21 July, 2016 by DhakaTribune

SECOND EDITION

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

Shraban 6, 1423, Shawwal 15, 1437

Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 85

Will closing businesses foil terrorism?

Will re-zoning Dhaka prevent another Holey Artisan Bakery-like attack? The file photo shows members of law enforcement agencies conducting investigation on the bakery premises on July 3 MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Hayat Mahmud and n Abu Arifur Rahman Rabbi Closing down businesses in the capital is unlikely to stop terrorism, a leading urban planner has said. Instead of carrying out a sudden drive to evict establishments, the government and Rajuk should instead move forward with a thoughtout plan, Prof Nazrul Islam, the chairman of Centre for Urban Studies, told the Dhaka Tribune. To make the eviction plan a success, the government was now linking militant threat to commer-

cial establishments, Prof Nazrul said, pointing out that these same service providing outlets had been set up in front of government authorities with permission from Rajuk and city corporations. Thousands of people may end up suffering if the government sticks to its plan of evicting commercial outlets from Dhaka's Gulshan, Banani and Baridhara areas, he warned. “Any instant step or eviction of commercial establishments is not the only solution to stopping militancy and ensuring security for the

posh areas, some of which are also in the diplomatic zone,” Prof Nazrul said. Because of the government's systemic fault, not only 13,000 commercial outlets would be evicted from the city, but a crisis would be created for the locals and lead to unemployment for the staffs, the retired Dhaka University professor cautioned. His comments came after the government sent notices to owners of around 13,000 commercial establishments that have reportedly

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Profiling a terrorist n Adil Sakhawat A man who knew a Holey Bakery attacker well while he was studying in Malaysia says he did not see this coming. Attacker Nibras Islam had been a student of Monash University’s campus in Malaysia. The man, a Bangladeshi long residing in Malaysia, confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune that he was aware that some Bangladeshis in Malaysia were recruited into jihadist groups and indoctrinated there. But he said he did not believe that they received tactical training there. Nibras’ case has had the Bangladeshi expat, who has asked not to be named, wondering how a party-animal with a taste for foreign women like Nibras could have turned into a cool-headed mass murderer. He wonders if Malaysia’s unique cultural context – where orthodox Islamic practice, near-universally admired, coexists with liberal lifestyles – creates a tension for Bangladeshis living there. “Malaysia is a country where Muslims can practise their religion if they wish to, but any one, Muslim or not, is also allowed to go out to parties and enjoy themselves,” he told the Dhaka Tribune. On the surface, Nibras appeared to revel in the freedom he found in Malaysia, but aspects of his behaviour suggest an underlying streak of anti-Western sentiment in him. Where he acquired this prejudice is unclear. Take for example Nibras’ pref-

Nibras Islam erence for drinking alcohol. Even when all was well, Nibras, buzzed by alcohol, would disparage United States foreign policy or the supposed victimisation of Muslims in the West. His friends – who all requested that they not be named – say he often expressed frustration about his parents when drinking. But otherwise, they say Nibras was a fun-loving party-goer who was fascinated by football and music. They add that he was concerned about the state of Muslim countries like Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan. While hanging out with friends on campus or at a bar, Nibras would often express anger when he read something on his mobile phone regarding the situation in the Middle East or other Muslim countries. His friends said Nibras would sometimes even shout against “Western domination and imperialism.” His friends say Nibras was hardly what one might call religious.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

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NEWS ANALYSIS

Whither terrorism in Bangladesh? n Faiz Sobhan After the terrorist attack on Holey Artisan Bakery on July 1, the country and, in particular, the residents of Gulshan, Banani and Baridhara, sometimes referred to as the ‘tristate area’, is still reeling from the shock. The question on many people’s mind is, what is next on the terrorists’ agenda? Where, when and how will they strike.

The law enforcement and intelligence agencies find themselves in a race against time and are undoubtedly working overtime to unearth any plots and find the perpetrators before they strike again. The authorities have gained some important information from one of the attackers involved in the Kishoreganj attack and are following up other leads. In recent weeks, more reports have emerged of young men and

women who have gone missing in the past few years. At last count, there were reports of at least 261 missing and possibly there are many more who are unaccounted for. That begs the question where have they disappeared to and what are they up to? Have they left home to join IS or other extremist groups at home or abroad? Did they leave to seek greater glory and a sense of purpose, and die as martyrs to

be rewarded with a place in heaven for their violent extremist acts? Eventually time will tell, at least about some of these individuals, in the event that they are arrested and interrogated by the authorities. The Holey attack points evidently to some new modus operandi for extremists working in Bangladesh, especially those who have linked themselves to IS. From undertaking small-scale operations on individuals ranging from foreigners to

atheists to religious minorities, IS extremists in particular appear to have upped their strategy to using light infantry-type attacks as seen in other cities such as Paris and Tunis. In the case of the Holey attack, the Arabic statement released afterwards by IS spoke of the attack being undertaken by ‘five Inghimasiyyin’. The Combating Terrorism Centre, research and  PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

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THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

Profiling a terrorist Unlike other Bangladeshis students there who were fairly observant Muslims, Nibras was never known to offer any prayers.

High life, low grades

According to his friends, Nibras started his journey as an engineering student at Monash with high hopes, but soon became frustrated as his grades were not too good. With his grades dropping to a CGPA of 2.34, Nibras had to face his education counsellor – a Chinese – many times at the university. “But we still did not see any sign that he was becoming radicalised during this time,” one of his friends told the Dhaka Tribune. He remained active in extra-curricular activities at the university. In 2014, Nibras was elected treasurer of the university’s International Students Union, and his friends said he had plans to run for president the following year. During his stay in Malaysia, Nibras had three girlfriends of different nationalities, his friends told the Dhaka Tribune. One of his university friends said he had rented a house in the Sunway township near the campus where they got together to socialise. But things started to change in July 2015, when Nibras cut off all contact with his friends and stopped coming to campus. One friend communicated with him via Facebook in September last year, but even then Nibras showed no sign that he had become radicalised. His friends said that the tell-tale signs of radicalisation are frequent use of the as-salaamu-alaikum greeting and exhortations to become more religious. The Bangladesh expat who knew Nibras said young Bangladeshis living in Malaysia are particularly vulnerable because many are undocumented students frustrated by legal complications. Some struggle with drug addiction, he added. Malaysia’s Muslim milieu makes it easy for tragedies in other Muslim countries to strike a chord, he said. Local militant groups target young, disaffected Muslims, he said, and guessed after recruitment in Malaysia, training takes place in Bangladesh or a third country such as Syria.

IS influence in Malaysia

According to Malaysian English-language daily New Straits Times, Islamic State’s expert bomb-maker Zainuri Kamaruddin is in charge of leading Malaysian IS members in Syria. In a recently released IS propaganda video in May this year, Zainuri, 49, was seen to say that he and his men were part of a “righteous army,” and that the Malay archipelago would someday be swarming with an army of IS fighters who would bring the fight home, particularly to Malaysia and Indonesia.l

Shuttering businesses been set up in residential areas. The decision was made in line with a government announcement from April 4 this year that said all of Dhaka city’s unauthorised commercial establishments including bars, residential hotels and private universities will have to be shifted from residential areas within the next six months. The notices were sent in the wake of the Gulshan terror attack, which claimed the lives of 24 people. Prof Nazrul also pointed out that such a mass eviction would cause a massive blow to business owners who have invested crores and crores of taka, the employees whose livelihood depends on these outlets and many who depend on their services. “This [eviction] means not only the investors will be in loss, but their employees, locals, foreign guests will also face a crisis,” said Nazrul, who previously taught urban development planning at the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok. He also expressed doubts on whether the government’s intention would be of any success as similar attempts had failed in the past. “A huge number of people have

got permission for seven-storey buildings but they build fifteen-storey buildings. The BGMEA building was also built in such an illegal way. Why did these authorities not stop such establishments when they were being built?” Prof Nazrul said.

‘Decision not a new one’

According to Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Annisul Huq, the decision of eviction was not a new one, but only emphasised the quick implementation of an earlier decision. “The government had made the decision earlier and given a sixmonth ultimatum to all unauthorised establishments in residential areas. So, the government has to start the eviction drive immediately because of the militant attack on Holey Artisan Bakery at Gulshan,” he said. He, however, did not explain how terrorism was linked with the unauthorised establishments. The mayor added that the decision came after a green signal from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who wants to see Dhaka as a liveable and secured city.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Despite repeated attempt for comments, Rajuk Chairman Md Bazlul Karim Chaudhury did not receive any phone call.

‘Eviction will stop criminals from scoping targets’

The police have said that militants would not be able to monitor their targets if unauthorised establishments in Dhaka were evicted. After the recent terror attack, police found that militants were using aliases and not staying at a single place for long as part of their strategy, said Masudur Rahman, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. “On the other hand, analysing recent video footage and other things, we found that if attackers do not get chance to stay in any locality for a long time, they will not be able to observe their targets so easily. So, their possibility to monitor their targets will come down,” he added. If the locations of hotels can be spread out, setting up hideouts and observing targets would become very difficult for terrorists, Masudur said. The DMP official also requested people to install CCTV cameras

at important places and hotels, homes, and shopping malls as law enforcers would then get a sense about the persons or groups engaged in terrorism.

Fee for conversion of lands hiked by 750%

The only way to do business legally in residential areas is to convert the residential lands to non-residential ones. But, the option seems unfavourable as the government – apparently to discourage commercialisation of residential neighbourhoods – has increased fees for converting land category in Dhaka’s more upscale areas by 750% over the past few years. Rajuk, the capital’s development authority, in December 2012 fixed Tk50 lakh for the conversion of a plot from residential to commercial, and Tk30 lakh for residential to non-residential, in Gulshan, Banani and Baridhara areas. For Uttara and Nikunja, except along the Dhaka-Mymensingh road, the conversion fees were fixed at Tk25 lakh for residential to commercial and Tk15 lakh for residential to non-residential. l

Whither terrorism in Bangladesh? academic centre at the United States Military Academy in New York, states that Inghimasi is a “suicide fighter” or “those who submerse in enemy’s line with no intent to come back alive.” This does not mean to say that the attack on the Holey Bakery was technically a suicide operation. IS is known to use suicide bombers, in “martyrdom operations” or Istishhad, who tend to work alone, such as attackers in Iraq and Syria who crash explosive-laden vehicles into crowds or military personnel and installations. The Inghimasi of IS are also known to operate in groups, armed with light weapons and grenades, usually on foot, and do not expect to emerge alive after launching an attack. Also, noteworthy is that first IS-claimed suicide operation was on Christmas day last year at a Ahmadiyya mosque in Baghmara, Rajshahi, when a bomber identified as Abu al-Fida’ al-Benghali detonated his explosive belt killing himself and injuring ten others. The Holey Bakery attack clearly points to an escalation by IS members in Bangladesh to take their operations to the next level. In a sense this can be seen as phase two of their actions. Phase one could be classified as all those attacks which they undertook between September 2015 until June 2016. This should not come as a surprise as IS has discussed at length their plans for Bangladesh and the IS magazine Dabiq in issues 12 and 14 have wide coverage

on Bangladesh including an article titled “Revival of Jihad in Bengal” (Dabiq 12) and an interview with Shaykh Abu Ibrahim al-Hanif, the Emir of IS in Bangladesh (Dabiq 14). Al-Hanif is suspected of being Bangladeshi-Canadian Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury. He is a Bachelors degree graduate in chemistry from the University of Windsor, Ontario and around thirty years of age. There are reports that he left Canada for Bangladesh around 2013 or 2014 but not much else is known about him. The Bangladeshi authorities are trying to track him down. What would be of interest is the whereabouts of Chowdhury. Is he in IS’ main territory guiding operations in Bangladesh or has he returned from Syria/Iraq to manage IS members at home? The Holey Bakery terrorist attack was significant because it points towards a number of factors. First, it was a sophisticated operation and there was considerable planning involved; second, it was an upgraded attack in terms of operational tactics; third, it appeared to be a martyrdom operation; fourth, there was more than two or three attackers which was the case for most of the previous attacks; fifth, this type of assault demonstrates specialist tactical-type training such as the use of pistols, automatic weapons, grenade-type bombs along with how to use machetes/knives in administering fatal wounds, holding of hostages and securing a property; sixth, the

individuals involved in the attack either received this type of specialised training by IS members in Syria/Iraq or their local trainers may have; seventh, those behind such an attack have managed to completely go underground and vanish without a trace for months or years. In past cases of terrorism where local actors were involved, law enforcement officials had reliable information of extremist hideouts around the country and managed to find the likes of JMB leader Bangla Bhai and other members of JMB and HUJI-B.

What lies ahead?

It is impossible to predict the next attack – what type it may be, where it will occur and so on. However, if the Holey Artisan Bakery attack is taken as an example then the signs are worrying. One of the main objectives of terrorists is to cause fear, chaos and mayhem. They may resort to striking targets which they deem as soft, and thus attempt another attack on a restaurant, clubs for expatriates or a hotel, which explains why a number of four and five star hotels are bolstering their security. Terrorists typically would want to hit those places that foreigners frequent. The Holey Bakery attack was a case in point as the majority of victims – 17 – were foreigners. The IS statement after the attack described the victims as “citizens of Crusader countries.” Although the attackers said they had no intention of killing any

Muslims they did end up killing a few and in a most brutal manner. While the various check-posts around the tri-state area are meant to reassure and keep safe local and foreign residents none can predict when and where future attacks will be mounted. Terrorists are known to employ clever tactics and will evidently look for ways and means to avoid the large police dragnet. Furthermore, if the reports of two to three dozen Bangladeshi IS fighters having returned home from IS’ central territory are true, then peoples’ concerns will not dissipate overnight because of anxiety that the next attack is around the corner. The belief among many Bangladeshis is that it has defeated terrorism before and it can do so again. It is and always will be a resilient nation. But the battle to combat terrorism will require patience, perseverance, pragmatism and effective policies. In addition, a robust and effective counter-terrorism strategy needs to be adopted along with boosting counter-terrorism cooperation with other countries. The government understands that it alone cannot undertake such a task but would need the full support of society as a whole ranging from families, grassroots organisations and local communities to civil society, religious scholars, teachers, academic institutions, NGOs, the media and other stakeholders. Faiz Sobhan is a researcher of foreign policy and security issues. l

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

ANTI-TERRORISM EVICTION

Thousands at risk of losing jobs Hossain Ovi and n Ibrahim Shohel Mamun Businesses may have to pay the price for the failure of this and previous governments to build a safe city. And whenever businesses have to pay, consumers must inevitably follow suit. After the July 1 terror attack, the government has been spurred to action to rezone the city claiming it is a necessary to fight terrorism. Some 13,000 notices have been sent in this regard to businesses. The decision to evict commercial enterprises located in residential areas has even led to finger pointing against the owners of the Holy Artisan Bakery, whose property was the scene of Bangladesh’s deadliest terror attack, for not having the proper authorisation. But is this renewed bureaucratic zeal the answer? And will it make Dhaka safer for its inhabitants? The link between terrorism and coffee shops situated in remodelled houses is not at all clear. But the economic disruption of such a move seems evident. “A sudden decision to evict hotels from the Gulshan and the diplomatic zone would be a disaster for the businesses as they have invested crores of Taka,” H M Hakim

Ali, president of the Bangladesh International Hotel Association, said. Some 200,000 people would be in danger of losing their jobs if all of the hotels in the area were to be evicted, he said. The government would lose a massive amount of revenue from the sector, Hakim added. A cabinet meeting in April, months before the terrorist attack, had already settled on rezoning Dhaka and evicting unauthorised commercial establishments including eateries, stores, hotels, educational institutions and hospitals from residential areas in the capital within six months. An initial drive in which some business were demolished was short-lived and faced accusations of favouritism – business owners with the right connections were thought to have been spared the demolition crews. But the Holey Bakery attack has caused the government to speed up the eviction process. With three months remaining in the original six-month deadline, the government has threatened to disconnect the utilities of establishments that fail to move. There has been no offer of compensation for eviction.

Worries

Business community leaders point out that as far as terrorism is concerned they are innocent and being unduly harassed. Some observers have sounded warnings that tens of thousands of low income workers, men and women, facing a sudden loss of employment would be vulnerable to radicalisation. Many business owners are asking where they could go, whether the economic geographies of alternate sites would sustain their businesses and whether this move would serve consumers. Some 95% of hotels are operating with government permission, Hakim Ali, the hoteliers’ trade body president, said. He urged the government to rethink its decision and set a reasonable time frame for relocation. But where in congested Dhaka would business relocate to? “We do not have any shortage of commercial areas in Dhaka. There is plenty of space in many commercial high rise buildings situated in the residential areas,” Housing and Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune. He said businesses rented space in residential buildings and not commercial buildings to take advantage of lower rents. “For exam-

ple, all the buildings situated on either side of Gulshan Avenue are commercial establishments where the businesses do not go because of high rents. They prefer residential buildings to save on rent.” Business owners said they feared that they would lose customers, saying that location was crucial when it came to high-end retail. “Most customers here are foreigners and they reside in this neighbourhood. Well-to-do locals form another segment of our clientele, and they are not likely to travel too far to have a cup of coffee,” a manager at a renowned coffee shop said, asking not to be named. “This will definitely hurt business,” he added. Md Helal Uddin, director of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said: “We do not have any objection to the eviction of unauthorized businesses located in the diplomatic zone. The government ought to do this for the sake of the safety of expatriates. “But the latest move can only benefit the government if traders have to leave empty-handed. Entrepreneurs will suffer huge losses. The government should compensate them to help them re-establish their businesses elsewhere.” l

Gulshan attackers’ blood samples collected n Arifur Rahman Rabbi Families wanting to claim the bodies of the militants behind the Gulshan attack will have their DNA tested to confirm their relation to the attackers. According to Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Deputy Commissioner Masudur Rahman, nobody has claimed any bodies thus far. The corpses are in the morgue at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH). The deceased include Rohan Bin Imtiaz, Mir Sabih Mobassher, Nibras Islam, Khairul Islam Payal, and Shafikuel Islam Ujjal. Saiful Caukider, a chef who was killed during the attack is also at the morgue. Police claim he was affiliated with the attackers. DC Masudur Rahman said the court approved autopsies on the militants. The tests that cannot be conducted locally will be sent to USA or Singapore. Doctors from the Dhaka Medical College Forensics Department are testing the militants’ blood and hair samples to confirm whether or not they were under the influence of narcotics when carrying out the attack on July 1.

