister of Bangladesh High Commission in London.

DT

24 Sport

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

TOP STORIES

Carberry diagnosed with cancer Former England batsman Michael Carberry has been diagnosed with cancer, his county side Hampshire announced on Thursday. The 35-year old consulted a specialist on Tuesday after sitting out this week’s county game. PAGE 25

Maradona TV series planned Diego Maradona’s larger-than-life exploits are coming to the small screen, producers said Thursday, announcing the Argentine football legend will be the subject of a new TV series targeting international audiences. PAGE 26

England’s Alastair Cook in action against Pakistan during the second day’s play of the opening Test at Lord’s yesterday

Cook lays foundation for England reply n Cricinfo

101-year old aims for more records As the world’s top swimmers prepare for the Rio Games, a sprightly Japanese centenarian insists she will still be smashing records by the time the 2020 Games roll around. She is closing in on her 102nd birthday. PAGE 27

Conte hopes to light a fire in the EPL Antonio Conte says he hopes Chelsea under his stewardship will light up the Premier League title race this season. The 46-year old said Chelsea may not be top of everyone’s list to challenge for the crown after finishing 10th in their title defence last term. PAGE 28

REUTERS

After being rattled out inside the first hour at Lord’s, Pakistan needed to take their chances with the ball in order for their first-innings 339 to assume more daunting proportions.

They proceeded to drop Alastair Cook twice, with his unbeaten 75 anchoring the England reply, but three wickets during the afternoon session for Yasir Shah kept Pakistan in the hunt.

Chris Woakes’ maiden five-wicket haul in Tests had helped finish off Pakistan with only 57 added to their overnight score before the stage was transported back to 2010, as Mohammad Amir prepared to bowl to Cook once again. Amir had previously removed Cook three times in five Tests and he should have added to that tally here but for glaring errors by Mohammad Hafeez, at first slip, and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed.

Cook put on 110 with Joe Root for the second wicket but Yasir struck for his first Test wickets outside of Asia to check England’s advance. Root, in his first innings replacing Nick Compton at No. 3,

looked at something like his dynamic best before trying slightly too hard to force the pace and top-edging a slog-sweep off Yasir straight up in the air to be taken at midwicket.

That gave Pakistan a look at England’s reshaped middle-order, with James Vince moving up to No. 4 above the recalled Gary Ballance. Vince briefly shimmered on an otherwise dull, cloudy afternoon, before playing back to be lbw to Yasir - DRS confirming it would have clipped leg stump - for a fifth innings without a significant score at Test level.

Ballance clipped one four but was then beaten by a gently turning legbreak, pushing down the wrong line, to leave England 153 for 4 at tea.

Amir’s first delivery in Test cricket after a five-year ban for his involvement in spot-fixing on this ground was met by a few pseudo-witty cries of “no-ball” from the crowd and it was unceremoniously tucked away into the covers for a single by Cook.

Amir struggled with his line and length, leaking 33 runs from six overs before lunch, but ought to have removed the England cap-

tain when he had made 22, slanting the ball in to take the edge just as he did as a teenager, only for Hafeez to make a mess of a straightforward low catch.

Rahat Ali was more accurate with the new ball and he picked up Alex Hales in his first over, angling a delivery across to have him taken at third slip. Cook took advantage of too many deliveries on his pads to pick up seven boundaries - including another edged through the cordon off Amir - and score at more than a run a ball, as he and Root ticked up a fifty stand before lunch.

There was further anguish for Amir when he began his second spell during the afternoon, his first delivery luring Cook into a drive as the ball left him, only for the ball to hit Sarfraz on the wrist as he dived his left.

In the morning session, a burst of three wickets in eight balls, including the dismissal of Misbahul-Haq for 114, had helped England wrap up Pakistan’s innings.

Woakes collected two of them to finish with 6 for 70 and join Misbah in having his name added to the honours board. Having been 282 for 4 shortly before

the close on Thursday, Pakistan would have been disappointed to make only 339.

Misbah, fresh from becoming the oldest captain to score a Test hundred, began the second day with designs on seeing his side up towards 400 and a secure position from which his bowlers could mount an attack. He could only add four runs to his overnight score, however, before Stuart Broad brought a delivery back to burst between bat and pad and rattle the stumps.

That dismissal meant Pakistan had gone from 310 for 7 to 316 for 9, with Woakes removing Ahmed and Wahab Riaz in the preceding over. Sarfraz had looked in dangerous mood, frequently stepping down the pitch to cut and drive on his way to 25 from 29 deliveries but he gifted his wicket when slapping a short, wide delivery to backward point to give Woakes his maiden five-for.l

DAY TWO, AT TEA PAKISTAN 339 (Misbah 114, Shafiq 73, Woakes 6/70) v ENGLAND 153/4 (Cook 75*, Root 48, Yasir 3/22) Pakistan lead by 186 runs

25

DT

Sport

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

Leggie Jubair eyes improvement n Mazhar Uddin There were high expectations on leg-spinner Jubair Hossain when Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha selected the youngster directly from the national team nets even though he hardly played local cricket in the last few years.