Police look at a banner placed in front of Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan in memory of the seven Japanese citizens killed in the July 1 terror attack. The banner was placed by Dhaka University Japan Study Centre yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU “The Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crimes units of the DMP got permission from the court to conduct drug tests on the attack-

ers,” Forensics Department assistant professor Sohel Mahmud said. He said the doctors tried to collect samples twice on Tuesday but

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failed because the bodies were frozen. The forensics team may receive help from the FBI when conducting the tests. l

One of those missing boys is Jilani n Tribune Desk Dhaka’s Military Institute of Science and Technology student Md Ashequr Rahman alias Jilani had been missing since February last year after he went to Istanbul, Turkey to attend a conference. Diplomatic efforts to bring him back went in vain as he already entered Syria through the Turkish border by that time, detectives say. Experts observing militant activities think that Jilani was in the first batch of Bangladeshis who joined international terrorist group Islamic State in Syria. According to IS’ Dabiq magazine published in April, Jilani – named as Abu Jandal Al Bangali – was killed during a battle in Ayn Issa, northern Syria, as he received a hit from a 23mm autocannon. His name has now appeared on a list of 261 missing persons released on Tuesday by the police’s elite force Rapid Action Battalion. His father, Col Moshiur, was killed in the 2009 BDR Mutiny. During his late teens, Dabiq says, Jilani began listening to the lectures of Anwar al-Awlaki, the spiritual leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and other scholars who were “upon the truth.” He also used to financially support the local militants in addition to the Muslim prisoners there to the best of his ability. Jilani was among the “first of the mujahideens in Bengal” to support Islamic State and managed to go to the IS-dominated area despite facing many obstacles. The Dabiq article said: “His plan was to feign travel to an engineering conference in the Middle East as a cover for his hijrah. He would need a reference letter from his college confirming his claim that he was travelling for the purpose of attending the conference. “But the problem was that he had already stopped attending classes at the college due to the sinful environment that existed there. Furthermore, as a young, unemployed student he didn’t have the financial means to pay for his flight nor the conference fees.” Despite this, Jilani was able to forge a reference letter from his college, and managed money needed to cover his expenses “in an equally cunning manner.” When the news leaked that Jilani had left the country and had not attended the conference, his uncle, who was connected with military intelligence agency DGFI tried his best to prevent him from entering Syria, but to no avail. l

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THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

Trial in 2nd AQIS case starts n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court yesterday framed charges against five members of banned militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team in secular activist Oyasiqur Rahman Babu murder and set August 4 to start recording deposition of witnesses. Three of the five accused were in the dock and pleaded not guilty when the charges were read out to them. The court of Dhaka’s Third Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge SM Ziaur Rahman also issued arrest warrant against the two other Ansarullah men who are on the run. The trio are Zikrullah alias Hasan, 19, of Narsingdi; Md Ariful Islam alias Arif alias Erfan alias Mushfique, 19, of Comilla; and Md Saiful Islam alias Monsur, 23, of Comilla. The wanted two are Maulana Junayed Ahmed alias Taher, 24, from Habiganj; and Abdullah alias Md Akram Hossain alias Boro Bhai, 28, from Gopalganj. According to the charge sheet, Abdullah masterminded the killing. Travel agency executive Oyasiqur, 27, was hacked to death by machete-wielding Zikrullah and Ariful, both madrasa students, and Taher on Dipika Mosque Lane of Begunbari, close to Tejgaon Textile Engineering University, when he was going to office at Motijheel on

March 30 last year. Zikrullah and Arif were chased down by two transgender persons while Abu Taher escaped. Saiful was arrested with firearms and machetes in his possession in Jatrabari area a week before the murder. Police claimed that Saiful along with Zikrullah and Arif were going to kill Oyasiqur on March 23. Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) claimed responsibility for the murder after a week. Since 2013, the group has killed 11 secular writers, bloggers and publishers, teachers and LGBT rights activists in 13 attacks. Ansarullah is believed to be representing AQIS in Bangladesh. Zikrullah is a student of Hathazari Madrasa in Chittagong. Arif had been a student of the same madrasa and later became a student of Mirpur Darul Ulum Madrasa. Arif was arrested in September 2012 from Narsingdi during training at a militant camp. Securing bail, he became an active supporter of Ansarullah chief Jashim Uddin Rahmani, who was sentenced to five years in prison for instigating the killing of secular blogger Ahmed Rajeeb Haider in 2013. Zikrullah joined Ansarullah through Arif. DB police investigated Oyasiqur murder case and submitted the charge sheet against five Ansarullah members on September 2 last

Bail pleas of five rejected in Sholakia attack n Tafsilul Aziz, Kishoreganj Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court of Kishoreganj has dismissed the bail pleas of five youths, who were arrested from the adjacent areas of Solakia Eidgah attack spot in Kishorganj on July 7. Mamunur Rashid, 27, son of Mosarref Hossain of Gorur Hat area, Md Sanaulllah, 30, son of Abdul High of Boyla area, Sohel Miah, 20, son of Md Shamsuddin of Pirojpur area under Bajitpur upazila, Tara Miah, 25, son of late Abdul Jolil of Panchabati area under Bhairab upazila, and Ariful Islam Hasib, 26, son of late Mahbubul Islam of Tarapasha area, were produced before the court on July 12 after being arrested by police from the surrounding areas of Sholakia Eidgah on July 7, in connection with their suspected involvement in the militant attack on police near Sholakia Eidgah on Eid day, said Mir Mosarref Hossain, officer-incharge (OC) of Kishoreganj Sadar Model police station.

The court sent them to jail under section 54, rejecting their bail pleas that time. Today, lawyers of the arrestees again appealed for their clients’ bails, said the police. Meanwhile, the same court granted the appeal for a DNA test of detained militant Jahidul Haque alias Tanim today. Mohammed Morshed Jaman, inspector of the police station and also the investigation officer of the case, said DNA samples of Jahidul and suspected dead militant Abir would be sent to lab along with seized blood-stained clothes and other stuff. Armed militants attacked policemen in Azimuddn High School area near Solakia Eidgah of the district on Eid day. Four, including two policemen, were killed in the attack. Later, police arrested seven people, including Jahidul and Shafiqul Islam, who were undergoing treatments at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital under Rapid Action Battalion’s (RAB) custody. l

year. The IO has named 40 people as prosecution witness. A Dhaka court accepted the charge sheet on September 30. In primary interrogation, Zikrullah and Arif claimed that a “hujur” (religious scholar) had professed to kill the atheists while a “Boro Bhai” (senior brother, Abdullah) had given them Oyasiqur’s photographs and the murder weapons. The charge sheet says that Abdullah, who works as an organiser for the outfit, masterminded the killing, and gave arms and training to the killers for three months. Known as Oyasiqur Babu on Facebook, the youth used to write under pseudonyms on popular blogs. On his Facebook account, he wrote several notes opposing irrational religious beliefs, superstitions and radical Islamists. He used to write against Jamaat-e-Islami and radical Islamist groups. He was vocal against human rights violations on the religious minorities and indigenous people of the country. He was also an admirer of Avijit Roy, who was hacked to death on February 26 last year in Dhaka. After his death, Oyasiqur changed his profile picture to the hashtag “#iamavijit” on a black background. His Facebook cover photo also displays the hashtag #WordsCannotBeKilled. l

Japanese companies, NGOs seek security n Shohel Mamun Japan has requested permission from the Bangladesh government to strengthen security arrangements and allow private security guards, equipped with necessary arms, to protect the offices and factories of private Japanese companies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Bangladesh. This request, made by the Embassy of Japan in Dhaka through a letter to the foreign ministry on July 14, comes in light of growing security concerns after 20 people, including seven Japanese nationals, were killed during the terrorist attack at Holey Artisan Bakery on July 1. The Bangladesh government, however, is yet to take any concrete decision over the matter as the proposal is still under discussion between related ministries. According to the letter, 68 enlisted private Japanese companies and NGOs operation in Bangladesh have sought assistance from the Japanese embassy in requesting law enforcement authorities in providing special protection. The letter also requests the foreign ministry to appoint contact points within the ministry and concerned authorities so that enlisted companies may approach them to make specific requests according to their security requirements.

The Dhaka Tribune asked a foreign ministry official, who wished not to be named, regarding the embassy’s request and he responded by saying that the foreign ministry does not usually allow any private security forces for foreign companies. However, he did add that the ministry may allow it if permission is granted from higher authorities within the government. The seven Japanese victims, as well as the one Japanese survivor, were working on activities related to the Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development project, supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and financed by the Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA) scheme, according to the letter. Three of the victims were employees of Tokyo-based construction consulting company Almec Corp. Another victim had been working for the Tokyo-based construction consulting firm Katahira & Engineers International. The three other victims were related to Tokyo-based consulting firm Oriental Consultants Global Co. The letter ends saying: “With unflagging resolve never to put the life of Japanese nationals in Bangladesh in danger again, the embassy sincerely seeks the ministry’s fullest cooperation in providing thorough security protection.” l

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THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

Google responds to govt requests n Tribune Desk Google, an American multinational technology company, has responded to some of the requests made by the Bangladesh government in the past to share user information, according to the current state of Google’s Transparency Report. Google’s Transparency Report is a publicly available online resource that provides a glimpse of how governments and states internationally are trying to access and use data. The report show that Google has responded to some of the Bangladesh government’s requests for user information between July and December 2015. None of the 3 user data requests, termed as legal requests, were granted to the government. These 3 user data requests sought information regarding 4 users. However, all 4 user data requests, termed as emergency disclosure requests, were granted to the government. These 4 user data requests sought information regarding 9 users. This data aligns with State Minister for Post and Telecommunications Tarana Halim’s statement in parliament on June 12, where she said that Facebook, Google and Microsoft have agreed to respond within 48 hours to any information or assistance sought by the government regarding suspicious activities of users over the internet. Google’s efforts have triggered similar reports from other consum-

er tech companies, including Twitter, Facebook, Microsoft and chat app Line, which have access to a considerable amount of user data. However, among the tech companies, Google has seen a record number of data requests from law enforcement agencies worldwide during the second half of 2015 as the request total passed the 40,000 mark for the first time. It is an indicator as to how much information Google — one of the world’s biggest carriers of internet data — can potentially provide. “Google is proud to have led the charge on publishing these reports, helping shed light on government surveillance laws and practices across the world,” the company said in a blog post. In more detail: the U.S. led the pile with the highest number of data requests. The American government made 12,523 requests for data from 27,157 Google users, with Google providing data in only 79 percent of cases. That total is up from 12,002 requests in the first half of 2015. Germany (7,491 requests in the second half of 2015 up from 3,903 in the first half of 2015), France (4,174 up from 3,489), the UK (3,497 up from 3,146), and India (3,265 requests up from 3,087) in addition to the US, make up the top five in terms of request volumes. Despite increasing user data requests, Google did reveal that the percentage of requests that it positively responds to is on the decline. l

Three vehicles – a police van escorting a VIP car followed by another security personnel car – take the wrong side of the road on a jam-packed Tejgaon flyover at Bijoy Sarani area of Dhaka yesterday. Though its unlawful to drive on the wrong side, these people of the law seem to care little about what is right and wrong and create more problems for the already troubled commuters stuck for long hours on the road SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

GE to re-power Ghorashal plant n Aminur Rahman Rasel

US-based General Electric (GE), in a consortium with China National Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation, has been awarded a $117 million order from Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) for re-powering Unit 3 of the Ghorashal Power Plant. This will be the first re-powering project for the country and will provide a much-needed increase in power generation capacity for Bangladesh by adding more than 200MW of cleaner power to the national grid. The project calls for re-powering the existing 210MW Power Machines (LMZ 200) steam turbine

— which is run by a gas-fired boiler — by transforming it into a combined cycle power plant. The re-powering will be achieved by installing a gas turbine and a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) to generate an efficient 416.3MW in combined cycle mode, read a press release yesterday. “GE is proud to be a partner in building and expanding the power generation infrastructure of Bangladesh and is committed to help the country achieve its energy goals of providing electricity to all by 2021,” said Deepesh Nanda, CEO for GE’s Gas Power Systems business—GE South Asia “With this project, GE’s suite of combined cycle power plant solu-

tions will breathe new life into the plant while helping to lower its carbon footprint substantially.” As part of the overall re-powering scope, the station’s existing steam turbine will be retrofitted with GE’s advanced reaction design steam turbine high pressure module, intermediate pressure module and lower pressure inner module to suit the new steam parameters. GE’s solutions will help to substantially reduce carbon emissions from the power plant by enhancing the station’s overall efficiency of the plant to 54%. Currently, about 1.9GW of Bangladesh’s installed power base is from GE, representing more than 30 gas turbines. l

Gazipur court blast case verdict July 28 Kazi Shahid receives n Ashif Islam Shaon The High Court has fixed July 28 to deliver its verdict on the death references and appeals of death-row convicts in connection with the 2005 suicide bomb attack inside Gazipur Bar Association office by JMB militants that killed nine people. The bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice JBM Hassan announced the date after concluding hearing by both state and defence sides yesterday. The court started the hearing on appeals of 10 death convicts on July 13 after the trial court forwarded the death references on May 5 this year. Deputy Attorney General Shaikh AKM Moniruzzaman said they

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN THURSDAY, JULY 21

in 2005 and 2006. According to the case, JMB member Md Nazir Hossain carried a bomb with his body and detonated it inside of the lawyers’ office at the Bhawal Rajbari Court in the morning of November 29, 2005. The suicide attacker and two others died on the spot while six others succumbed to their injuries during treatment. Of the eight victims, four were lawyers and four justice seekers. The grenade attack was part of the JMB’s series of suicide attacks on the country’s judiciary at that time. The JMB men killed two judges of Jhalakathi court in a suicide bomb attack only two weeks before the attack in Gazipur. l

argued to uphold the convictions and confirm death references as the allegations against them had been proved beyond doubt. The defence counsels, however, prayed to commute the death sentences to life-term imprisonment. The Fourth Speedy Trial Tribunal sentenced the 10 militants of banned outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) to death on June 20, 2013. The convicts are Enayet Ullah Walid, Arifur Rahman, Moshidul Islam Masud, Saidur Munshi, Abdullah Al Sohaien, Nizam Uddin Reza, Taibur Rahman Hassan, Ashraful Islam, Md Shafiullah Tarek and Adnan Sami Jahangir. All of them have been in jail since their arrest Dhaka

Chittagong

Rajshahi

DHAKA TODAY SUN SETS 6:47PM

Rangpur

National Fisheries award n Tribune Desk Kazi Shahid Ahmed, managing director of Gemini Sea Food, has been awarded National Fisheries Award 2016. His son lawmaker Kazi Nabil Ahmed received a silver medal on behalf of him from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Krishibid Institute in the capital yesterday. Kazi Shahid has got the award, as his company exported the highest number of fish and fish related quality products last year and has contributed to employment generation. Khulna

Barisal 30

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:23AM

34.4ºC Jessore

24.6ºC Sitakunda

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES

Kazi Shahid Ahmed Gemini Sea Food exported 564 tonnes of fish and other fish related goods worth $14,395,077 in 2015. l Sylhet

Cox’s Bazar

Fajr: 4:50am | Zohr: 1:15pm Asr: 5:15pm | Magrib: 6:58pm Esha: 8:45pm Source: Islamic Foundation

News

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

Sirajganj jail on high alert n Aminul Islam Rana, Sirajganj After recent militant attacks in Sholakia and Gulshan, Sirajganj Jail has been on high alert with eight islamist militants put in the prison house. According to local sources, strong security has been beefed up at the jail following the order of higher authorites after the terrorist attack around the country including Sholakia and Gulshan. The jail sources said the motives of the relatives of the militants had been observed who came to meet with them at the jail gate. CCTV cameras have been set up in the jail and outside. The visitors are checked strongly and they have

to submit their photoes and national ID cards to the jail authority. Following the terrorist attack across the country in 2015, Mahmudul Hasan, Motaleb Hossen, Maruf Foisal of Char Sonagasa under Sadar upazila, Sohail Hossain of Sahangacha village, Sultan Mahmud of Bheomara village Hazrat Ali of Boroitala village of Kazipur upazila and Amzad Hossain of Raghambaria village of Ullapara upazila had been kept prison. On Tuesday, Imam Ataullah Tareke, brother-in-law of militant Tariqul Islam who was killed while he was making bombs, had been kept in the jail. Jail Super Al Mamun said tide security had been beefed up as the

country was at the risk of militant attack. Only parents of the militants are allowed to meet with the prisoners, he added. Special securites have been taken while the prisoners are taken from one jail to another jail. When the visitors meet their men at the jail gate, detective branch of police stand by them. The jail sources said the prisoners more than five times higher had been kept in the jail. Now there are 1,060 criminals including suspected militants in the prison house where it has the capcity of 200. Mamun said the government should extent the house. He also emphasised for more jail staffs. l

A bus hits a roadside tree in Pologround area in Chittagong city yesterday after losing control over the steering. A woman was killed in the accident DHAKA TRIBUNE

3 killed in Ctg road accidents n Tribune Desk

Three people including a woman were killed in two separate road accidents in Chittagong yesterday. The two road accidents happened in Pologround area in the city and Banshbaria Bazar area at Sitakunda on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway. The deceased were identified as Jesmin Akhter, 40, Md Julfiqur, 68. The identity of the other deceased could not be known immediately. Nizamul Fahmi, sergeant of Highway Police at Kumira, said a Chittagong-bound lost control over steering in Banshbaria area at Sitakunda in Chittagong. The other accident took place at Pologround area under Kotwali police station in the city. Traffic Sergeant Md Jalil said another bus lost control over the steering and dashed against roadside tree. Later, the injured were whisked off to Chittagong Medical College Hospital. l

Irregularities found in disbursement of stipend money n Nayan Khandaka, Jhenaidah Hundreds of students of Bhatpara Government Primary School, Kaliganj, Jhenaidah with their guardians laid siege to the school yesterday, protesting irregularities in disbursement of stipend money. During the protest, the agitators alleged that a teacher of the school had assaulted their children as they raised voice against the misdeed. The teacher namely Tulip also verbally assaulted the students’ family terming them as ill-mannered and greedy. Many guardians alleged that their kids were not going to school fearing further assault. The schoolteachers denied the allegation of hurling abusive words. She said she lightly assaulted the students as they were not attentive in classes. Of the 35 students, Sohag, 11, Pinky Das, 9, Bithika Das, 11, Ritu Das, 11, Ritoporna Das, Rony Das, 11, Sotota, 9, Somota, 9, Amit Das, 9, Sajol Das, 8, were injured critically. Guardians of the injured students also showed injury marks on their children’s body to the correspondent. Sufia Begum, a guardian, said children of the school were supposed to get a stipend of Tk1,200 yearly. But the authorities of the school did not pay the total amount. Many of students get even

half of the amount. Another guardian Ram Das said although his children – Krishna Das and Aporna Das – did brilliant results, they got Tk250 each. Sukul Ali, a vendor, said they had submitted a written complaint to the Kaliganj upzila nirbahi officer and upzila education officer over the anomaly. “Teachers of the school started torturing students after hearing over the complaint,” he said. When students and their guardians besiege the school, teacher Tulip became panicked. She said she did not rebuked the students. Remark of headteacher of the school could not be managed as he is on leave. Assistant Headmaster of the school Nilufar Yasmin said a student was entitled to get Tk1,200 annually. According to the policy of the stipend, those students who are not attentive, remain in the same class for two years and get less than 33% marks will not get the money. She said they distributed the amount of money following the rules. She also claimed that the teacher did not assault students over stipend money, she beat them as they were not attentive in classes. Upzila Nirbahi officer Monowar Hossain Molla said he had already asked officials to take action over the issue. l

Physician crisis leads to KGH patients’ sufferings

Two more die for taking exessive liquor

n Kudrote Khoda Sobuj, Kushtia

n Abdullah Al Dulal, Rajshahi

Around 2.2 million people of Kushtia are deprived of proper medical treatments, due to the shortage of physicians in Kushtia General Hospital (KGH). Civil Surgeon Dr Mustafijur Rahman of the hospital said the health complexes in six upazilas of Kushtia are run by junior doctors, so the patients come to KGH for better treatments, which is being hampered due to physician crisis. The 250-bed hospital is now managing its activities with 33 physicians, whereas there should be 58 doctors, said Dr Tapas Kumar Sarker, residential medical officer (RMO) of the hospital. Besides, 71 different posts, including of nurses and technicians, are lying vacant, he added. There is only one physician in the emergency department though

four doctors are supposed to perform duties here, said Dr Tapas. Surgery department is suffering from the same problem. One physician is managing the department instead of four, he mentioned. There are no medicine consultant and gynecologist in the hospital for the last one year and no anesthesia specialist for the last two years, he said. The out-door service has to handle 1000 to 1500 patients every day with only one physician, said the RMO. “I have to work day and night to manage the situation,” he said. While talking to our correspondent, Saleha Khatun of Chandipur village in Bheramara upazila complained of returning home being failed to avail a doctor for her three-month old baby after waiting two hours in Pediatric department. This is a common complain of the patients who come for out-door

service, finds the correspondent while visiting the hospital. Van puller Azizul said he had to sell his van to purchase medicines from outside during his seven-day stay at the hospital. Another patient Motaleb said he was compelled to do a blood test from a private diagnostic centre located in front of the hospital, as the hospital could not provide him with the facility. A syndicate has been taking the opportunity of the manpower crisis, alleged many patients. The patients are provoked to go to different private clinics or diagnostics centres, the patients alleged. Acting Superintendent of the hospital Dr Abdul Mannan said, “We have informed the higher authorities about the crisis and we are trying our best with the limited capacity.” l

Two more people died after taking excessive liquor at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital yesterday. Officer-in-Charge of the RMCH police outpost Enamul Haque confirmed the death of Jahangir Ali, 55, son of Sultan Ali and Lalan Mandal, 45, son of Marumandal of Kutipara area in Charghat upazila. On Tuesday, five people died as they also consumed excessive liquor. People who died on Tuesday are Jawhar, 65, Badhoni Rani, 70, Anil, 50, Helal, 50, and Mahtab, 50. All of them were residents of Sweepers’ colony, said Nibaran Chandra Barman, officer-in-charge (OC) of Charghat Model police station. He said all of them fell sick after taking liquor on Monday night. l

News

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

Flood situation worsens in the northern part n Tribune Desk Flood situation in the northern parts of the district has deteriorated yesterday with rise of water level in Teesta, Dharola, Korotoa and Dharola River, putting thousands of people in miseries. In Kurigram, floods triggered by heavy rain are jeopardising the lives of at least 50,000 people in Kurigram as water continues to rise in 16 rivers of the district. Over a hundred villages in six upazilas have been flooded so far, with water at Brahmaputra River’s Chilmari point currently flowing 19 centimetres above the danger level. Water level is also rising in rivers Teesta, Dudhkumor and Dharala. Flooding has submerged all rural roads, while there is a severe shortage of drinking water and food. In Ghanashyampur village, at least 100 families have already lost their homes to the aggressive forces of the Brahmaputra. Nazma, a local villager, has taken refuge in a neighbour’s home with her family of eight after her own home was lost to river erosion. But the house of shelter itself is about to swept away by Brahmaputra as well. As locals blame the government for its lack of initiative to stop erosion, the Jatrapur Government Primary School – where almost 500 children study – is about to be claimed by the Brahmaputra.

Md Abdur Rashid, the headmaster, told the Dhaka Tribune that letters seeking help have been sent to the upazila education office, upazila chairman and the upazila nirbahi officer – but to no avail. Commenting on the plight of the locals, Jatrapur union Chairman Abdul Gafur said that despite two rounds of flooding no relief could be distributed as the government did not provide any. However, Sadar upazila Chairman Panir Uddin Ahmed said: “We have relief materials ready. We are yet to receive a report on flood victims. Relief distribution will begin when we get the report in a couple of days.” Commenting on the Jatrapur school, he said the Water Development Board (WDB) has already declared the school’s matter an emergency after being notified. Chilmari upazila Chairman Shawkat Ali Sarkar Bir Bikram said the flood situation was deteriorating every day in Ashtamir Char, Noyarhat, Chilmari, Raniganj, Ramna and Thanarhat unions. So far, only 200 of the several thousand affected families have received relief, Shawkat said, adding that district authorities have been requested to provide more help. According to the local WDB, Dharala River’s water is currently flowing only three centimetres below the danger level. Our Gaibandha correspondent

A woman with a kid in her lap wades through knee-deep water at Porarchar, Kurigram yesterday adds: The flood situation in the district has deteriorated with rise in water level in the Teesta, Jamuna, Brahmaputra and Gaghat Rivers. An elderly man drowned at Sundarganj. About 20,000 people in Sundarganj, Fulchhari and Saghata upzilas have been left marooned. Many people have took shelter on the flood control embankment while some portions of the dyke is also at risk of erosion.

According to the Water Development Board, almost all the rivers sorrounding the district were flowing above danger level yesterday. Meanwhile, flood situation has worsened in Sunamganj leaving thousands of people in Doarbazar upazila marooned. According to local sources, the Surma River flowed above 65 centimeter high in Shologhar area yesterday.

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Razu Chandar Paul, deputy engineer of t Disaster Management Office, said roads of 20 villages in the upazila damaged due to flood. Aman paddy of 60 hectre land in the area had been washed away. More than 5000 homestedas went under water in Fatehpur union. Alhaj Khairul Alam, UP chairman of Sreepur, said at least 10 villages went under water leaving thousands of people marooned in the area. l

Comparison of Bangabandhu with Protests against militant attacks across the country a BNP leader triggers discontent n n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong

A comparison between Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and a local BNP leader in a creative question paper triggered discontent among the people in Chittagong. The comparison was made in a half-yearly examination held on July 17. Students of Class IX from 97 high schools in six upazilas of south Chittagong took the examination in a subject ‘Bangladesh and Global studies’. The controversial BNP leader led the much-talked about movement against the proposed coalfired plant in Banskhali. Soon after the incident, Chittagong district administration formed a two-member probe committee comprising Md Habibur Rahman, Chittagong deputy commissioner (education and ICT) and Hosne Ara, secondary district education officer. The police have already arrested two teachers identified as Taherul Islam, president of Banshkhali

Teachers’ Association Headmaster of Nasera Khatun RK Girls High School and Dukul Barua, assistant teacher of Bangabandhu High School. Of the duo, Dukul Barua set the question paper. The probe body also visited Banshkhali on Tuesday to investigate the incident. Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Md Habibur Rahman, Chittagong additional deputy commissioner (education) said an allegation was raised that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was compared with a controversial person in the creative question paper of Class IX. “Although no clear name was mentioned in the question paper, we went to the area and talked to all the people concerned with setting question papers. We talked to all teachers of Bangabandhu High School where the prime accused used to teach. We also recorded written statement of all presidents and secretaries of teachers’ associations under six upazilas of Chittagong,” said the ADC. The creative question paper

demeaning Father of the Nation was set due to the gross negligence and lax monitoring of all concerned. We suggested taking legal actions against the persons involved with the heinous act. A case is going to be lodged with Banshkhali police station in this connection, said the ADC, adding that they formally notified Education Ministry and Prime Minister’s office about the incident. The investigators said that questions for the kind of examinations were usually collected from upazila teachers’ association. No alternative question paper was available and there was no provision for moderating the question paper. Hosne Ara, secondary district education officer and also an investigator, said: “Despite being a teacher of Buddhism and Moral Education, Dukul Barua set the creative question paper for the subject of Bangladesh and Global Studies. Regrettably the teacher himself received training for setting creative question papers.” l

Tribune Desk

People in different parts of the country yesterday staged demonstrations protesting recent militant attacks in the country. Several hundred students, teachers and employees of Jahangirnagar University (JU) formed a human chain under the banner of “Human chain against terrorism, anarchy, communality and militant attacks, led by JU Vice Chancellor Prof Farzana Islam around 9am in front of the main entrance of the university, adjacent to Dhaka-Aricha Highway. Prof Farzana said they had arranged the protest programme, as they did not want any further loss of human lives in any kind of extremist attack, reports our JU correspondent. JU pro-VC Prof Abul Hossain, Treasurer Prof Abul Khayer, faculty deans and hall provosts were present at the programme. Meanwhile, Teachers, students and employees of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) held an anti-mili-

tancy rally on CUET Shaheed Minar premises yesterday afternoon to protest the militant attacks at Gulshan and Sholakia. Earlier, a procession led by CUET Vice Chancellor Prof Rafiqul Alam paraded different roads of the campus, protesting militancy. In Dhaka University, left leaning student body Bangladesh Chhatra Union brought out a procession on the campus, protesting countrywide militant attacks. The procession ended at in front of DACSU building. Later, a faction of Ganajagaran Mancha led by Imran H Sarkar also brought out a procession on the campus, protesting the ongoing attacks across the country. Later, they distributed anti-militancy leaflets in Shahbag area to raise awareness among the people as part of their ongoing anti-terror campaign. Our Rangpur correspondet reports, public representatives, politicians and professionals have taken a vow to keep Rangpur Sadar upazila free from militancy, terrorism, extortion and anti-social activities. l

8 World

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

SOUTH ASIA

Pregnant Afghan teen’s death sparks call to end child marriage

Right groups Wednesday called on the Afghan government to end the scourge of child marriages, after a 14-year-old pregnant girl was burned to death last week in the latest case of violence against women. Afghan civil law sets the legal age of marriage at 16 for girls, yet 15% of Afghan women under 50 years old were married before their 15th birthday. -AFP

INDIA

Indian forces remove Pakistani flags raised by Kashmiris Government forces in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir removed dozens of black and Pakistani flags hoisted by residents observing a black day on Wednesday to protest the killing of a top insurgent leader. Indian forces feared fresh trouble in the tense region after Pakistan called for observing a black day to express solidarity with Kashmiris. -AP

CHINA

Britain adds Chinese militant group to terror list Britain has listed the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) as a terrorist organisation, pleasing China, which had demanded western support for its fight against the group. The addition of ETIM to the list of proscribed organisations comes as leaders from China and Britain have proclaimed the countries are enjoying a golden age in relations. -REUTERS

ASIA PACIFIC

Vietnam legislature convenes to elect leaders Vietnamese Communist Party-dominated National Assembly has opened its first session to elect the country’s top leaders following May elections. The 494 deputies are widely expected to reappoint President Tran Dai Quang, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and the assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. -AP

MIDDLE EAST

Top Saudi clerical body renews fatwa against Pokemon Saudi Arabia’s top clerical body has renewed a 15-year-old edict that the Pokemon game franchise is un-Islamic, Saudi media said on Wednesday, although the fatwa made no mention of the successful new Pokemon GO mobile game. The Council argued that the mutations of the creatures in the game, who are given specific powers, amounted to blasphemy by promoting the theory of natural evolution. -REUTERS

Ministers of 30 countries to plan next steps against Islamic State n Tribune International Desk Defence and foreign ministers from more than 30 nations are gathering in Washington to plan the next steps in the fight against the Islamic State and to determine what more they can do as the fights for key cities in Iraq and Syria move forward, report The Associated Press. Defence Secretary Ash Carter was supposed to meet with his counterparts on Wednesday to discuss how they can accelerate the campaign and build on some of the momentum, particularly in Iraq. The meeting comes as Iraqi security forces, aided by the coalition, are preparing to encircle and eventually attempt to retake the key northern city of Mosul. The meeting of defence ministers at Joint Base Andrews just outside Washington, DC, will be the fourth time that Carter has convened an anti-Islamic State coalition meeting. Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said Carter will talk about the military campaign,

and how it can be accelerated. On Thursday, for the first time, Secretary of State John Kerry will host a joint meeting of defence and foreign ministers in the counter-IS coalition. They are expected to talk about the coordination of political and military efforts, including counter-terrorist financing, combating the flow of foreign fighters, and the stabilisation of cities and towns that have been freed from Islamic State control. “We are succeeding on the ground in Iraq and Syria but we have a lot of work to do,” said Brett McGurk, the president’s special representative to the counter-IS coalition. “This is an enormous

challenge that will be with us for years to come.” He told reporters that the situation in Libya and a rise in the number of foreign fighters there will be one major focus of the meeting on Thursday. “Libya is incredibly complicated to say the least,” he said, noting that until six months ago the country was without a functioning central government. “We have some momentum, the discussion will be how to build on this momentum.” The gathering comes on the heels of the Nato summit in Warsaw earlier this month, when allies agreed to boost support for the anti-Islamic State mission. Nato agreed to start a training and capacity-building mission for Iraqi armed forces in Iraq, and the allies agreed in principle that alliance surveillance aircraft would be able to provide direct support to the US-led coalition fighting IS in Syria and Iraq. The alliance will also begin flights by AWACS surveillance planes this fall and will set up an

intelligence centre in Tunisia, a major recruiting ground for IS. The US has announced that it will send 560 additional troops to Iraq, to transform a newly retaken air base into a staging hub for the long-awaited battle to recapture Mosul from Islamic State militants. The new American forces should arrive in the coming days and weeks. Most of the engineers, logistics personnel, security and communications forces will concentrate on building up the Qayara air base, about 40km south of Mosul. The extremist group captured Mosul in the summer of 2014. It is the second largest city in Iraq, and has been used as the group’s main headquarters since. The coalition is also looking to reinforce the fight in Syria, where US-backed forces are in a tough fight for the town of Manbij. Manbij lies on a key supply line from Turkey to the Islamic State’s de facto capital of Raqqa. Ousting the militants from Raqqa is a key goal for the coalition. l

Protests erupt in Gujarat over attack on Dalit men n Reuters, New Delhi Protesters from India’s low-caste community blocked roads and attacked government buses in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state on Wednesday in a third day of demonstrations over the flogging of 4 men accused of skinning a cow. The 4 members of the Dalit community were last week tied to a car in Gujarat state, stripped and flogged with sticks by self-styled hardline Hindu cow protectors who then published a video of the attack as a “warning” to others. The beatings sparked the most serious protests by Dalits in years in Gujarat, with seven youths trying to kill themselves in protest by taking pesticide in different parts of the state, an act that further inflamed tempers. A police officer was killed on Tuesday during clashes in Una, 340km from Gujarat’s main city, Ahmedabad, where the tannery workers were attacked. Cows are revered in Hinduism and their slaughter is banned in most Indian states including Gujarat, where Modi ruled as chief minister for a decade and spearheaded a 2011 ban. Dalits in the state, however,

ABOUT | INDIAN CASTE SYSTEM

Caste is the main form of identity for many Indians, defining the centuries-old, self-contained and unalterable social groups into which they were born and are usually expected to marry. The word ‘caste’ is a Portuguese invention that conflates two Indian words - ‘varna' and ‘jati’.