And the 20-year old wrist spinner wasted very little time in making a mark, picking up his maiden five-wicket haul in his debut Test series against Zimbabwe two years ago. In six Tests so far, Jubair has bagged 16 wickets and can further add to the tally as he was recently called up to the 30-member national preliminary squad for the upcoming home series against England.

The Jamalpur cricketer however, is yet to prove his mettle in the limited-over formats, having taken four wickets in three one-day internationals and two scalps in his only Twenty20 international appearance against Zimbabwe.

Jubair though is determined to cash in this time around, provided he gets the opportunity to strut his stuff, be it in red- or white-ball cricket, against the visiting English side.

“At the moment, I am looking to prove myself whenever I get

the opportunity to play, either in the longer-version or the shorter formats of the game. Sometimes I lose my focus when I put too much pressure on myself. My performance was harmed in the process.

I am looking to overcome it in the coming days,” said Jubair to Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Prior to this season’s Dhaka Premier League, the youngster only ever featured in one Dhaka league match. However, in the seven DPL games that he did play this season for Abahani Limited, he scalped 13 wickets, including 6/34 against Kalabagan Krira Chakra in the opening match.

Surprisingly though, Jubair bided his time in the sidelines for the remainder of the campaign after all-rounder Shakib al Hasan joined the side.

With that said, he explained, “This was the first time I got the opportunity to play more matches in the Dhaka Premier League for Abahani and it was a great experience for me. I played seven matches and managed to win two games with my bowling. I think it really helped my confidence. Abahani or the Bangladesh team, there is same pressure so it was a great experience for me this season. I think it will help me to improve my bowling.” l

ICC wary of fixing life-bans n AFP, London

Misbah: Lord’s ton my top innings

International Cricket Council chief executive David Richardson poured cold water on suggestions match-fixers should face mandatory life-bans as Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir made his Test return at Lord’s on Thursday.

Richardson also said the withdrawal of so many top golfers from the Rio Olympics next month had made it harder for sports such as cricket, that were considering bids for Games status. But with no prospect of Twenty20 at the Olympics until the 2024 Games at the earliest, the question of how the ICC deals with fixers is likely to remain a more immediate concern. It was a view shared by Richardson. “I am not uncomfortable with it at all,” Richardson, speaking at Lord’s, told BBC Radio’s Test Match Special when asked about Amir’s return. But he was less enthusiastic about compulsory life-bans.

“Each case should be treated on its merits. You cannot hang everybody,” he said. “I think we have to stick with the principle that the punishment should fit the crime ... (and) players who influence others should be treated much more severely than those who are influenced.” l

n AFP, London Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq said his unbeaten century against England at Lord’s on Thursday was the “top innings” of an impressive Test career.

The 42-year-old Misbah became the sixth oldest player in Test history to make a century as his unbeaten 110 took Pakistan to 282 for six at stumps on the first day of a four-match series.

Thursday’s match was Misbah’s maiden Test at Lord’s, selection decisions having seen him miss previous tours of England, yet he secured a coveted place on the dressing room honours board at the very first attempt.

As soon as he had completed his 10th Test century, Misbah dropped to the turf. But rather than utter a prayer, Misbah performed several press-ups, just as 73-year-old actor Jack Palance did when winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar at the 1992 Academy awards.

But Misbah’s celebration, which included a salute to the Pakistan flag flying above the Pavilion, was no tribute act.

Rather it was a reference to Paki-

Former England batter Carberry diagnosed with cancer n AFP, London Former England batsman Michael Carberry has been diagnosed with cancer, his county side Hampshire announced on Thursday.

The 35-year-old, who played the last of his six Tests in 2014, consulted a specialist on Tuesday after sitting out this week’s county championship game against Warwickshire because he was feeling unwell.

“Following recent reports about his health and now that he has spoken fully to his family, friends and team-mates, Hampshire Cricket can confirm that after a brief period of feeling unwell, a specialist has determined that Michael Carberry has a tumour that is cancerous,” read a statement from Hampshire.

Carberry’s plight prompted an outpouring of support from former team-mates.

Australian great Shane Warne, who captained Carberry at Hampshire, said on Twitter: “Just heard the terrible news re my great friend @carbs646 thinking of you buddy & am here for you as is the whole cricket family !”l

stan’s gruelling pre-tour boot camp at a military academy in Kakul in May. Misbah equalled West Indies great Vivian Richards’s then world record for the fastest-ever Test century with a blistering 56-ball hundred against Australia in Abu Dhabi in 2014 -- a mark surpassed by Brendon McCullum’s 54-ball hundred for New Zealand against Australia at Christchurch in February.

But Thursday’s hundred ranked higher in Misbah’s estimations.

“I rate this as my top innings in Test cricket and I’m really happy about that,” he said.

“It’s a dream to play at Lord’s and especially getting 100, and the name on the honours board is something special,” added Misbah, who vindicated his own decision to bat first after winning the toss.