People from India’s Dalit community shout slogans during a protest against the flogging of 4 men accused of skinning a cow, in Ahmedabad on July 20 REUTERS said they earn their livelihood from skinning cows that die naturally, buffalos and other animals, and vowed to fight anyone trying to stop them from doing so. “We are the poorest but we are not cowards,” Mayur Dabhia, a leader of the Dalit campaign group in Ahmedabad. Police are investigating whether the flogged men killed the cow or whether it was already dead. Dalits are at the bottom of India’s ages-old social hierarchy, making them vulnerable to at-

tacks perpetrated by self-styled cow-protecting vigilantes. The vigilantes chase trucks transporting cattle and raid slaughter houses. Several people accused of eating beef have also been attacked, including a Muslim man who was last year beaten to death by a mob in a town near New Delhi. Opposition lawmakers disrupted parliament on Wednesday to protest against the floggings in Gujarat and demanded Modi apologise to the victims. l

The ‘varnas’ are a broad system of social ranking found in the ancient Hindu scriptures. There are four traditional varnas - from top-to-bottom, priests, warriors, traders and labourers. The Dalits (former ‘Untouchables’) form a fifth and lowest group. ‘Jatis’ are smaller, regional groups often based on a family’s occupation. There are over 3,000 in India. Within any region these can also be ranked in order of prestige, though it is possible for a jati to move up or down in society over time. Discriminating against anyone because of their caste is illegal. However, as Indians are often able to tell a person’s caste through simple markers such as their surname, this is hard to enforce.

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

USA

FACT-CHECK

What we know about Saudi’s role in 9/11 The Saudi government still says it had no connection to the hijackers. Newly released classified information proves otherwise

n Tribune International Desk Sometimes, reality is so absurd that it outstrips anything conspiracy theorists could come up with. More than 13 years after the congressional investigation published its report into the events surrounding the 9/11 attacks, the much-discussed “28 pages” on Saudi involvement in the terrorist assault, which had been held back as too sensitive to publish, have been released. As it turns out, there are 29 pages, not 28, numbered 415 through 443 in the congressional inquiry into the 9/11 attacks. And deletions on the pages — sometimes words, often whole lines — add up to the equivalent of a total of three pages. So we still are not being given the full story. It is instantly apparent that the widely held belief for why the pages were not initially released — to prevent embarrassing the Saudi royal family — is true. The pages are devastating-Page 415: “While in the United States, some of the September 11 hijackers were in contact with, and received support and assistance from, individ-

uals who may be connected to the Saudi Government.… [A]t least two of those individuals were alleged by some to be Saudi intelligence officers.” Page 417: One of the individuals identified in the pages as a financial supporter of two of the 9/11 hijackers, Osama Bassnan, later received a “significant amount of cash” from “a member of the Saudi Royal Family” during a 2002 trip to Houston. Page 418: “Another Saudi national with close ties to the Saudi Royal Family, [deleted], is the subject of FBI counterterrorism investigations.” Pages 418: and 419- Detained al-Qaeda leader Abu Zubaida had in his phone book the unlisted number for the security company that managed the Colorado residence of the then-Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan. Page 421: “a [deleted], dated July 2, 2002, [indicates] ‘incontrovertible evidence that there is support for these terrorists inside the Saudi Government.’”

Page 426: Bassnan’s wife was receiving money “from Princess Haifa Bint Sultan,” the wife of the Saudi ambassador. (Her correct name is actually Princess Haifa bint Faisal.) Page 436: The general counsel of the US Treasury Department, David Aufhauser, testified that “offices [of the Saudi charity al-Haramain] have significant contacts with extremists, Islamic extremists.” CIA officials also testified “that they were making progress on their investigations of al-Haramain.… The head of the central office is complicit in supporting terrorism, and it also raised questions about [then-Saudi Interior Minister] Prince Nayef.” In January 2002, US News & World Report quoted two unidentified Clinton administration officials as saying that two senior Saudi princes had been paying off Osama bin Laden since a 1995 bombing in Riyadh, which killed five American military advisors. The US News & World Report article quoted a Saudi official as saying: “Where’s the evidence? Nobody offers proof.” That official was current Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, who has no doubt spent recent days lobbying

members of Congress and doing advance damage control — my bet is he has probably been using the same lines. But with the release of the 29 pages, and their detailed description of the financial connections between the 9/11 hijackers and Saudi officials, Jubeir’s argument has become increasingly difficult to make. The inquiry, after all, quotes a redacted source alleging “incontrovertible evidence that there is support for these terrorists within the Saudi Government.” Upon the pages’ release, Washington-based public relations firm Qorvis, which has a lucrative contract with the kingdom, released its own analysis that began with a quote from an interview CIA Director John Brennan gave to Al-Arabiya on June 11. It reads in part: “[T]here was no evidence to indicate that the Saudi government as an institution, or senior Saudi officials individually, had supported the 9/11 attacks.” l

This is an excerpt of a FOREIGN POLICY MAGAZINE article, which can

be accessed through http://atfp. co/2aqMrVd

EU national climate goals test bloc’s resolve amid Brexit n Reuters, Brussels EU regulators doled out bitterly disputed national emissions-reduction targets on Wednesday for spreading the burden of the bloc’s climate goals by 2030, despite risks Britain’s exit could unravel the effort to fight global warming. As the first major piece of legislation since Britons voted in June to leave, it is a test of the union’s cohesion, as it seeks to keep to a pact agreed in Paris last year aimed at holding global warming “well below” 2 degrees Celsius. It assigns EU nations targets for slashing greenhouse gas emissions ranging from zero to 40 percent to achieve the bloc’s overall goal of at least 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. The European Commission has spent months in shuttle diplomacy with national governments to work out the politically sensitive targets, which will require an economic shift to low-carbon technology in big employment sectors such as transport, farming and building. For now, the draft law sees Britain, the bloc’s second-largest emitter after Germany, cutting pollution by 37 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels, more than most other EU nations. But Brexit could

World

upend the law, diplomats say. Under the proposal, which covers sectors outside the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS), Germany’s target is a cut of 38 percent and France’s is 37%. Poland needs to reduce discharges by 7%. The strictest target of 40% cuts has been assigned to Luxembourg and Sweden. Finland and Denmark are projected to reduce emissions by 39%. These states will be allowed to use a limited amount of carbon permits to be auctioned as part of the ETS to meet their target. Bulgaria is the only EU nation asked to keep discharges unchanged. In a policy innovation, countries with high emissions from agriculture may offset these against a limited amount of credits from well-managed farmland or forests, which absorb carbon dioxide - a provision criticised as a loophole by green groups.

Ambition without Britain?

Without Britain, the remaining 27 nations could either weaken climate goals, triggering international criticism, or step up ambitions already contested by states that rely on polluting sectors such as coal in Poland or farming in Ireland.

EUROPEAN UNION

The US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday endorsed Democrat Hillary Clinton, the group’s first-ever endorsement for a presidential nominee and a rebuke of Republican Donald Trump in the middle of his party’s convention. The chamber is an organisation of Hispanic business leaders representing the interests of Hispanic-owned businesses nationwide. -REUTERS

THE AMERICAS

Brazil judge blocks WhatsApp over criminal case A Brazilian judge briefly blocked Facebook Inc’s WhatsApp messaging service on Tuesday for failing to cooperate in a criminal investigation, before the nation’s top court overturned the measure. The office of Brazil’s attorney general reiterated its position that judges who suspend WhatsApp are incorrectly interpreting a 2014 law meant to update the legal framework for the internet. -REUTERS

Eagle withdraws from UK Labour leadership contest Challenger Angela Eagle withdrew from the contest to lead Britain’s main opposition Labour Party on Tuesday and backed rival Owen Smith in a unity bid to oust embattled leader Jeremy Corbyn. Smith will now go forward alone to fight socialist stalwart Corbyn in a ballot of party members, trade unionists and registered supporters which ends on September 24. -REUTERS

EUROPE

Turkey blocks access to WikiLeaks

CLIMATE PLEDGE

40%

REDUCTION IN GHG EMISSIONS BY 2030 COMPARED TO 1990 LEVELS HOW TO ACHIEVE IT? KEY MITIGATION ACTIONS:

Turkey has blocked access to the WikiLeaks website on Wednesday, hours after it leaked thousands of ruling party emails just as Ankara grapples with the aftermath of a failed military coup. WikiLeaks on Tuesday released nearly 300,000 emails from the AK Party dating from 2010 to July 6 this year. Turkey routinely uses Internet shutdowns in response to political events. -REUTERS

AFRICA

EMISSIONS TRADING (EU ETS)

GHG EMISSION TARGETS FOR SECTORS NOT COVERED BY THE EU ETS

TARGET AND SUBSIDIES FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY

ENERGY EFFICIENCY TARGETS, OBLIGATIONS AND PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS IN BUILDINGS, INDUSTRY AND HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES

FUEL ECONOMY STANDARDS IN PASSENGER CARS

“It’s one rich country less to take on some of the burden from the Poles,” one EU diplomat said. Environmental campaigners warn the effort is too shallow to prevent the worst effects of climate change, blamed for droughts and calamitous weather. The Paris

US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce endorses Clinton

agreement set an aspirational goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius. “This is the first test since the signing of the Paris agreement and the EU cannot afford to let it fail,” Femke de Jong of Carbon Market Watch said. “Worse, loopholes risk ... allowing countries to cheat.” l

UN appeals for $204m to combat Africa’s food security crisis The UN food agency has declared its highest-level emergency in drought-stricken southern Africa and is appealing for $204m immediately to purchase food and transport it to the region to help millions of hungry people. World Food Program Executive Director Ertharin Cousin told reporters on Tuesday that the El Nino-induced drought has devastated crops and caused harvests to fail in southern Africa. -TIME

World

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

INSIGHT

Trump is the nominee but Clinton in focus n Tribune International Desk

Donald Trump was formally nominated for the presidency by Republican delegates here on Tuesday night, a landmark moment in American political history that capped the business mogul’s surprising conquest of the GOP. Trump reached the threshold of 1,237 delegates with votes cast by delegates from his home state of New York. Trump won with 1,725 delegates, followed by US Senator Ted Cruz of Texas with 475 delegates, Ohio Governor John Kasich with 120 and US Senator Marco Rubio of Florida with 114. Three other candidates emerged with a total of 12 delegates. But the rest of the evening demonstrated that Trump has seized his party’s nomination — but not yet won the battle for its heart and its ideas. The speakers seemed to largely avoid the policy proposals that brought Trump so much success: building a wall on the southern US border, barring foreign-born Muslims from entering the country, tearing up trade deals and deporting undocumented immigrants en masse. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was the one speaker who seemed to electrify the convention-hall crowd. He did it by talking not about Trump, but about the presumptive opponent: former secretary of state Hillary Clinton. Christie, a former federal prosecutor, ticked off examples of what he said were Clinton’s bad judgements on foreign affairs, and her use of a private email server to handle government business. After each example, Christie turned the audience into an ad hoc jury: “Guilty or not guilty?” “Guilty!” the audience roared. They repeatedly broke into chants of “Lock her up!” Sharon Day, co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, accused former president Bill Clinton – husband of presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton – as a sexual abuser. “As first lady you viciously attacked the character of women who were victims of sexual abuse . . . at the hands of your husband,” Day said, addressing Clinton. Later, Day said: “I want to see a woman become president one day, and I want my granddaughters to see a woman president . . . but not that woman . . . Hillary Clinton . . . not now . . . not ever.” The theme of the night was supposed to be “Make America Work Again,” and many of the speakers did intermix that economic message, but they also repeatedly took

turns at bashing Clinton. Michael Mukasey – the former attorney general during the George W Bush administration – condemned Clinton for her use of a private email server to conduct government business. Clinton’s use of that email led to an FBI inquiry, which ended with FBI Director James B Comey declaring her behaviour “extremely careless,” because it might have endangered classified material. “Hillary Clinton is asking the people of this country . . . to make her the first president in history to take the constitutional oath of office, after already having violated it,” Mukasey said, meaning that Clinton had failed to uphold the law as secretary of state. “The message from this convention — to everyone watching this convention . . . No way, Hillary. No way on Earth.”

AMERICA’S CHOICE FOR THE NEXT PRESIDENT Clinton and Trump showdown in November

Hillary Clinton

REPUBLICAN 69 years old

68 years old From Chicago, born Hillary Rodham Former secretary of state, former first lady, and the first female partner of her Arkansas law firm Started her own formal political career as a Democratic senator in 2000, after working on health care reform plans as first lady

THE PERSON

Gradual reform of Wall Street Tighten gun laws Expand university scholarships Immigration reform to simplify citizenship for illegal migrants

From Queens, New York Billionaire real estate tycoon and former reality TV star Considered on the right of mainstream Republicanism

POLITICS

Strong support from women Democrats and minorities

Nomination official

Earlier in the night, during the formal roll call of state delegates, Trump’s clinching votes were cast by his own son, Donald Trump Jr, who spoke for the New York delegation. “It is my honour to be able to throw Donald Trump over the top in the delegate count tonight,” he said. “Congratulations, Dad, we love you!” Later in the night, he took to the stage and again spoke lovingly of his father, serving as his best advocate of the convention so far, casting him as a straight-talking man who didn’t need to focus-group his opinions. He seemed to choke up slightly when he called his father “my best friend.” But he also used much of that time on-stage to criticise Clinton, casting her as irresponsible and too risky for the Oval Office. Also speaking Tuesday night was Tiffany Trump, Donald Trump’s daughter with his second wife, Marla Maples. She spoke of her father as a warm figure, who wrote encouraging notes on her school report cards. Earlier in the night, Trump himself appeared on the jumbotron in Quicken Loans Arena, on a remote feed from Trump Tower in New York. Of receiving the nomination, he said: “I’ll never forget it. It’s something I will never, ever forget.” After Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) appeared on-stage, one of the Republicans with the most power in Washington now, and someone who pioneered the hard-line approach to battling President Obama that opened the door for Trump. McConnell was booed by delegates who believe he is not hardline enough. That, just as much as the mogul on the big screen, symbolised how much McConnell’s party has shifted underneath him.

Donald Trump

DEMOCRAT

PROMISES

Popular with grassroots conservatives, white working and middle classes A wall on the Mexican border Deport millions of illegal immigrants To “stand up to China” “Make America great again”

Torchbearer of American Reputation for talking women, has talked of tough, “say-it-as-it-is” the need to address REPUTATION honesty, disdain for the “political class”, racism and economic controversial comments about disparities women, Mexicans and Muslims Opinion polls Collated results, percent support Clinton Trump

53.3

July 19

43.8 41.1 33.7 July

Aug

Sept

Source: RealClearPolitics

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

2015

The crowd did cheer when McConnell said Trump would sign bills that the Senate’s Republicans approved of, and appoint a conservative Supreme Court justice to replace the late Antonin Scalia. “Obama will not fill this seat. That honour will go to Donald Trump next year,” said McConnell, whose GOP is blocking Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland.

Never Trump’ protest never rises

Anti-Trump delegates had said they planned to try to hold up Trump’s nomination by walking out, and trying to deny Trump a sufficient number of votes. But that effort — like the “Never Trump” movement’s other last-ditch efforts this week – failed.

April

May

June

July

2016 A delegate from Alaska forced a delay by requesting an official recount of its delegate votes, seeking to have fewer votes given to Trump. Later, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus came out and offered an arcane explanation of why the Alaska count wasn’t wrong. Trump got all the delegates, and a few boos. After Alaska’s votes had been sorted out, Ryan, who is the convention chairman, announced the official results. Trump, he said, “has been selected as the Republican Party nominee for president of the United States.” Otherwise, the political drama had long ago drained out of this day, after Trump’s primary victories had

erased the prospect of a contested convention — and after Trump’s allies had squelched “Never Trump” delegates’ efforts to disrupt the convention itself. But it was still a remarkable moment. But Trump had a message that defied GOP tradition on trade, and defied the party’s own advice to make inroads with Hispanics: He called for ripping up US trade deals, building a wall on the border with Mexico, and deporting undocumented immigrants en masse. There was only one Trump in the race. And now, there is only Trump. l

[This is an excerpt from a THE WASHINGTON POST article, which can be

found at http://wapo.st/29NgkhL]

World

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

Myanmar army admits soldiers killed 5 villagers n Reuters, Yangon Five villagers were killed by soldiers during an interrogation in Myanmar’s northern Shan State, a senior general said on Wednesday, in a rare admission by Myanmar’s still-powerful military which promised to prosecute the perpetrators. Witnesses have told Reuters that soldiers rounded up dozens of men in the remote village of Mong Yaw, in an area riven by a long-running ethnic insurgency, on June 25

and led five men away. The bodies of the five were found in a shallow grave a few days later. Lieutenant General Mya Tun Oo, one of Myanmar’s highest-ranking officers and the chief of military intelligence, told a news conference in Yangon that a court martial was under way and that the verdict would be made public. The military also pledged help for the victims’ families. “The court martial found that they violated the rules, failing to follow certain procedures, that

led to the death of the victims during the interrogation,” said Mya Tun Oo. He did not say how many soldiers were being tried or what charges they faced. Such a public admission of wrongdoing by soldiers from a top general in the presence of the international media is unprecedented. The armed forces have occasionally acknowledged troops have been at fault in previous incidents, but have usually done so in vaguely worded

official statements. The military’s response this time suggests a heightened sensitivity about the army’s image as it tries to present itself as a responsible partner in Myanmar’s democratic transition and seeks closer ties with its Western counterparts. The military is forging a delicate partnership with Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who swept to power after a historic election in November. The armed forces, which ruled the former Burma for nearly half a century, still control

three security ministries and a quarter of the seats in parliament. “Every soldier has to follow rules and regulations while investigating prisoners or detainees regardless of whether they are related to insurgents or regular citizens,” said Mya Tun Oo, adding that the military would take action against the perpetrators according to the law. “The military will take the best care and support of the victims’ families,” said Mya Tun Oo, without giving the details. l

12 Business

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

TOP STORIES

Tk1,091cr power transmission project likely to get Ecnec nod today Backwater tourism raises new hope While Cox’s Bazar sea beach remains Bangladesh’s main tourist spot, the country has also begun to see an increasing number of visitors, especially foreigners, to its backwater tourism places. PAGE 13

G20 has chance to soothe post-Brexit jitters in China meeting Finance heads from the world’s leading economies will confront fresh fears about protectionism when they meet in China this weekend, with Brexit fallout and dwindling policy options to boost global growth expected to dominate talks. PAGE 14

Income stasis lit fuse for political rocket Slow growth leaving swathes of the population with no real income gains for another 10 years will foster more disaffection that just bakes in political volatility and economic stagnation. PAGE 15

Capital market snapshot: Wednesday DSE Broad Index

4,554.5

Index

1,115.8

0.1% ▲

30 Index

1,779.7

-0.1% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk

3,450.4 -13.7% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

90.9 -17.3% ▼

-0.1% ▼

CSE All Share Index 13,993.1

-0.1% ▼

30 Index

12,900.7

-0.3% ▼

8,516.3

-0.1% ▼

Selected Index Turnover in Mn Tk

704.2 120.1% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol

19.5 128.8% ▲

n Kayes Sohel The government is going to undertake a project to evacuate power from the upcoming 1200MW Matarbari coal-fired power plant in Cox’s Bazar to the load center located at Madunaghat in Chittagong. The three and a half years project, which is expected to begin in July next year, will be implemented at a cost of around Tk1,091 crore. Under the project, a-92km long 400kv transmission line from Matarbari to Madunaghat would be constructed. Of the total project cost, the government will provide over Tk223 crore, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) over Tk787 crore while the project related public agencies around Tk80 crore. The above project is the part of the government’s seventh fiveyear development plan that has begun this year. Under this plan, 3204 km 400kv transmission line will be set up. The project will be placed at the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) meeting today for approval. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will chair the meeting. Tokyo Electric Power Company and Tokyo Electric Power Services Company Limited have already

The project aims at evacuating power from the upcoming 1200MW Matarbari coal-fired power plant to Madunaghat in Chittagong DHAKA TRIBUNE completed feasibility study of the project under the JICA financing. The Power Grid Company of Bangladesh Limited will complete the project by 2020. The government also plans to evacuate electricity to Dhaka from Matarbari under a project titled Dhaka-Chittagong Main Power Grid Strengthening Project. Under which, additional 400kv transmission line will be set up at Meghnaghat in Narayanganj from

Madunaghat. The Matarbari 2X600MW Ultra Super Critical Coal Fired Power Plant, the country’s largest coalfired power plant in Bangladesh is expected to be completed by June, 2023. The Ecnec had earlier approved over Tk35,984 crore Matarbari power project with an aim to boost power generation significantly in the country. Ultra Super Critical Technology

is being used at Matarbari project with a work efficiency of 42%, which is higher than the average work efficiency of other coalbased power plants (34%) in Bangladesh. The work efficiency of the power plants in the USA is 36%. The power plant will possess highest thermal efficiency in the world at 41.3% compared to 36% in the USA, 29% in India, the UK and Germany, 38% in France and 40% in Japan. l

China Railway Group gets Padma rail link work n Asif Showkat Kallol China Railway Group Limited (CREC) has been awarded the work of Padma bridge rail link project. The project cost is estimated at Tk27,652.57 crore. A meeting of the cabinet committee on public purchase yesterday approved a railway ministry proposal on giving the work to the Chinese company. The meeting was presided over by the committee’s alternative third chairman Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury. The project will be built under the Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) project. The TAR project is aimed at creating an integrated freight railway network across Europe and Asia. This is a project of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Unescap). The project includes more than 117,500km rail routes that have been selected for their potentials

to serve international trade within the Escap region. After the meeting, Additional Secretary Maksudur Rahman Patwary told the reporters that the CREC got the work to set up rail link at a cost of Tk27,652.57 crore. He said the rail link will include 172km main line and 43.22km loop line on the two sides of Padma bridge. According to the proposal, the 215.22km rail link project includes construction of rail lines on the two sides of the Padma bridge, Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga-Faridpur rail line on the east side of bridge and Bhanga-Jessore rail line on the west side. The proposed Dhaka-Mawa-Jessore railway route will be a Bangladesh-China-Mynamar railway corridor and in future it will also be called the “Sub-TransAsian Railway Route.” A total of 7,000 acres of land will be leased for construction of the railway lines on both sides of the Padma bridge. The construction of

the Padma bridge is already underway. Railway ministry sources said the same Chinese company got the 150km Akhaura-Laksam rail link project. The project cost is Tk3,961 crore and per km cost is Tk25.74 crore while per kilometre cost of the Padma bridge rail link project is set at Tk128.49 crore. Earlier, Padma rail link project director Sagar Krishna Chakraborty said the Economic Relations Division will start ne-

gotiation with the Chinese EXIM Bank to fix the terms and conditions of the credit agreement at 2% interest rate. “If the negotiation completes by December this year, the work of the big rail link project will start from January 2017,” he said. Bangladesh and China agreed in August 25, 2015 to hold limited tendering to be participated by Chinese companies alone for getting the work. l

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

Backwater tourism raises new hope n Ishtiaq Husain While Cox’s Bazar sea beach remains Bangladesh’s main tourist spot, the country has also begun to see an increasing number of visitors, especially foreigners, to its backwater tourism places. Realising the potentials, the government has also recently taken several initiatives to foster the growth of the backwater tourism. Most of backwater tourism spots are located in the southern part of the country in Barisal, Jhalakathi and Pirojpur districts. The places include Bhimruli, Atghar and Kuriana of Jhalakathi district, Najirpur and Harta of Pirojpur district and Banaripara of Barisal district. Clean river water, tranquillity of surroundings, greeneries and floating markets are the main attractions of these spots. Floating markets, which sell agricultural products like vegetables, paddy and local fruits on floating boats, attract visitors due to their difference from traditional markets. According to the sources, tens of thousands of tourists including a large number of foreigners are visiting the places every year though only a few years ago the places were unknown to many. A number of tour operators have engaged in tourism service to the areas. Trip2Bangladesh CEO Mahmud Hasan said he was the first to turn the places to tourist spots making the people familiar with the beauty of the areas. “I first arranged foreigners’ visit to the places. Later, many have joined as tour operators to the busi-

Tourists on boat are enjoying sceneic beauty of rainy season of Bangladesh ness,” he told Dhaka Tribune. Mahmud said: “Trip2Bangladesh organises the visit of 30 foreigners usually per month while other operators process the tour of around 70 foreigners.” Besides, around 3,000 local tourists from Dhaka and other places also visit the backwater tourist spots every weekend, he said. “If we promote backwater tourism, there will be further increase in the number of visitors. Though Bangkok and Kerala (India) are famous for backwater tourism, most of the tourists who visited Bangladesh have also praised our spots.” With the expansion of backwater tourism in the areas, the business of

restaurants are gaining momentum. Van pullers, three-wheeler drivers and boat owners are also benefiting. Considering backwater tourism prospects in Bangladesh, Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB) has recently taken an initiative to develop the places by forming a national tourism organisation. Initially, the BTB will establish basic amenities like rest rooms, wash rooms and supply of pure drinking water. A three-member committee has been formed to provide a detail information to the BTB in this regard. The committee members are Masud Hossain, managing director of Bengal Tours, Mahmud Hasan,

COURTESY

CEO of Trip2Bangladesh and Mohiuddin Helal, editor of Parjatan Bichitra. “The steps have been taken to promote backwater tourism in the country,” Nikhil Ranjon Roy, BTB joint secretary, told the Dhaka Tribune. “We want to help to flourish the backwater tourism as it can give boost to our tourism industry,” he said. Mahmud Hasan cautioned against the growth of different structures like mushrooming of hotel buildings in the areas centring tourism. “We should be careful about any unplanned structures in the areas as lack of planning could damage beauty of the places.” l

BB warns banks against militancy financing n Tribune Business Desk Bangladesh Bank has issued a directive to 56 scheduled banks of the country to remain watchful about any militancy financing using the accounts with those banks. The directive was made yesterday after holding two meetings at the central bank auditorium, attended by high officials of Bangladesh Bank and the scheduled banks. The banks’ chief executive officers and heads of their anti-money laundering units were present at the meeting. Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor and Head of the Financial Intelligence Unit, Abu Hena Razi Hasan presided over the meeting. The central bank’s executive director Nawshad Ali told the reporters that the meetings warned all the banks against militancy financing. Bangladesh Bank authorities said “stern actions” will be taken against failure to comply with the directive. He said the banks were asked to submit monitoring reports on money laundering and militancy financing to Bangladesh Bank by October after investigation into all branches of the banks. Requesting anonymity, a managing director of a bank said: “If any suspicious transactions are found in our bank’s network, we will immediately inform it to Bangladesh Bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit.” He said: “We, the managing directors, have also been advised by the central bank that we should inform law enforcement agencies if we get any threats from terrorists.” l

DSEX and DS30 indexes reshuffled

Salman F Rahman reelected IFIC Bank Chairman

n Tribune Buiness Desk

Eminent business personality Salman F Rahman has recently been reelected Chairman of the IFIC Bank Limited. Upon completion of his first term in the Board of the Bank, he was reelected as a Director of the Bank in its 39th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on July 14, 2016. He is the Vice-Chairman of BEXIMCO Group, the largest private sector group in Bangladesh. He is a pioneer in establishing a wide range of industries including textiles, trading, marine food, real estate development, hospitality, construction, information and communication technologies, media, ceramics, aviation, pharmaceuticals and energy. He was the President of FBCCI, the apex organisation of businessmen of the country. He is associated with many other social and charitable organisations. l

Business

n Tribune Business Desk

Meena Bazar CEO Shaheen Khan opens the outlet by cutting ribbon in the city yesterday

Meena Daily now at Zigatola n Tribune Business Desk Meena Bazar has opened an outlet named “Meena Daily” at 25 Zigatola, Hazaribag in the capital. The new outlet “Meena Daily”, which is the mini-version of Meena

Bazar, was formally inaugurated by Meena Bazar CEO Shaheen Khan yesterday. Meena Bazar is always committed to serving the best service to its customers by maintaining the great value and international standard. l

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) has rearranged its broad and blue chip indexes with effect from Sunday as part of its semi-annual rebalancing of the indexes. In accordance with the DSE Bangladesh Index Methodology, designed by S&P Dow Jones Indices, DSEX and DS30, have been reconstituted, said a DSE statement yesterday. Doreen Power Generations and Systems Limited have met all criteria of quarterly IPO addition and qualified as eligible constituents of DSEX. In addition, four companies – National Bank, Meghna Petroleum, Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills and Singer Bangladesh – are being added to the DS30 index. On the other hand, four existing constituents of DS30 Index – Pubali Bank, United Airways (BD), Aftab Automobiles and Khulna Power

Company – are being dropped from DS30 Index as they didn’t comply with the requirements to retain their membership. DSEX reflects around 97% and DS30 around 51% of the total equity market capitalisation. The criteria for inclusion in DSEX includes that a company must have a float–adjusted market capitalisation above Tk100 million, and for DS30, a company must have a float-adjusted market capitalisation above Tk500 million. At each semi-annual rebalancing, if a current index constituent falls below Tk50 lakh but is no less than Tk30 lakh, the stock remains in the index provided it also meets the other eligibility criteria. In addition, all eligible stocks for the DSE indexes are required to trade at least half of normal trading days each month for the three months prior to the rebalancing reference date. l

Business

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

G20 has chance to soothe postBrexit jitters in China meeting n Reuters Finance heads from the world’s leading economies will confront fresh fears about protectionism when they meet in China this weekend, with Brexit fallout and dwindling policy options to boost global growth expected to dominate talks. The Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers meeting will put the spotlight on Britain’s new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, who makes his international debut at the gathering and will need to answer questions about how London will manage its exit from Europe. Also overhanging the G20 meeting in the southwestern city of Chengdu will be Donald Trump’s US Presidential campaign in which protectionist themes are expected to be central, after his official nomination as the 2016 Republican candidate this week. “(On Brexit), the focus will be on what message G20 can deliver to ease concerns,” said an Asian financial official involved in G20-related issues. “We still need to remain vigilant.” The International Monetary Fund this week cut its forecast for global growth, specifically on Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. A South Korean finance ministry official said “expanded downside risks to global economic growth” post-Brexit would feature in the Chengdu talks. “With everything aside, talk about strengthening cooperation regarding monetary, fiscal and macro policy to recover global growth will be essential,” said the official. Noting the growing public backlash against trade and globalization, a senior US Treasury official said the G20 needed to focus on ensuring the benefits of global trade and cooperation were shared broadly among their citizens. “We also need to do a better of job of explaining why this coopera-

Britain’s new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, greets US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, at number 11 Downing Street in London REUTERS tion is important to the lives or our citizens in terms of jobs, economic growth and stability,” the Treasury official said.

Less focus on china

With central bank meetings in both the US and Japan next week, there is likely to be a focus on currencies and current monetary policy settings globally. However, for host China, the meeting may also bring less heat than February’s G20 gathering in Shanghai, when it had to counter concerns about the possibility it would devalue its currency and spark a global currency war. Five months later the yuan is lower - it fell to 6.7% to the dollar this week for the first time since late 2010 - though this decline has not raised concerns about forced depreciation. “The Chinese renminbi is moving a little bit over time but I don’t think it’s really something that...

bugs G20 policymakers at the moment,” said Frederic Neumann, CoHead Of Asian Economic Research at HSBC in Hong Kong. “There seems to be...some consensus that the Chinese are not trying to aggressively gain market share through currency depreciation.” Concerns about the health of the Chinese economy have also eased, even with growth running at quarter-century lows. “We will also talk about China but most of the G20 are convinced that the country will manage to have a soft landing,” said a European official involved in the G20. Still, the United States intends to put China’s efforts to reduce excess industrial capacity on the agenda. The US official said Treasury secretary Jack Lew would “highlight the need for G20 leadership in responding to the pressing problem of global excess industrial capacity.” In return, China could have its own questions for the US, said

Zhang Yongjun, senior economist at the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, a Beijing think-tank. “China may also ask the United States to better guide market expectations when it makes monetary policy decisions and its policy moves should not only consider its own economic condition, but also the global economic condition,” he said. Neighbouring Japan is unlikely to find support for any effort to either coordinate fiscal stimulus or intervene to weaken the yen, having previously been rebuffed for such lobbying. G20 ministers have pledged to avoid currency manipulation, and promised in February to inform one another of policy decisions that could lead to currency devaluation. “There might be sort of a reminder to the Japanese officials: ‘Hey, remember not to massage your currency too overtly’,” said HSBC’s Neumann. l

China: Export curbs ‘in line with WTO rules’ n AFP, Beijing China insisted its controls over some raw materials exports were legal, after the European Union followed the United States to take it to the World Trade Organisation over the restrictions. The EU lodged the legal challenge on Tuesday, accusing China - the world’s largest trader in goods - of violating WTO rules with duties and quotas on 11 key materials. In a similar filing last week, the US alleged China failed to live up to a commitment made when it joined the WTO in 2001 to eliminate such export duties. Washington said Tuesday it had expanded its complaint to include all the same materials covered in the European action. The substances - including graphite, cobalt, chromium and magnesia - are essential in a broad range of industries, from aerospace and car manufacturing to electronics and chemicals. But China’s trade authorities defended the curbs, saying they were meant to protect the environment and comply with WTO rules. “China’s controls such as export duties and quotas over relevant raw materials are based on the need to protect the resources and the environment,” Beijing’s commerce ministry said in a statement Tuesday. “They are part of the comprehensive measures to strengthen the protection of the ecological environment and are in line with WTO rules,” it said. It added China “regrets” the EU action and will handle the case following the WTO’s dispute settlement procedures. The US complained that Beijing’s export duties raised prices for overseas buyers while local companies paid much less and had more secure supplies, and that they put pressure on non-Chinese manufacturers to shift production, technologies and jobs to the country. The EU launched successful actions against China in 2012 and 2014 over rare earths and raw materials such as bauxite, zinc and coke. l

IMF: Migration from east Europe hampers region’s GDP n AFP, Warsaw Mass economic migration from eastern Europe to wealthier countries has benefited the host nations but hampered growth in migrants’ places of origin, an International Monetary Fund discussion note said Wednesday. Nearly 20 million people have left eastern Europe - some 5.5% of the population - over the quarter

century since the collapse of communism, said the note that does not represent the IMF’s official view. “Because of the sizeable share of skilled emigrants, it has likely benefited the main receiving countries in the EU and, therefore, the EU as a whole,” said the report. “Labour outflows tend to reduce the sending countries’ GDP per capita, with the size of the impact depending on... the age and skill

composition of migrants.” The study said that in 2012, GDP in central and southeast Europe would have grown by 7 percentage points if it had not been for the mass migration away from the region between 1995 and 2012. The exodus of skilled labour “contributed to fiscal burdens arising from” the distorted ratio of people in work to those not in employment, said the report. It also warned that the departure

of highly educated people could slow progress and innovation in the societies they left behind. The report acknowledged that while money sent back by migrants can “to some extent, mitigate the negative effects of mass migration”, it warned that it may also damage the work ethic of those who received such payments. Reduced levels of GDP growth due to migration are likely to continue if forecasts of

migration between now and 2030 are accurate, warned the report. “The cumulative output loss may be as large as close to 9 percent,” it said. Small Baltic countries as well as Bulgaria and Romania are likely to be hardest hit. Though countries in the region that receive migrants including the “Czech Republic, Hungary, and Russia, would experience output gains”. l

Business

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

Income stasis lit fuse for political rocket n Reuters, London

Slow growth leaving swathes of the population with no real income gains for another 10 years will foster more disaffection that just bakes in political volatility and economic stagnation. That looks like an impossibly gloomy prognosis and self-feeding spiral. But it’s one already reflected in global debt markets that have sunk long-term interest rates close to zero for many decades to come. A simultaneous rise of stock markets to or near record highs is more puzzling, especially as global investment funds have cut equity holdings in July to below benchmarks for the first time in four years, a Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey showed. But stocks are holding up by default in a world where the alternatives are negative-yielding cash and bonds, and where successive policy stimulus packages just stave off recession. There’s little doubt that economic policymakers, having fretted about inequality for years, now grasp the upshot of such uneven growth. And they see electoral dynamite.