“Obviously when you are playing competitive cricket you just don’t think about your age. If you are there, you just take on the challenge that comes with playing the game. “These records are always something special, and they are very satisfying to make those kinds of achievements, but the main thing is just to keep achieving for your country.”l

OLDEST PLAYERS TO HAVE MADE A TEST HUNDRED AGE

OPPOSITION

VENUE

YEAR

Jack Hobbs

PLAYER

ENG

142

46y 82d

AUS

Melbourne

1929

Jack Hobbs

ENG

159

45y 239d

WIS

The Oval

1928

Patsy Hendren

ENG

132

45y 151d

AUS

Old Trafford

1934

Warren Bardsley

AUS

193no 43y 202d

ENG

Lord’s

1926

Jack Hobbs

ENG

119

43y 192d

AUS

Lord’s

1926

Dave Nourse

RSA

111

42y 291d

AUS

Johannesburg

1921

Frank Woolley

ENG

154

42y 61d

RSA

Old Trafford

1929

Misbah-ul-Haq

COUNTRY RUNS

PAK

110no

42y 47d

ENG

Lord’s

2016

Jack Hobbs

(ENG)

119

42y 31d

AUS

Adelaide

1925

Jack Hobbs

(ENG)

154

42y 16d

AUS

Melbourne

1925

Eric Rowan

(RSA)

236

42y 06d

ENG

Headingley

1951

Jack Hobbs

(ENG)

115

42y 03d

AUS

Sydney

1924

‘That was my promise to the army guys. We did a camp in Abbottabad before the skill camp in Lahore, and we used to do an honour code every time, we just stepped into the ground and did 10 push-ups. And I promised them, if ever I score a hundred, I will definitely do that to remind you that we were there,’ cited Misbahul Haq as to why he did the press-ups after reaching his 10th Test ton last Thursday against England at Lord’s

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Sport

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

Maradona TV series planned n AFP, Buenos Aires Diego Maradona’s larger-than-life exploits are coming to the small screen, producers said Thursday, announcing the Argentine football legend will be the subject of a new TV series targeting international audiences.

“Every month of my life could make 100 episodes. Everything I’ve lived surpasses any kind of fiction,” Maradona said in a press release from Argentine TV channel Telefe, the producer of the new series.

Telefe said it had signed a deal with Maradona to make a show about his life, but did not give details on the format, cast or release date.

Maradona said he was “happy and enthusiastic that Telefe is developing this project for the world.”

Telefe’s content director, Tomas Yankelevich, said the company was looking for partners to make an “unprecedented superproduction.”

“It’s an incredible challenge as a producer to think about fictionalizing the life of the best player of all time and probably the best-known person in the world,” he said.

Maradona, 55, is worshipped in Argentina, which he led to the World Cup title in 1986.

His fame as a football genius is rivalled only by the infamy of his colorful and controversial misadventures, including a pair of doping bans and battles with drug addiction, alcoholism and obesity.l

Independiente del Valle’s goalkeeper Daniel Azcona in action against Boca Juniors’ Carlos Tevez during their Copa Libertadores semi-final second leg at Alberto J. Armando Stadium, Buenos Aires on Thursday REUTERS

Ecuador’s Independiente stun Boca to reach Libertadores final n Reuters, Buenos Aires Modest Ecuadorean side Independiente del Valle reached the Copa Libertadores final after a shock 3-2 win away to favourites Boca Juniors at La Bombonera on Thursday to go through 5-3 on aggregate.

The final will feature two teams from the Pacific northwest of South America in a shift of the power base from the south Atlantic with Inde-

pendiente meeting 1989 champions Atletico Nacional of Colombia over two legs.

“We showed it was no fluke when we eliminated River Plate,” Independiente’s Uruguayan coach Pablo Repetto, whose side upset the Argentine holders in the round of 16, told reporters.

Independiente, who have only been in Ecuador’s top flight since 2010, have reached the final in

their first season in the Libertadores, while Boca were looking for a record-equalling seventh title in the region’s elite club competition.

Down 2-1 from the first leg but having taken an early lead through striker Cristian Pavon to level the aggregate score at 2-2, Boca succumbed to goals from Luis Caicedo, Bryan Cabezas and Julio Angulo.

Boca midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro had a penalty saved with 20

minutes to go and they could only muster a consolation from Pavon in stoppage time. Independiente, who are unbeaten at their 7,000-capacity ground in the Andean town of Sangolqui where opponents struggle in the thin air 2,500 metres above sea level, will host the first leg of the final next Wednesday.

Atletico Nacional beat threetimes champions Sao Paulo 4-1 on aggregate in the other semi-final. l

Nani aims success at Valencia n Reuters

Valencia’s new player Portuguese Luis Carlos Almeida de Cunha Nani dances ‘Capodeira’ during his official presentation in Valencia on Thursday AFP

Nani, who was recently crowned European champion with Portugal, wants to help bring the good times back to new club Valencia.

The Spanish side struggled this past season and ended the La Liga campaign with just 44 points and in 12th place, their worst finish in three decades.