Failure to stoke faster and more pervasive recoveries since a systemic financial collapse eight years ago has already lit a fuse of discontentment. And the consequences of more of the same, let alone another downturn, mean all levers will be tried. In his first speech since Britain voted to leave the European Union, Bank of England Chief Economist Andrew Haldane said last week that the central bank should ease aggressively regardless of doubts about the effectiveness of more easy money. “I would rather run the risk of taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut than taking a miniature rock hammer to tunnel my way out of prison,” he said. Haldane’s speech, entitled ‘Whose Recovery?’, dissected the UK recovery since 2009 and showed that despite rising national output and job creation, over half of UK households had seen no rise in real disposable incomes since 2005 - a ‘lost decade’. It was the longest period of flat or falling real wages since at least the middle of the 19th century, he added. Significant skews in the recovery

favoured London, asset-rich households, and older age groups. All the 2.7tn pound rise in wealth since 2007 was harvested by over 45s.

‘No peak uncertainty’

Haldane’s forensic takeout doesn’t entirely explain why Britons voted to leave the EU, but reveals why many felt the status quo was not working for them. Add anxiety about rising immigration - seen by some as depressing unskilled wages as well as a function of sub-par growth elsewhere in Europe - and the surprise becomes less shocking. But if voter rebellions are to be a feature of spluttering developed economies and rising instability and insecurity in slowing emerging economies, it will be hard to square with such lofty equity prices and such low implied volatility. Manageable or not, Brexit will hardly be the final word. “No peak uncertainty - just rolling hills of worry lie ahead,” said HSBC’s asset allocation chief Fredrik Nerbrand. The United States, France, Germany and the Netherlands all go the polls in the next year. Constitutional reform proposals could also force an election in Italy,

CORPORATE NEWS

Rupali Bank Limited has recently held its 30th annual general meeting in Dhaka, said a press release. The bank’s chairperson, Monzur Hossain was present at the meeting as chief guest

Sonali Bank has recently held a meeting on modernising internal security, said a press release. The bank’s managing director, Dider Md Abdur Rob was present at the meeting as chief guest

Union Bank Ltd has recently opened a new branch in Nawabpur Road, said a press release. The bank’s managing director, Md Abdul Hamid Miah inaugurated the branch

which is already trying to resolve a growing banking crunch. Political pressures or even instability abound across the developing world, from Turkey to Brazil or South Africa and even Russia. Economic and policy uncertainty in China and Japan are well documented and no more soluble for all that. Even the seemingly random events of the past week - the Bastille Day attacks in Nice, police shootings in the United States or Turkey’s failed coup - all speak to a growing disquiet about left-field political developments. “Terrorist attacks, scandals and rising opposition to immigration boost the grass-roots backlash to globalization,” said Citi’s political analyst Tina Fordham, adding the bank had raised its probability that Republican candidate Donald Trump would win the White House this year to 35 percent. “The sense that leaders lack the political capital, will and tools to maintain stability and order in the face of these headwinds will almost certainly weigh negatively upon sentiment as well as the growth outlook.” The International Monetary

Fund on Tuesday shaved another 10th of a percentage point off its 2017 world growth forecast to 3.4 percent, citing last month’s Brexit surprise and warning that protracted and disruptive UK/EU divorce negotiations could drag global growth below 3 percent next year. Disaffection sown by sub-par growth then risks becoming a feedback loop that further saps economic activity just as the world economy and its labour markets are struggling with intense pressure from ageing demographics and new technology. A study from McKinsey Global Institute, titled ‘Poorer than their Parents?”, showed real incomes for more than two-thirds of households across 25 advanced economies some 540 million people - were either flat or fell between 2005-2014. If workplace automation is adopted rapidly, McKinsey estimated 40% of those households could be stuck in that rut for another decade even if historical high growth rates returned. Up to 80% could suffer stagnant or falling incomes if this low-growth funk persists for another 10 years. “The economic and social impact is potentially corrosive,” it said. l

Feature

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

Regarding the pain of others in the age of social media Using social media to effect a positive change

n Margot Herster What changes every day is faster speeds of network technology and media culture built and economized around our ability to distribute and respond to so many words and images per second. Raging animosities turned to violence, intimidation, protest, cover-up, lies are not new. Pictures, photographs, videos and movies are not new. Cameras are not new; their speeds are not new. The global spread of words, pictures and moving images are not new but geographical reach has expanded at exponential speeds. We don’t have to be so brief, clever, cute or fast in what we say or show just because the platform encourages it. We can read slowly and watch slowly even if it’s hard. We can use slow motion tools. We can pause and repeat. We can avoid click-bait because every time we click on spectacular ridiculosities and journalistic train-wrecks we pay for ad-clicks and pay into to the economies for more of those stories to be written, shared, seen and acted upon. We can be more thoughtful and loving in how we respond and act toward others. We can look more, hear more, listen more and see more. We can draw together hearts. We can shift shapes. We can slow down fireballs. We can stop posting or commenting just because we want enragement, tears, likes and shares. We can amplify or mute. We can speak only if we have something important to say. We can meander social networks and stumble upon what doesn’t appear in our feeds; circumvent algorithms directing what we see and read. We can discover images and stories that aren’t like those we usually see or respond to. We can use language that meets people where they’re at. We can frame or re-frame for the audience we are trying to reach. Who or what we choose to ignore because we don’t agree, don’t want to be seen liking or commenting on, or are unsure how to react to, can ignite and propel anxieties. We don’t know every person in our network or the experiences that colour their views. We can start conversations with “what do you think,” “what do you want”, “why?” We can invite people we assume are on the wrong side of history, or who support Trump or whoever we’re

PHOTO: BIGSTOCK

We can reach out to people, even if we don’t know them well enough, who seem distressed or angry or ignored

against. We can take the time to explain what we think we know and why. We can stop shaming, slamming and unfriending people because we don’t agree with them. We can log off when we’re getting stressed and take care of ourselves, our families and friends in real life. We can come back when ready. We can be humble in our opinions and still hold them dear. We can forgive after someone shows up too angry, scary or doing something stupid. We can give more than one second chance. We can reach out to people, even if we don’t know them well enough, who seem distressed or angry or ignored. We can set limits for how hard we try to engage and understand someone who offends our values. We can grieve in our own ways. We can give more than one second chance. We can choose if we want to expose ourselves to a public forum or become a poster child or hashtag. We can respect others’ privacy and ways of grieving. We can learn more about what another feels is at least semiacceptable to say or do. We can read the comments and be the one to add a thoughtful, factual, caring comment because someone who needs to hear it might read it. We may reach a friend of a victim, a judge, a police officer, a politician,

a power broker. Or an isolated could-be copycat or would-be abuser. Or another might-be abused or lost life. We can use more words and spell those words out. We can say “I think,” “I feel,” “I prefer,” “I saw,” “I hope,” “I wish,” “I pray,” “I noticed,” “I tried,” “This is what happened to me,” “This is how I felt when I saw this happen to someone else.” We can tell our own stories and emote less judgement. We can read long stories and watch uncut videos. We can factcheck each other. We can believe each other’s personal experience. We can lead with trust until we’re pretty sure we’ve been betrayed. We can protect ourselves until we’re pretty sure we don’t need protection. We can explain why we feel irate or hurt by someone’s opinion or deed. We can shift our language to meet people where they’re at We can shut down hate and cruelty even if we are the media and are supposed to document not intervene. We can call out authoritative, arrogant calls for what to think or do. We can question assumptions that are off point, cruel or dangerous. We can share knowledge with our POV revealed so people can interpret who we are, where we’re from. We can show

more parts of ourselves, admit our biases and tell people how we know what we think we know. We can counteract the “influencers” or popular crowds who get it wrong, miss the point, spew incomplete and misleading facts, or seem overconfident or delusional. We can stop being scared we’ll tick off a big name or alienate someone with power over our career, money or other parts of our lives. We can say or do something even when we’re also scared. We can keep our circles small or open them far and wide. We can interrupt, meditate, mediate, disrupt, protest, pacify, sing, dance, sooth, cry, scream, sleep, and wake. We can think about how, when, where and with whom we do each thing. We can work inside systems, outside systems or in between systems. We can learn the mechanisms of social media and news media and how they are economised, politicised and propagandised. If we learn how the system works, we can interrupt its dangerous, hurtful messages and deeds. We can also change the system. We can show compassion and empathy. We can tell little stories that mean something more to us and we think others may understand. We should be clear that we not only tell facts but use metaphor to reveal truth. We can reveal our own vulnerabilities and admit we may not understand others. We can teach, be taught and invite others to join difficult, emotional conversations. We can delete or undo if we were wrong, change our mind or see someone hurt by us. We can admit mistakes. We

can apologise. We can try to make amends. We can distance ourselves from people or places we fear as long as we double-check our motivations and prejudice. We can have opinions about people’s realities of another race, religion, ideology, gender, sexuality, age, geography, income, profession, lifestyle or history. We can know our own power. We can be reflective, intentional and careful about using our power. We can think longer before acting, clicking, tweeting, posting, sharing, liking, wowing, raging or texting. We can cry. We can laugh. We can ask for help and be specific in what we want. We can reject care that doesn’t feel right. We can come back later to ask for the care we rejected before. We can go back for people, check to see how they’re doing, and ask if they want or have help to give. We can expect mutual exchange; we can be givers and takers. We can be political friends. We can be real friends. We can draw together hearts. l Margot Herster (@010her0) is founder of BUREAU of CHANGE, an educationcentric studio for collaborative media arts. She lives in New Orleans, in the American state of Louisiana which has been the site of recent extra-judicial shootings of black men by police officers, as well as civilian shootings of police officers.

Teen

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

Life after love

What happens after the relationship ends?

n Noor-E-Shahrin

Why is it a good idea to be friends with the ex? Most break-ups end in the all too common line: “I hope we can still be friends”. Don’t roll your eyes too soon. If you think the aforementioned conditions are in your favour, then this is the best option for you both. It even hurts to think how awkward it would be to be in the same classroom or lift after the breakup. You won’t last seconds without making scornful comments and breaking into a fight. It’s better you clear the air and establish some rules; that will save the people around some drama. No matter how badly you messed up the relationship, mostly the ex is still a great companion to be around. You should want to have that amazing person as a friend than not have him or her in your life at all. This way you can have the best of both worlds.

Sometimes two people are just not meant to be together. A large number of intimate relationships meet dead ends. But, every end means a new beginning. You think that after the break-up, all your problems will vanish into thin air. Sadly, your dear ex will not magically disappear. You have to decide rationally and logically how you treat each other after the relationship is dead. Yes, there are questions to be answered and lives to be made easier. And you thought the relationship was difficult! Can exes ever be friends? Yes and no. It depends on a million factors. Starting from square one, if you two shared a long friendship that turned into something more, then you have a high chance of being emotionally capable of being post-break-up friends. It won’t be difficult for you as you have already had the other in the friend-zone. Another contributing factor is the degree of compatibility between you two during the course of your relationship. Well, obviously not high enough to end in marriage. If your relationship was better than semi-tragic and if you have the required respect for your ex-partner, you might have a chance at being post-break-up friends. Humayra, a high school student, said, “If the break-up is mutual, then they will have no problem being nice to each other after becoming exes.” This is a rare case where it was either you’re both blameless, or both equally at fault for the fact that the love affair didn’t go as planned. When you both agree that the separation is for the best, you both set each other free. Break-ups are not always tears, anger and frustration; it can be a good thing. This is when you know you two are going to be friends for life. The last factor to consider is the kind of person you are and the kind your ex is. Some people are better than others when it comes to moving on. It all comes down to what you want; but the problem arises when your ex disagree with how you want to deal with the situation. A quote seen on social sites says “‘We can still be friends’ is like saying ‘the dog died, but we can still keep it’“. And here’s why. What makes exes really bad friends is the attachments you have formed with them over

PHOTO: BIGSTOCK

What makes exes really bad friends is the attachments you have formed with them over the course of your relationship

the course of your relationship. Emotions do not have a switch to turn them on or off. Nobody forgets months (or days or even hours) of special time and bonding so easily; whatever one does reminds them of the other. If you feel like you will break into a million pieces if you ever sit next to your ex again, then it’s better to ignore each other and let the time

do the trick. Anika, another high school student, rejects the idea of befriending an ex, saying “It’s like trying to reincarnate a failed project.” There are little things that casual friends do or say that new exes find hard to process. Imagine you are at a party and you are not in the mood to dance with everyone. Your ex-come-friend

calls you to join the dance floor and you suddenly start getting mixed messages. “Does he want to get back with me again? No, let’s run.” Maybe, you are sick and haven’t attended classes so your concerned ex/friend comes over to see you. And you think to yourself, she is probably trying to win you back.

How can I befriend my ex? There are a few simple stages and you are good to go. Take some time off of each other and time will heal all wounds. A Sex and the City quote says “It takes half the amount of time you dated someone to get over them.” During this time, delete all your couple pictures from your phone and laptop. Change your Facebook Relationship Status. Focus on anything other than your dead relationship. Once you are stable and have shed all the tears your eyes could contain, it’s time to be the bigger person, forgive and forget. Most importantly, move on to the next person and try as hard as you can to make yourself emotionally available to people (but, do not repeat your mistakes). Sooner than you can think, you will have someone making you complete again. Also, make sure your current significant other is okay with you and your ex being friends. Isn’t there a third option? There is certainly a grey area between being friends and enemies. It’s called “being strangers”. Being friends and being friendly are two very different things. If you think that you can both pretend like all the romance, intimacy and private moments never happened, go for it. Find out if this works for you. Mind you, this will mean occasional ‘hi’s and ‘bye’s and that’s it. Doesn’t sound too bad a deal! And make sure to look your best when you run into your ex; no harm in showing them what they are missing. l

20 Editorial

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

TODAY

Ministers say the darndest things If anyone’s doing any besmirching to our nation, you can bet your Shonar Bangla that our thick-headed ministers will be there way before an Islamic State apostle can yell ‘Jesus Christ!’ in disbelief PAGE 21

De-radicalising Bangladesh in four steps Such programs should invite scholars, Muslims, and non-Muslims. It must find causes of radicalisaton and factors incubating it in the first place PAGE 22

Coup de disgrace Political stability is a basic pre-requisite for the development of civil society and for economic investment, and the previous military coups in the country have ensured that Turkey has not had to cope with the upheavals that virtually all other countries in the Islamic world have had to cope with in modern history 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.

BIGSTOCK

Don’t let climate change drain the economy

he Bangladeshi government needs to pay attention to recent research conducted by the New Zealand-based Health and Environment International Trust which says that global warming could cause the world $2 trillion in lost productivity. With climate conditions in tropical and subtropical regions of the world becoming hotter with each passing day, the need for rest increases, leading to significant loss of labour hours. This is in addition to the health risks workers face due to extreme weather conditions. Change in climate will also lead to an increase in the frequency and intensity of natural disasters. For the Bangladeshi economy, this is bad news. Loss of productivity and damage to property as a result of disasters will cause irreparable harm to the Bangladeshi economy. With Bangladesh’s plans of becoming a middle-income nation still nascent, the government must take action to ensure that this is a priority. There’s no point to economic growth if the country is losing so much money in the process. In light of Bangladesh’s exports having risen significantly over the last few years, it is an even more pressing concern that we stay on the path towards progress and prosperity, and don’t lose sight of our long-term goals. With climate change effects such as coastal and river erosion, salinity, and water logging leading to a loss of close to a million livelihoods per year, this could mean significant losses in GDP, which the New Zealand study has confirmed. By some estimates, $2tn is enough to eradicate world hunger. It is high time Bangladesh, and the rest of the world, joined together to prevent its continued effects on the planet we call our home.