Valencia have paid Fenerbahce Nani’s 8.5 million euro ($9.47 million) buyout clause and he has 5tmoved to Spain on a three-year deal, just 12 months after leaving Manchester United.

“People think that when you win an important championship, you relax,” Nani said at his unveiling at the Mestalla stadium, which was attended by 12,000 fans.

“But that is not my thinking. I’m very eager. This is a big club, with great fans. I want to be a part of this great club. “My aim is to contribute in the best possible way, to help in every game I play and try to achieve our aims.”

Valencia are accustomed to finishing high in the standings and playing in Europe, with back-toback appearances in the Champions League final in 1999 and 2000

and a 2004 UEFA Cup success, among their notable achievements.

Their disappointing 2015-16 campaign has meant they will not play in a continental competition this season. “It’s normal that big clubs in the world go through bad years, the same thing happened to Manchester United and now they are better,” said Nani.

“The same has happened to Valencia. We hope to return the club to the level it deserves as soon as possible.”

Portugal’s Euro 2016 final triumph over hosts France was still at the front of Nani’s thoughts.l

27

DT

Sport

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

QUICK BYTES Bournemouth sign Liverpool winger Ibe

Indian Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and tennis player Sania Mirza pose during the release of ‘Ace against Odds’, a biography of Mirza during the book launch in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

The book is co-authored by Sania’s father, Imran and journalist Shivani Gupta and covers all aspects of Sania’s career

Bournemouth have signed Liverpool England Under-21 international Jordon Ibe on a four-year contract.

The 20-year-old made 58 firstteam appearances for Liverpool after joining the club’s academy from Wycombe Wanderers in 2011. Neither club disclosed the transfer fee, but media reports said Bournemouth would pay a club-record 15 million pounds for the forward.

–REUTERS

PSG appoint Kluivert as director of football French champions Paris St Germain have appointed former Netherlands international Patrick Kluivert as the club’s director of football, the Ligue 1 side said. The former Ajax Amsterdam and Barcelona striker had a coaching stint as the manager of Curacao and was an assistant coach for Netherlands under manager Louis van Gaal.

–REUTERS

‘Windies’ Russell to start anti-doping hearing’ West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell will face a preliminary hearing before an independent anti-doping disciplinary panel next week over a whereabouts rule violation, his lawyer Patrick Foster said on Thursday. The 28-year-old missed three doping tests within a 12-month period. Russell was not provisionally suspended but faces a two-year ban if found guilty.

–REUTERS

DAY’S WATCH CRICKET STAR SPORTS 1 4:00PM Pakistan Tour of England 1st Test, Day 3

SONY SIX 6:30 AM Caribbean Premier League T20 Jamaica v Guyana 10:00 PM Barbados v Trinbago Knight Riders

FOOTBALL SONY SIX 7:20PM Premier Futsal League Mumbai v Kochi Kolkata v Bangalore

TENNIS SONY ESPN HD 7:00 PM ATP World Tour 500 2016 Hamburg, Germany: Semi Finals

AFP

101-year-old Japanese aims for more records n AFP, Narashino As the world’s top swimmers prepare for the Rio Olympics, a sprightly Japanese centenarian insists she will still be smashing records by the time the 2020 Tokyo Games roll around.

Closing in on her 102nd birthday, Mieko Nagaoka has racked up a slew of jaw-dropping world bests in her age bracket after only taking up swimming in her late eighties, but warns she is not done yet.

“I’m fit as a fiddle,” Nagaoka told AFP in an interview after completing the 400 metres freestyle in 26 minutes, 16.81 seconds at a Japan Masters Swimming Association competition in Chiba, on the outskirts of Tokyo.

“The secret is to eat well and stay active. It’s no good sitting around at my age. I want to keep swimming until I’m 105 - and beyond that,” added the Yamaguchi native, who has lived through 22 Olympics to date.

Nagaoka, who swam the race backstroke sporting a white cap and dashing black and gold swimsuit, finished well over 17 minutes behind the winner, 80-year-old Etsuko Azumi.

Hard of hearing, Nagaoka failed to hear the roar of the crowd after completing the eight-lap race and attempted to return for a ninth before being fished out by judges as nervous medics watched on.

“It was just another race,” smiled Nagaoka after changing into a pink jacket and matching hat.

“Swimming makes me happy, that’s what I love about it,” she added. “When I’m swimming I’m in my own little world.”

Along with 105-year-old sprinter Hidekichi Miyazaki, another geriatric record breaker, Nagaoka is blazing a trail for Japan’s turbo-charged pensioners in a country with one of the world’s highest life expectancies.

Nonetheless, Nagaoka’s time was well outside her world record of 16:36.80 set two years ago.

Her rivals had long dried off and were talking by the side of the pool when Nagaoka finally touched to thunderous applause. But she struck a defiant tone.

“I want to keep swimming as

fast as I can,” said Nagaoka, who owns world records in the women’s 100-104 age division in nine events, including the 1,500m freestyle - a distance most people of her venerable age would struggle to walk.

“I’ll keep going for as long as I’m alive.”

Born in 1914, days after the outbreak of World War I, when Japan fought on the side of the allies, Nagaoka’s rambunctious lust for life continues to astound her family and coaches.

“Her attitude to life is totally scandalous,” said her 76-year-old son Hiroyuki.

“She refuses to live life by the correct rules. She eats only the finest food and turns her nose up at anything she doesn’t fancy.

“You’re supposed to slow down with age, but she was getting quicker with age in her nineties, breaking record after record,” he added.

“That sense of joy and purpose in life is the secret to her long life.”

Nagaoka still trains three times a week in Yamaguchi, southwest Japan, under the tutelage of longtime coach Shintaro Sawada.

“At first I thought she was joking about swimming until 100, but she was deadly serious,” said 41-yearold Sawada.

“I’ve never met anyone like her she eats when she wants and sleeps when she wants.” l

Pakistan buys bulletproof buses to woo back teams n Reuters, Islamabad The Pakistan Cricket Board has bought four bulletproof buses as it tries to convince other teams to shed their security apprehensions and visit the country.

Pakistan has largely been shunned by teams since 2009 when gunmen attacked a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers, injuring six players and killing six security personnel and two civilians.

The incident has forced Pakistan to play their “home” matches at the United Arab Emirates and the country has since remained starved of international cricket at home, barring Zimbabwe’s limited-overs tour in 2015.

“We have bought these four Coaster buses as part of our efforts to revive international cricket in the country,” a PCB spokesman told ESPNcricinfo.

“There will be high expectations from teams willing to visit Pakistan and we want to ensure that we provide them with the best possible arrangements.

“Having these bulletproof vehicles would play a major part in convincing teams (about security arrangements).”

“We have to have discussions with the (overseas) players about their safety and security and I think this new addition in our security facilities will definitely give us an edge,” the spokesman said. l

DT

28

Sport

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

Neymar in Brazil squad for Rio n AFP, Paris Barcelona star Neymar was as expected named in the Brazil squad for the Olympics football tournament on Thursday as well Paris Saint Germain defender Marquinhos.

Also selected were Neymar’s club mate Rafinha, Lazio midfielder Felipe Anderson and rising star Gabriel Barbosa.

Brazil squad:

Goalkeepers: Fernando Prass (Palmeiras), Uilson (Atletico-MG) Defenders: Marquinhos (PSG/ FRA), Rodrigo Caio (Sao Paulo) Luan (Vasco da Gama), Willian (Internacional), Douglas Santos (Atlético-MG), Zeca (Santos) Midfielders: Walace (Grêmio), Rodrigo Dourado (Internacional) Thiago Maia (Santos), Rafinha (Barcelona/ESP), Renato Augusto (Beijing Ghouan/CHN), Felipe Anderson (Lazio/ITA) Attackers: Neymar (Barcelona/ ESP), Gabriel (Santos), Gabriel Jesus (Palmeiras), Luan (Grêmio) l

Former Brazilian footballer Ronaldhino (3L) poses with other players including former Welsh international player Ryan Giggs (3R) during a media briefing for the Premier Futsal Football League in Chennai on Thursday AFP

Conte hopes to light a fire under the Premier League n AFP, London Antonio Conte says he hopes Chelsea under his stewardship will light up the Premier League title race this season.

The 46-year-old - who guided Italy to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 only losing on penalties to world champions Germany - said Chelsea may not be top of everyone’s list to challenge for the crown after finishing 10th in their title defence last term.

“We are under-rated a bit, and

might slip under the radar, but I hope there’s a small flame flickering here that can hopefully grow into a blazing inferno,” said Conte at his unveiling to the media at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.

The Italian - who rejected the opportunity to follow the example of predecessor ‘Special One’ Jose Mourinho and give himself a nickname - said a club the size of Chelsea shouldn’t be scrabbling around in mid-table.

“When you are a player, a footballer, or a manager of a great club

like Chelsea, you must play to win,” said Conte, who also took the opportunity to confirm Chelsea icon John Terry would be club captain.

“I know that this league is very, very difficult because there are six or seven teams who can win the title. For this reason, this situation is very exciting for me. It excites me, this situation.

“We know that, this year, it won’t be easy for us because if we think about the last season and 10th position... Last season was a bad season, yes?

“I know, that there is only one team who wins the title. But we must stay there at the end of the season, to fight for the title and be there for the Champions League.

Chelsea belongs in the Champions League, and we must stay there.”

“There are certain managers who are winners. On that I would agree with you.

“In this league there are many, many players with great talent.

Fantastic players. Also there are good managers,” said Conte.

“For me, I’m very happy to be

compared with them, but in this tournament it’s not a challenge between managers. Between great teams, between great players... these are the most important things.

“There are also great managers, good managers, but the most important things when there is a game, Chelsea v United, City, Liverpool, Arsenal... Tottenham also.

All teams.”