In light of Bangladesh’s exports having risen significantly over the last few years, it is an even more pressing concern that we stay on the path towards progress and prosperity

Opinion

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

Ministers say the darndest things We seem to be reaching new heights of idiocy, one ministerial statement at a time

Our ministers seem to be suffering from a severe case of verbal diarrhoea

If anyone’s doing any besmirching to our nation, you can bet your Shonar Bangla that our thick-headed ministers will be there way before an Islamic State apostle can yell ‘Jesus Christ!’ in disbelief

n Rubaiyat Kabir

ou really need to give it to our ministerial force (rimshot); they sure don’t mince their words. A few careless remarks about our unsung blue-collar heroes toiling away abroad here, a bit of pooh-poohing on the chances of our country ending in a Roland Emmerich-esque calamity there, and pow! Right in the country’s

honour! Best to get the obvious out of the way: Yes, the Holey Artisan attack was a great tragedy; yes, it will invariably have repercussions for us in terms of international relations; but it’s hard to believe if the incident has had any actual effect on how our country is perceived by outsiders, as our prime minister has so exasperatedly expressed. We’re still Bangladesh last I

checked -- we’d be lucky to have other nations have an opinion about us at all. When more developed countries such as France and Turkey are witnessing so much turmoil, of both the inner and outer varieties, who in their right mind would expect Bangladesh to live up to the highest global standards of safety and security? It’s not like the attack was the result of some schoolboy errand on the part of our “intelligence” bodies, texting the wrong contact about a possible terror attack and missing the window of prevention by milliseconds -- actually, that doesn’t sound too unlikely in hindsight. Nah, if anyone’s doing any besmirching to our nation, you can bet your Shonar Bangla that our thick-headed ministers will be there way before an Islamic State

apostle can yell “Jesus Christ!” in disbelief. When someone has the words “expatriates’ welfare” at the very beginning of their designation, one would expect that the welfare of expatriates would be their primary concern, as a minister or otherwise. But that would just be doing the job right -- where’s the fun in that? “What’s that? You’re complaining that your employer is denying you your pay unless you give her consent to beat you to a pulp? Stop making stuff up and do what you are told, you cur. Rice just weighs you down anyway.” Seriously, it must suck to be one of the 506,506 female labourers abroad, especially when it’s Saudi Arabia that houses the lion’s share of that curiously symmetrical figure. Saudi Arabia! The nation-state equivalent of your middle-class chauffeur, who would love nothing more than some time in the sack with one of his wives back home after a hard day of doing nothing, but not before making her do his laundry first, and then berating her for the cruddy job she did. A staunch denial of empirical evidence must be a requirement in order to be a politician these days. We all know how the government has been cashing in on climate change to ask for “preparation funds” hither and thither, a lot of willy-waving being done with the “most climatevulnerable nation” tag not too long ago at COP21. Which is why the statement of the relief and disaster management minister (heh) that “over the last 200 years, there have not been any earthquakes above 8 on the Richter scale” comes off as especially tone-deaf. Newsflash, genius: Mother Earth can feel every piece of litter you so callously throw out of that gas-guzzling SUV you zoom by in on a road cordoned off for your VIP-ness -- and you better believe that she’ll react to it with gusto. That’s almost, almost, as stupid as blaming Holey Artisan itself for the attack. Wait, what? Oh … goddamnit, industries minister. The constant cycle of wet and hot has clearly gotten to our dear prime minister, otherwise, it’s not very hard to see exactly what’s blemishing our country’s honour at this specific juncture: Senility. l Rubaiyat Kabir is a sub-editor at the Dhaka Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @moreanik.

Long Form

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

De-radicalising Bangladesh in four steps We need a program that caters to everyone and allows us to work together. This is the concluding part of a three-part long form

Let’s strive for a more holistic approach to Islam

NASHIRUL ISLAM

n Asif Shibgat Bhuiyan

uch religious discussion and content should be relevant, meaning it should not be restricted to a domain of personal observance and ritualistic aspects. Rather, it should talk about everything it naturally has a stake on. From family issues to state politics, and from rituals to social and economic issues. Failing to do so will render it irrelevant and ceremonious, having no impact on the minds and lives of the religious youth. Needless to say, this will then turn them towards other, external, problematic sources to receive their spiritual guidance from. The notions that are controversial should not be shunned in fear, rather delved into with curiosity in order to bring forth a reasonable explanation of such issues. For example, the concept of “jihad” in Islam should not be quarantined in a progressively relevant Islamic content. A hushhush will only stir more curiosity, often to a detrimental effect. Rather, all-encompassing research and discussion should take place in making sense of “jihad” using Islamic sources, scholastic tools of interpretation and contextualisation, and modern socio-political understanding to extract a purposive explanation that will efficiently answer the difficult questions that our youth needs an answer to. Such a double-helix approach of a holistic religious paradigm, which doesn’t shun relevant secular disciplines but rather creates a symbiotic relationship of mutual inspiration, was long

Such programs should invite scholars, Muslims, and non-Muslims. It needs to be both preventive and prescriptive. It must find causes of radicalisaton and factors incubating it in the first place overdue. It is not new either. But it is not ubiquitous yet. The time has come then for it to be so. Everywhere and here in Bangladesh. But then, in creating relevant double-helix religious content, the religious entrepreneurs need a nod from the government and the law enforcement bodies that they will be allowed to do it as long as they do not misuse the trust. The government should not politicise such activities and programs. Any committee or body to oversee such a development should include credible people with religious authority and background so that the trust factor is always at play. It can’t be headed by people with ulterior motives. Only including, for an example, Bengali nationalists with no known religious commitment and credentials will defeat the purpose severely. I am not saying either that it has to be the traditionalist religious leaders only. An intellectual check and balance should be invoked by inviting people of different disciplinary authorities but a significant authority should be entrusted to religious leaders and scholars. A failure to do so will then result in a downward spiral of allegations of politicisation -- the last thing we can afford to have.

Introducing a preventive deradicalisation program

Bangladesh is well reputed for its natural disaster management in the world. For decades, we have shown that we are adept at managing natural disasters like floods to which we are so often exposed to. There’s no reason why we can not become a premier centre of management and research of manmade disasters too. There should be no lack of motivation either. It is our chance to show the world what we are capable of doing as a nation, that we are not simply hard-line nationalists feeling a non-existent supremacy over Planet Earth that is oh-socommon in a typical third-world country. We should fast establish cutting-edge research centres on terrorism and radicalism and how to de-radicalise the more radical elements in society. There are great research centres in the West. For example, I know of two in the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. I haven’t come across any such reputable research centres in Muslim countries that can lead research in this particular field. In the West, it is now a great debate among people engaged

in de-radicalisation programs whether such programs need to involve religious (read: Islamic) scholarship to have a long-term effect, or if social, economic, and legal procedures are enough to make it successful. To me, it is beyond doubt that such programs, to fulfill their objectives, need the full participation of religious authorities, among other such elements. Radicalisation is not only a religious problem, it is a religious problem nonetheless. Other social, economic, political, and psychological issues pertaining to terrorism are important and are already proving way too disastrous to be ignored. But the religious factor, which is alleged to be laying the platform for its creation, should be let into the process of reversing the tide of radicalisaton. It can be understood why it may be both inconvenient and difficult in the West to incorporate the Islamic factor in the deradicalisaton program, especially in the context of Islamophobia. As for us, being a Muslimmajority country, we have to involve Islam in dealing with problems associated with it. Here, it should be convenient, logical, and essential. Such programs should invite

scholars, Muslims, and nonMuslims. It needs to be both preventive and prescriptive. It must find causes of radicalisaton and factors incubating it in the first place. Likewise, it must find a way to rehabilitate those who are already infested by it. In the age of the internet, social media, and artificial intelligence, it is now becoming exceptionally easy to locate terrorism-savvy discussions, conversations, and activities. Unlike some places in the West, it should not let people be radicalised first and then trapped, often sending informants from the very program that seeks to prevent it. The de-radicalisaton program should rather pinpoint what terrorism actually is and how it starts to crystallise, and try to prevent it from the very outset. The program can take help from IBM and other social analytics giants in developing programs which will apply cutting-edge image and text recognition to identify aberrational and problematic patterns taking place in social media. These are some beginning guiding comments which, I understand, can be improved manifold by people with a better understanding than I do. The government and other dominant political parties, along with the intellectuals and the common people should come up with something concrete, wellplanned, objective, and timely to act immediately, with efficiency and effectiveness. Rhetorical over-the-top claims, mud-slinging, and self righteousness will only save our faces individually for the moment, but will topple us all collectively. As we have often shown, with precision and unity, we can stand to any challenge put forth by nature; it should not be difficult for us to do the same for the challenges which are man-made. l Asif Shibgat Bhuiyan is the co-owner of Taqwa School, an Islamic Education platform based in Bangladesh which aims to popularise Islamic knowledge in Bangladesh and Bengali speaking people.

Opinion

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

Coup de disgrace Despite being the most successful Islamic country, Turkey remains divided

It appears that Erdoganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s AK party controls Turkeyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s destiny for the foreseeable future

n Azeem Ibrahim

n Turkey, the military has had a special constitutional role throughout its modern history. Ever since the establishment of the Turkish Republic, after World War I, by Kemal Ataturk, the military has been dominated by a Kemalist ideology, that it is to be the protector of the secular and modernist vision for Turkey that its founder had for the country. In the Turkish Republic, secularism and modernism were to be the fundamental organising principle. Democracy was a nice, but otherwise entirely optional, extra. That is why, up until now, it has always been understood that the army is in control of the state, not the people.

The people would be given democracy and allowed to choose the direction their country should go in, just so long as it was within the bounds of the Kemalist vision. If the people elected leaders who had a problem with that, the army would intervene and take control of the government until the people learned better. And when they had, they could have their democracy back. Many in Turkey and in the West credit this commitment to the Kemalist vision on the part of the army for the steady economic and political development of Turkey in this past century, and also for the stability the country has enjoyed. Political stability is a basic pre-requisite for the development of civil society, and for economic investment, and the previous

REUTERS

Obviously, there are still a few factions within the military which remain independent, but almost all the top brass of the military are on side, the military police are on side, and the intelligence services are on side. This is an unprecedented achievement for a civilian leader, especially one who has gone as far as Erdogan in transforming Turkey. What is more, it is not even obvious at this time that the coup was led by the secularist Kemalist faction in the military. Erdogan himself claimed that the instigators were aligned with his former allies in the Gulen Movement without providing much evidence. In either case, Kemalism has either just breathed its last breath, as its proponents in the military are about to be purged in the aftermath of the coup, or has long been marginalised within the army, and nobody noticed its slow death until now. Just what this means for Turkey in the medium-to-long term, it may be too early to say. But the fact that Erdogan was successful in rallying popular support against the coup plotters, while the latter have not managed to get even the students and secularists who protested in the Taksim Gezi Park in 2013 against Erdogan, probably gives us some clues. Turkey remains a country divided in half between those who value Ataturkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s modernist vision on the one hand, and Erdogan and his AK Party on the other. For now, and for the foreseeable future, the latter will remain the better-organised half, and so, they

Political stability is a basic pre-requisite for the development of civil society, and for economic investment, and the previous military coups in the country have ensured that Turkey has not had to cope with the upheavals that virtually all other countries in the Islamic world have had to cope with in modern history

military coups in the country have ensured that Turkey has not had to cope with the upheavals that virtually all other countries in the Islamic world have had to cope with in modern history. That is why Turkey has been easily the most successful Islamic country throughout the 20th century.

But the failed coup on Friday marks the end of all that. And this may very well be the end of the Kemalist Turkish Republic. The increasingly autocratic President Erdogan has learned his lessons from previous coups. He has brought the intelligence and security apparatus mostly under his control.

will control the destiny of their country. l Azeem Ibrahim is a Research Professor at the Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College and an International Security Lecturer at the University of Chicago. This article was previously published in Huffington Post.

24 Sport

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

TOP STORIES

Bowlers’ report in two weeks On the first working day of the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s bowling action review committee yesterday in Mirpur, left-arm spinners Amit Kumar and Naeem Islam Jr went through the review process. PAGE 25

Bruce interviewed for England job Hull City’s Steve Bruce said he had been interviewed by the FA for the vacant England manager job. His newly-promoted Premier League club said on Monday that Bruce had held talks with FA vicechairman David Gill. PAGE 26

Morgan extends contract until 2019 Leicester City’s Jamaican captain Wes Morgan has signed a new contract designed to keep him at the King Power Stadium until June 2019, the English premier league champions said in a statement on Tuesday. PAGE 27

India, WI face contrasting trials India’s Test ranking has long been based on their strong home form but the side aim to impress new coach Anil Kumble by showing they can adapt to conditions outside the subcontinent in a fourTest series against the WI starting today. PAGE 28

Bangladesh limited-over captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza (C) shares a light moment with the local photographers during the opening day of the strength and conditioning camp at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Mashrafe hopeful England tour will go ahead n Mazhar Uddin Tigers limited-over captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza yesterday expressed his hope that England’s upcoming tour of Bangladesh, scheduled for September-October, will go ahead. He said this during the first day of the strength and conditioning camp at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday. England are scheduled to play two Tests and three one-day internationals. However, the tour came into question following the terrorist attack in Gulshan earlier this month. “First of all, I don’t know what type of technical discussion is taking place between the two boards (England and Wales Cricket Board and Bangladesh Cricket Board). With that said, I am hopeful that the BCB is working on it,” said Mashrafe. “Personally, I feel this tour will take place. The people of Bangladesh are waiting to watch cricket in this country as they all love this game. England have always

helped Bangladesh in that they took part in the 2016 Under-19 World Cup (when there were concerns over security). I hope they will come. Bangladeshi people have always showed respect to the players and England have always received sufficient security here. And it will remain this way,” he added.

England have always received sufficient security here. And it will remain this way The “Narail Express” also informed that the Bangladesh players are not worried over whether the tour will take place or not and that they have already begun their preparation for the series. “We all are hopeful as there is still three months left before the series. Everyone should work on their fitness and get prepared to play. BCB will take care of the

rest,” he said. The 30-member preliminary squad started the conditioning camp under the supervision of local trainer Iftekharul Islam after national team trainer Mario Villavarayan extended his holidays due to personal reasons. And according to the BCB, the foreign coaching staff is expected to join by the first week of August. “We are not habituated without Mario. However, Iftekhar is here. He has been with us for a long time now and he was given the instructions. So I think it’s a great opportunity for everyone to work on their fitness,” said Mashrafe. The ECB had said it will follow government advice on whether the tour should go ahead as planned following the terror attack on July 1. Gunmen had stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe in the Gulshan district of Dhaka before security forces brought the hostage situation to an end. England’s limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan had also expressed “big concern” over the tour.l

It is a big deal for me to play for such a big county like Sussex. If given the opportunity, I will give my hundred percent and try to make my country proud

Mustafizur Rahman prior to his departure from the BCB academy ground in Mirpur MI MANIK

Sport

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

Bowlers’ report in two weeks n Tribune Report

On the first working day of the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s bowling action review committee yesterday, left-arm spinners Amit Kumar and Naeem Islam Jr went through the review process. Led by committee chairman Jalal Younus, the committee oversaw the tests in front of six cameras. This was the first time in Bangladesh that bowlers gave action tests using the latest technology. Both Amit and Naeem Jr got reported during the recently concluded Dhaka Premier League 2016 where they played for champions Abahani Limited and Mohammedan Sporting Club respectively. Both Naeem Jr and Amit were made to deliver six overs each. BCB’s Management Information System manager Nasir Ahmed later said it usually takes at least two weeks to announce the findings of a bowler. “We have videographed their bowling action using six cameras from different angles. We will then have our assessment,” Nasir told the media at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday. “We however, did not tell them to bowl any particular delivery. We asked them to deliver all the variations they have. We asked them what sort of deliveries they usually bowl,” he added.

Mohammedan Sporting Club’s Naeem Islam Jr bowls during the bowling action review process at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK Meanwhile, former national player Omar Khaled Rumi, a member of the committee, said if a bowler is found to have issues with the action will be prescribed by the committee. “So far, I found the signs of Amit and Naeem Jr to be positive. But

then again, one cannot confirm without looking into the findings of the assessment. We have taken their videos and will now look into it. It will take some time. We will prescribe if there is any issue and tell the bowlers the way to right their action,” said Omar.