“I don’t know if it’s the most difficult challenge of my career,” said Conte.l

Make your mind up, Leicester boss Ranieri tells Kante n AFP, Stegersbach

Leicester City captain Wes Morgan (L) and manager Claudio Ranieri are pictured during a public training of Leicester City in Stegersbach, Austria on Thurday AFP

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has called on French midfield enforcer N’Golo Kante to decide quickly on his future as the Premier League champions plan the defence of their title.

Kante’s future is uncertain with a new contract from Leicester on the table amid interest from a host of rival clubs including Chelsea.

Ranieri has warned he does not want to be left waiting for a decision from the 25-year-old, who was one of the stand-out stars of last season’s title triumph and emerged with credit at Euro 2016 although

he didn’t get to play in the 1-0 defeat in the final against Portugal.

“We offered a new contract to him, he went away because he wanted to finish Euro 2016, and now there is so much speculation around him,” said Ranieri at Leicester’s pre-season training camp in Austria.

“I don’t want to lose him but I can understand if he wants to go.

“I would like now to be sure who stays with me or not, because the friendly matches start now and I have to start to manage and change and try things.”

Ranieri has made regular calls to 25-year-old Kante, who has a re-

lease clause of around £20 million ($26.6m, 23.9m euros) in his contract and is understood to be being monitored by European champions Real Madrid as well as Chelsea.

“Maybe it is not Chelsea, maybe it is another team who made the Champions League,” said Ranieri.

But Ranieri is more bullish about his chances of keeping Riyad Mahrez, who was crowned PFA player of the year for his eye-catching displays last season.

“I am very confident with him,” said the Italian. “He stays here with us. He enjoys it and is not a man saying ‘coach I want to go’. He is happy.”l

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Bring back to life (6) 4 Central (3) 7 Disturb (5) 8 Soapy foam (6) 11 Metal (3) 12 Fencing sword (4) 13 Prosecutes (4) 15 Part of a ship (5) 16 Drink (5) 20 Decays (4) 23 Remedy (4) 24 Strange (3) 25 Makes up for (6) 26 Perfect (5) 27 Female swan (3) 28 Sport (6)

DOWN 1 Governs (5) 2 Receive as one’s portion (7) 3 Does wrong (4) 4 Silent (4) 5 Egyptian goddess (4) 6 Lair (3) 9 Liable (3) 10 Golf mound (3) 14 Mythical animal (7) 17 Mouse-coloured (3) 18 Before (3) 19 Reposes (5) 20 Ill-mannered (4) 21 Augury (4) 22 Preservative (4) 24 Tear (3)

DT

29

Downtime

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 18 represents W so fill W every time the figure 18 appears.

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

Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.

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

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

DT

30

Showtime

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

2016 Emmy nominees n Showtime Desk The nominees for the 2016 Emmys were announced a few days ago by Anthony Anderson and Lauren Graham. The ceremony is set to be held at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, on September 18. Jimmy Kimmel will be hosting the ceremony, which will air on ABC. Below are the nominees for the major categories at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.

Lead actor in a limited series Bryan Cranston, All the Way Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: The Abominable Bride Idris Elba, Luther Cuba Gooding Jr, The People vs.

O.J. Simpson Tom Hiddleston, The Night Manager Courtney B. Vance, The People vs.

O.J. Simpson

Lead actor in a drama Kyle Chandler, Bloodline Rami Malek, Mr. Robot Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul Matthew Rhys, The Americans Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Lead actress in a limited series Kirsten Dunst, Fargo Felicity Huffman, American Crime Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grille Sarah Paulson, The People vs. O.J. Simpson Lili Taylor, American Crime Kerry Washington, Confirmation

Lead actress in a drama Claire Danes, Homeland Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder Taraji P Henson, Empire Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black Keri Russell, The Americans Robin Wright, House of Cards

Lead actor in a comedy Anthony Anderson, Black-ish Aziz Ansari, Master of None Will Forte, Last Man on Earth William H Macy, Shameless Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

Lead actress in a Comedy Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep Ellie Kemper, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish Laurie Metcalf, Getting On Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie Comedy series Black-ish Master of None Modern Family Silicon Valley Transparent Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Veep

Fargo The Night Manager The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story Roots TV movie All the Way Confirmation Luther Sherlock: The Abominable Bride A Very Murray Christmas

Drama series The Americans Better Call Saul Downtown Abbey Game of Thrones Homeland House of Cards Mr. Robot Outstanding limited series American Crime

Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series Louie Anderson, Baskets Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-

Nine Keegan-Michael Key, Key & Peele Ty Burrell, Modern Family Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Tony Hale, Veep Matt Walsh, Veep Outstanding supporting actor in a drama series Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline Kit Harington, Game Of Thrones Michael Kelly, House Of Cards Jon Voight, Ray Donovan l Source: Los Angeles Times

Meghan Markle keen to work with Piggy Chops in a Bollywood film n Showtime Desk There is little doubt that the “desi girl,” Priyanka Chopra is currently one of the leading Bollywood actresses, and is easily one of the best newcomers in Hollywood, after garnering fans for her outstanding performance in the show, Qunatico.

The Barfi actress is enjoying a huge international fan following, which also includes a hefty number of celebrities from Hollywood.

One such celeb is Meghan Markle, who is willing to share screen time with Piggy Chops.

Meghan, who’s probably best known for her role as Rachel Zane on the legaldrama Suits, says she would love to work with the Bajirao Mastani star in a Bollywood movie, something which Priyanka suggested.

The Suits actress also shared selfies with Priyanka on her social media page.

Meghan even talked about how she has become good friends with Priyanka ever since the first time they met, and praised her as “unbelievable.”

Meghan said she connected instantly with Priyanka and promised to meet up whenever they were in the same town.

On the other hand, Meghan is currently excited for season six of Suits, which is currently underway. l Source: INDIATV

Mick Jagger expecting eighth child n Showtime Desk The famous 72-year-old Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger is to become a father for the eighth time.

This time it’s his girlfriend, 29-year-old American ballerina Melanie Hamrick, who is more than three months pregnant, a spokesperson of Hamrick confirmed the BBC. Mick Jagger started dating Hamrick after his partner of 13 years L’Wren Scott killed herself in 2014.

Hamrick’s spokesperson says: “This is great news. It will be Mick’s eighth child and nothing fazes him. He’s been incredibly supportive,” according to a report published on UK tabloid The Sun. The source said they were “surprised and happy,” adding that, “They are taking the news in their stride.”

However, it does not appear as if there are any plans for Hamrick to make an honest man out of him.

“Mick likes the arrangement they have and doesn’t want to be in another formal relationship. The plan is for Melanie to move out of New York and be based in Los Angeles, where Mick spends a lot of time, or Connecticut where she

knows people. In reality, Melanie was coming toward the end of her career as a ballet dancer but has now had to give it up earlier than previously planned.

The music star has seven other children — all but three of whom are older than Hamrick, from four other women – Marsha Hunt, Bianca Jagger, Jerry Hall and Luciana Gimenez Morad.

His youngest child, Lucas, was born in 1999.

In 2014, he became a great-

Set during the Ice Age, a sabertooth tiger, a sloth, and a wooly mammoth find a lost human infant, and they try to return him to his tribe.

Cast: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Goran Visnjic, Jack Black

Ice Age Star Movies 3:50pm

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

Jen pens against body shaming n Showtime Desk

grandfather when Assisi Jackson, the daughter of Jade Jagger — the only child he had with ex-wife Bianca Jagger — gave birth to a baby girl.

This will be the third new arrival in the Stones camp. The news comes two months after fellow Rolling Stone, Ronnie Wood, became a father again aged 68, after his wife Sally Humphreys gave birth to twin girls – Gracie Jane and Alice Rose. l Sources: Ultimate Classic Rock, BBC

WHAT TO WATCH

Blade HBO 3:30pm A half-vampire, half-mortal man becomes a protector of the mortal race, while slaying evil vampires.

Cast: Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson, N’Bushe Wright, Donal Logue, Sanaa Lathan

31

Monsters Inc. Zee Studio 5:45pm In order to power the city, monsters have to scare children so that they scream. However, the children are toxic to the monsters, and after a child gets through, two monsters realize things may not be what they think.

Cast: John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Mary Gibbs, Steve Buscemi, James Coburn, Jennifer Tilly, Bob Peterson, John Ratzenberger, Frank Oz Frozen Zee Studio 7:30pm Three skiers stranded on a

chairlift are forced to make lifeor-death choices which prove more perilous than staying put and freezing to death.

Cast: Emma Bell, Kevin Zegers, Shawn Ashmore, Ed Ackerman, Rileah Vanderbilt

Dragon Blade WB 9:00pm When corrupt Roman leader Tiberius arrives with a giant army to claim the Silk Road, Huo An teams up his army with an elite Legion of defected Roman soldiers led by General Lucius to protect his country and his new friends.

Cast: Jackie Chan, John Cusack, Adrien Brody, Lin Peng, Mika Wang, Choi Siwon, Xiao Yang, Wang Taili l

DT

Showtime

Following decades of pregnancy rumours, Jennifer Anniston has finally addressed the ongoing fascination over her body in a passionate op-ed for Huffington Post.

Apparently, Rachel from Friends is “fed up” with tabloid publications and journalists constantly speculating whether or not she’s pregnant. The actress went on to link the intense scrutiny regarding body shaming and misogyny in Hollywood.

In one particularly emotional segment, the beautiful actress wrote: “The objectification and scrutiny we put women through is absurd and disturbing. The way I am portrayed by the media is simply a reflection of how we see and portray women in general, measured against some warped standard of beauty.

Sometimes cultural standards just need a different perspective so we can see them for what they really are — a collective acceptance… a subconscious agreement.

We are in charge of our agreement. Little girls everywhere are absorbing our agreement, passive or otherwise. And it begins early. The message that girls are not pretty unless they’re incredibly thin, that they’re not worthy of our attention unless they look like a supermodel or an actress on the cover of a magazine is something we’re all willingly buying into. This conditioning is something girls then carry into womanhood. We use celebrity ‘news’ to perpetuate this dehumanising view of females, focused solely on one’s physical appearance, which tabloids turn into a sporting event of speculation.

Is she pregnant?

Is she eating too much? Has she

let herself go? Is her marriage on the rocks because the camera detects some physical ‘imperfection’?”

To make her point perfectly clear, the celeb went on to put those pregnancy rumours to bed once and for all saying, “For the record, I am not pregnant. What I am is fed up. I’m fed up with the sport-like scrutiny and body shaming that occurs daily under the guise of ‘journalism,’ the ‘First Amendment’ and ‘celebrity news.’”

Jennifer might be appreciated for her honesty and passion, however, it’s not certain whether the baby rumours will ever end.

This seems to be an ongoing battle for the 47-year-old. l Source: UNREALITYTV

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Back Page

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016

TRUMP PICKS PENCE AS HIS RUNNING MATE PAGE 10

COOK LAYS FOUNDATION FOR ENGLAND REPLY PAGE 24

JEN PENS AGAINST BODY SHAMING PAGE 31

Tarikat seeks info on Afghan war veterans n Tribune Desk

Tarikat Federation, a component of the ruling alliance, has demanded information on the Qawmi madrasa students who had joined the Afghan war in the 1980s and later formed the country’s first militant group Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh (HujiB).

their whereabouts?”

Formed on April 30, 1992, HujiB was banned on October 17, 2005 for their involvement in a number of bomb attacks since 1999.

Awaal claimed the militant groups who are conducting killings do not actually want to establish Islamic rule.

He also demanded action

‘Our home minister might have forgotten that Qawmi madrasa students formed HujiB after their return from the Afghan war’ Secretary General of the party MA Awaal yesterday also criticised Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal for saying that there were no militants in the Qawmi madrasas.

“Our home minister might have forgotten that Qawmi madrasa students formed HujiB after their return from the Afghan war. Mufti Hannan, Maulana Farid did not study in private universities,” he said in a written statement at the National Press Club.

“The home minister is wrong in identifying the root of militancy. Mufti Shahidul was directly involved in militancy. Chittagong’s Mufti Izhar and his son Harun Izhar, and Habibur Rahman Bulbuli, the principal of Sylhet’s Kazirbazar Madrasa, went to Afghanistan [in 1988] to join jihad [against Russian troops]. We want to know where they are now. Does the government know anything about

against the 27 Peace Schools operating across the country mainly by Jamaat-e-Islami supporters under the patronage of controversial Indian televangelist Zakir Naik.

“We have read news on the detailed report of an intelligence agency about the Peace Schools.

But no steps have been taken as of yet. Peace TV has been banned, but his [Zakir Naik’s] books should be brought under surveillance too.”

He suggested that foreigners coming to the country under the guise of joining the Tabligh Jamaat should also be investigated.

“Many organisations and groups are conspiring against the state by cashing in on the religious sensitivity of the people,” Awal said.

Tarikat chief Syed Nazibul Bashar Maizbhandari and Presidium member Syed Rezaul Haque Chandpuri were also present at the event among others. l

The Asian paradise flycatcher is a medium sized passerine bird that is native to Central and Southeast Asia. Asian paradise flycatcher has been split into three subspecies: Indian, Oriental and Amur. The photo above shows a female Indian paradise flycatcher native to Northern and Central India, Nepal, Balochistan, Afghanistan and Iran. Rarely seen in Bangladesh, this bird was spotted near a canal in the Sundarbans SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Top militant leaders under surveillance Major Sanjida first female n Tribune Desk Law enforcement agencies are conducting separate drives to arrest top leaders of banned militant groups.

Sources yesterday confirmed that they had detained some suspected militants. Around 50 top leaders were under surveillance.

When contacted, a police source said the top leaders under the scanner include Joynal Abedin alias Akash, Mama Khalek and Bijoy.

Most belong to Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Ansarul-

lah Bangla Team and Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh (HujiB).

A DMP Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crimes unit official yesterday said they hoped to arrest the main planner of the Gulshan and Sholakia attacks this week.

Another CTTC source said the receiver of a call from a Gulshan attacker had not yet been identified.

They are seeking probe assistance from India, the US and Singapore.

An official of the telecom regulator said the attackers had tried to communicate with people in at

least three countries. Investigators earlier recovered around 30 mobile phones from the Holey Artisan Bakery and sent those to the CID for IT forensic tests.

Another source claimed that investigators were looking for 20 of at least 24 automatic and semi-automatic firearms smuggled into Bangladesh last December.

A source said JMB leader Bike Hasan alias Nazrul along with three of his associates named Saddam, Reazul and Rabbani had been detained. l

officer to attend US army staff college n Tribune Desk For the first time, a female Bangladeshi army officer, Major Sanjida Hossain, is going to attend the United States Army’s Command and General

Staff College course.

In a Facebook post yesterday, the US Embassy in Dhaka congratulated Major Sanjida for her achievement.

According to the post, this oneyear course at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas prepares promising officers for leadership responsibilities in a strategic security environment during wartime and peacetime. l

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