BCB last month formed a four-member bowling action review committee, which came up after Bangladesh bowlers Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny got suspended for illegal action during the 2016 World Twenty20 in India. l

Atletico supremo Cerezo rules out Costa return n Reuters Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has ruled out Chelsea forward Diego Costa’s possible return to the Vicente Calderon stadium this summer despite reports suggesting otherwise. The arrival of Michy Batshuayi at Chelsea from Marseille has led to reports in England and Spain that Costa, who has scored 36 goals in 77 games since joining Chelsea in 2014, could move back to Atletico, a team he helped capture the La Liga title, a King’s Cup and two Super Cups in his four years with the outfit. New Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has said the Spain international will stay put, describing him as a player of “fundamental importance” and now Cerezo has ruled out his return. Costa is under contract at Chelsea until June 2019. “He is a great player, who is very much loved, but he is a Chelsea player,” Cerezo told reporters. “The issue is as it was six months ago or even a year ago, he is a Chelsea player. “I’ve always said that Costa is a Chelsea player and has a contract with Chelsea. That’s the end of this issue. The day we have a number nine we will announce it.” l

Players in England 22-member Bangladesh warned to be on best contingent named for Rio n behaviour, or else Tribune Report

n Reuters A crackdown on behaviour will kick in when the new English season starts with referees instructed to show yellow and red cards to unruly players, the Premier League said yesterday. The unedifying sight of snarling players berating officials over decisions or hurling abuse has been the scourge of the game and the Premier League, English Football League and Football Association have all clearly had enough. In a joint directive the three organisations said disrespect towards match officials had to stop. “We and our clubs have been discussing for some time concerns that certain elements of player behaviour are overstepping the mark - the mass confrontations, overt displays of dissent and offensive language,” Richard Scudamore, the Premier League’s executive chairman, said yesterday.

“We are viewed by millions week in week out - including lots of young people - and it is our collective position that these types of behaviour should no longer be tolerated.” The Professional Game Match Officials have been told to apply the laws of the game on dissent more vigorously. Insulting or abusive language or gestures towards match officials will result in a straight red card next season, as will aggressive physical contact. Yellow cards will be shown for a variety of disrespectful behaviour, including responding aggressively to a decision or running towards an official to contest a call. Mass surroundings of referees will also be punished with bookings to at least one of the players. The behaviour of coaches and technical staff will also be more strictly controlled. l

Apart from the seven athletes who will represent Bangladesh in the Rio Olympics, five coaches and managers and 10 officials have so far also been included in the contingent. Apart from Bangladesh’s first qualified Olympian Siddikur Rah-

man, swimmers Mahfizur Rahman Sagor and Sonia Akhtar Tumpa, shooter Abdullah Hel Baki, archer Shyamoli Roy and sprinters Mezbah Ahmed and Shirin Akter are among the athletes. However, the Bangladeshi contingent could have been bigger. It was learned that seven members from the parliamentary stand-

ing committee on the Ministry of Youth and Sports showed their interest to be included in the contingent list for Rio. But the Bangladesh Olympic Association informed them that they can’t take the responsibility for their travelling costs and that the interested parties should travel at their own cost. l In this photo taken on July 13, 2016, Bangladeshi golfer Siddikur Rahman prepares to hit a drive during a practice session at Kurmitola Golf Club in Dhaka. By finishing in the top 60 Olympic ranking list at the cut-off point, the 31-year old Siddikur became the first Bangladeshi to qualify automatically for the world’s biggest sporting event AFP

Sport

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

Bruce interviewed for England job n Reuters Hull City’s Steve Bruce said on Tuesday he had been interviewed by the FA for the vacant England manager job. His newly-promoted Premier League club said on Monday that Bruce had held talks with FA vice-chairman David Gill, technical director Dan Ashworth and chief executive Martin Glenn. Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce is the favourite for the job, having also been interviewed to

Brazil happy to rely on Neymar for Olympic gold n AFP, Teresópolis

succeed Roy Hodgson, who quit after England’s dismal showing at Euro 2016 where they suffered an embarrassing defeat by Iceland in the last 16. British media said the FA would like to make an appointment this week if possible and by next week at the latest. “Who wouldn’t (want to be England manager), if you’re English?” Bruce told Sky Sports ahead of a pre-season friendly against Mansfield Town on Tuesday. “It’s got to be the one prime job any Englishman can ever want to have. I’m highly flattered and extremely grateful to even be considered,” added the ex-Manchester United defender. “Any Englishman, worth their salt, would be really, really proud to be England manager. If anything happens, then let’s see what the rest of the week brings and, if it does, happy days.” The FA want an English manager although they have spoken to United States’ German head coach Juergen Klinsmann as well as Bournemouth’s English coach Eddie Howe, said British media. l

Brazil’s Olympic coach admitted on Tuesday that he was relying on Barcelona star forward Neymar to shoot the hosts to a first Games gold in Rio next month. Current under-20s coach Rogerio Micale has been charged with rejuvenating Brazilian football in Rio after Dunga was fired following Brazil’s shock first-round exit from the Copa America. “I want to be dependent on Neymar,” he said, as the squad went through its first training session for the Rio Games. “What coach in the world would not want a Neymar in his team? They say it’s not good to be dependent on Neymar, but I do not agree: I would always have a Neymar in my team.” Micale’s stance is in stark contrast Dunga, who had tried to suggest the Brazilian side was not a one-man team. The Games start on August 5. Tite will take over the Selecao after the Olympics. l Brazil’s Neymar controls the during a practice session at Granja Comary training centre Tuesday

ball the on AP

Pogba set for £100 million United return n AFP, London Juventus’s French midfield star Paul Pogba looks set to be the subject of a £100million ($130m, 119m euros) bid by his former club, English Premier League giants Manchester United, British media reported yesterday. The 23-year-old will cost United dear as he left them for Juventus for nothing in July 2012 after mak-

ing just a handful of appearances prompting then manager Alex Ferguson to slam him for showing no respect to the club. Pogba was an integral part of the France side that reached the Euro 2016 final although his performance in the 1-0 loss to Portugal received a panning. However, the present United regime are prepared to let bygones be bygones and throw money at Pog-

ba, who has played a crucial role for Juventus in their dominance of the domestic scene in the past few seasons. His arrival would complete new manager Jose Mourinho’s spending for the upcoming season. The usually well-informed Daily Mail suggests that United will lodge a bid on Wednesday and that senior players are confident Pogba will be returning to the club, whilst The

Daily Mirror says United are closing in on the playmaker terming him the “£100million pound man”. The Daily Star have a slightly different take in claiming United have already had an £85million opening gambit rejected and that United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has remained in England to try and seal the deal rather than travelling to China for the club’s China pre-season friendly tourna-

ment with city rivals Manchester City and German heavyweights Borussia Dortmund. For some the omens are good as it was on this date in 2012 Ferguson persuaded the United board to part with £24m to lure Dutch star and Arsenal captain Robin van Persie away from their rivals - he went on to more than reward the United faithful with 30 goals that season as the Red Devils stormed to the title.l

Barca pair Munir and Samper sign new deals n Reuters

FC Barcelona attend a training session at Joan Gamper training camp, near Barcelona yesterday

REUTERS

Spaniards Munir El Haddadi and Sergi Samper have signed new three-year contracts with La Liga champions Barcelona. The 20-year-old forward Munir completed his second season with the first team in 2015-16, scoring eight goals in 26 games in all competitions. A statement from Barcelona read: “FC Barcelona and Munir El Haddadi have reached an agreement to renew the player’s contract for the next three seasons, until

June 30, 2019. “His buyout clause has been set at 60 million euros ($65.93 million).” Munir, who joined Barcelona’s youth academy in 2011, said on the club’s official website: “I will have fun, learn and give my best.” Samper, a Barcelona-born midfielder, has been promoted to the first team and his buyout clause has been set at 50 million euros. “Barcelona and Sergi Samper have reached a deal to renew the player’s contract until June 30, 2019,” a Barcelona statement said.l

Sport

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

QUICK BYTES Barcelona extend Qatar Airways sponsorship La Liga champions Barcelona said they agreed a one-year extension to their shirt sponsorship with Qatar Airways, increasing the annual value of the deal to around 35 million euros ($38 million) according to Spanish media reports. The Spanish giants - once renowned for never having had a sponsor on their shirts - have been locked in negotiations with the airline for months to renew a three-year, 96-million-euro deal that expired this year. –REUTERS

Italy’s Cecchinato banned over fixing

Morgan extends contract until 2019 n Reuters Leicester City captain Wes Morgan has signed a new contract designed to keep him at the King Power Stadium until June 2019, the English champions said in a statement on Tuesday. The inspirational 32-year-old led 5,000-1 outsiders Leicester to a fairytale Premier league title success last season based on his defensive organisation. “To commit my future to Leicester City is a wonderful feeling. Everyone knows how I feel about playing for this club and with my team mates, so I’m proud to have the chance to carry on wearing the shirt long term,” said Morgan.

“Lifting that Premier League trophy was a moment I will never forget and it’s still sinking in. Now we’ve got to give it everything to defend it as well as showing what we can do in the Champions League,” he added on the club website (www.lcfc.com). Last season, Morgan became only the third outfield player to feature in every minute of a Premier League title-winning campaign after Chelsea’s John Terry (2014/15) and Manchester United’s Gary Pallister (1992/93). Since joining the Foxes from Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest in January 2012, Morgan has made 196 appearances for the club, scoring eight goals including two in last

season’s title run-in against Southampton and Manchester United. But it was his defensive work that stood out as Leicester conceded just 11 league goals in 2016 en route to the title, earning him a place in the PFA Team of the Year. “Wes is a leader and a warrior. I’m so happy that he’s committed his future to Leicester City Football Club,” said the club’s Italian manager Claudio Ranieri. “It’s a wonderful time to be part of this team. Last season was so special and Wes was fantastic. Now we have another huge season ahead of us and we need him.” The experienced Morgan has featured in all four divisions during his career. l

Italian Marco Cecchinato has been banned for 18 months and fined 40,000 euros ($44,000) for his role in match-fixing and sports corruption, the Italian tennis federation announced yesterday. Cecchinato, who was a fourth-man reserve for the Italian Davis Cup team last week, is one of three Italian players, along with Riccardo Accardi and Antonio Campo, to face sanctions. –AFP

Portugal extend Santos deal to 2020 Coach Fernando Santos has extended his contract with Portugal until 2020 after leading them to a shock Euro 2016 title, Portuguese football bosses said on Tuesday. The 61-year-old, who has been in charge since September 2014 and masterminded a huge reversal in fortunes, guided Portugal to their first major international tournament win despite having to do without Cristiano Ronaldo for most of the final against hosts France. –AFP

DAY’S WATCH CRICKET STAR SPORTS 1 11:15PM Natwest T20 Blast 2016 Middlesex v Surrey

TEN 2 8:00PM India Tour of West Indies 1st Test, Day 1

SONY SIX Caribbean Premier League T20 6:30AM Jamaica v Barbados 3:30AM (Friday) St Lucia v St Kitts

FOOTBALL SONY SIX 7:20PM Premier Futsal League Goa v Bangalore Chennai v Kochi

Giroud not close to Arsenal exit, says agent n Reuters Striker Olivier Giroud is likely to stay at Arsenal, his agent Michael Manuello has said, playing down speculation linking the France international with a move to Italy’s Napoli. Uncertainty surrounding the 29-year-old’s future intensified after British media suggested that he had been included in a deal to bring Napoli’s Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain to the Emirates Stadium. Manager Arsene Wenger failed to sign Leicester City forward Jamie Vardy, and Manuello suggested that any incoming striker would be a replacement for the injured Danny Welbeck, not for Giroud.l

‘Balotelli’s career at the crossroads’ n Reuters Mario Balotelli’s career is in the balance after Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp told the striker he has no future at Liverpool, Italy’s new coach Giampiero Ventura has said. The 25-year-old returned to Liverpool after an unsuccessful loan spell at AC Milan but is far down the pecking order at the Premier League club, who also have Daniel Sturridge, Christian Benteke, Divock Origi and Danny Ings in their ranks. Balotelli, who could not even make Italy’s provisional squad for the European Championship in France, has scored just once in 20 league games during his loan spell

at the Serie A club. “In terms of his character, he could do much better. The fact he’s not playing at Milan, that Liverpool have abandoned him, means that he is at a crossroads,” Ventura, who was named as Antonio Conte’s replacement last month, told Italian media. “The few times that Balotelli has really wanted to be a footballer, he has shown his quality. I have no prejudice, but his football must do the talking.” Sampdoria president Massimo Ferrero urged Balotelli to join the club earlier this month, saying that the club would be the perfect place for the player to revive his flailing career.l

‘Mahrez will not follow Kante out of Leicester’ n Reuters Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri is confident Riyad Mahrez will stay at the club after midfielder N’Golo Kante’s Chelsea move triggered speculation that the influential winger could follow suit. Leicester have already had to fight off advances from several clubs to keep striker Jamie Vardy and left wing-back Jeffrey Schlupp and Ranieri was certain of retaining the majority of the Premier League title-winning squad. Mahrez remains the subject of interest from several clubs, including Spanish champions Barcelona, according to the British media, while Vardy rejected Arsenal and signed a new deal at Leicester last month. “Only Kante wanted to go that’s okay. But I understood him, he came from a little team in France and had a fantastic season. I said to him stay with us and have another year with us but he wanted to go,” Ranieri told British media. “Everybody here is happy and, yes, he wants to stay. No other players will go away - we will stay together. The football continues without Riyad or without Kante but Riyad will stay with us for all of the years. “It’s important to maintain the group, with the spirit, with the humility - that’s important for me.” Leicester’s head of recruitment Steve Walsh, who was instrumental in bringing both Mahrez and Kante to the club, has been heavily linked with the director of football role at Everton. Ranieri has already lost a major part of his backroom staff. l

Ba says not retiring after legbreak n Reuters Former Chelsea striker Demba Ba is not considering retirement after suffering a career-threatening leg break while playing for Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese Super League. The 31-year-old collapsed in the second half of his side’s derby victory over Shanghai SIPG, with his left leg giving way beneath the knee as he fell to the ground, but the Senegalese hopes to be back in time for next season. “This is a really bad injury but I can overcome it. I won’t call time on my career, that’s for sure,” former Chelsea and West Ham United player Ba told Radio Monte Carlo.l

Sport

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

IOC to decide on Russia Rio ban ‘within a week’ n AFP, Geneva

The International Olympic Committee said yesterday it would decide “within seven days” on whether to ban Russia from the Rio Games over rampant staterun doping. “We expect (to have) a decision within seven days on the participation of Russian competitors in Rio,” IOC media relations chief Emmanuelle Moreau told AFP. The Games in Rio de Janeiro open on August 5. The IOC has faced growing calls to hit Russia with an outright ban after a report commissioned by the World Anti Doping Agency found the country ran an elaborate cheating programme at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and other major events. Following an emergency conference on Tuesday, the IOC’s executive board said it would study the “legal options” regarding a prospective Russia suspension. It would be an unprecedented move, as no country has been excluded from an Olympics over doping. IOC leaders said they would consider a decision due today from the Court of Arbitration for Sport

Bayliss hints at two spinners at Old Trafford n Reuters

on a previously imposed ban by athletics governing body IAAF against Russia’s track field and team. That ban followed similar revelations of rampant doping with support from Moscow. Sixty-eight Russian athletes have appealed to CAS challenging the IAAF’s right to punish an entire

We expect (to have) a decision within seven days on the participation of Russian competitors in Rio national federation, since some team members have no positive drug tests on their record. The CAS ruling on the validity of collective punishment is expected to help guide the IOC’s decision on Russia’s eligibility for Rio. Moreau said IOC leaders would have further talks on the Russia dispute in the coming days, following the CAS ruling. l

Pakistan’s Yasir Shah bowls during a nets session at Old Trafford, Manchester England yesterday. Pakistan will play England in their second Test of the series at Old Trafford beginning tomorrow AP

Coach Trevor Bayliss hinted England might field two spinners in the second Test against Pakistan as the hosts chase a series-levelling victory at old Trafford. Leg-spinner Adil Rashid, along with fit-again all-rounder Ben Stokes and pacer James Anderson, was called into England’s 14-man squad following their 75-run defeat in the first Test at Lord’s. “I’ve always thought of playing two spinners (at home), at some stage. Pakistan have three left-arm pace bowlers, who created rough outside the off stump for (off-spinner) Moeen (Ali),” Bayliss told British media. “So looking ahead, if we did happen to have two spinners, they could both play an important part for us.” The hosts struggled against Yasir Shah’s leg-spin at Lord’s and will need to do better when the second Test begins tomorrow. For them, James Vince scored 42 in the second innings but could not convert it into something big. Vince averages 18-plus after four Tests but Bayliss seemed to have faith in the 25-year-old. “I think it would be an injustice if he does not make it, but in the end it will be the number of runs that determine his longevity in the team,” Bayliss said.l

India, Windies face contrasting Federer, Nadal pull out of Toronto Masters challenges in Test series n

Reuters

India’s Test ranking has long been based on their formidable home form but the side aim to impress

new coach Anil Kumble by showing they can adapt to conditions outside the subcontinent in a fourTest against West Indies starting in Antigua today.

Indian captain Virat Kohli talks to West Indies cricket legend Vivian Richards at a meeting in Antigua on Monday AP

For the hosts, however, the task is more straightforward - simply proving they can still be competitive in the long form of the game. Since last touring West Indies in 2011, when they ground out a 1-0 Test series victory (with two draws), India have lost six consecutive series outside of Asia - two each in England and Australia and one each in South Africa and New Zealand. Their record in that time is one win, 15 defeats and five draws. That does not include a 2-1 series victory in nearby Sri Lanka last year, where conditions are typically similar to those encountered at home. Former leg-spinner Kumble was recently appointed head coach of the Indians, who are second behind Australia in the Test rankings, after pitching a plan to fix that miserable away record. And while he has already moved to tighten discipline, introducing a fine of $50 for being late, he shies away from being branded a strict disciplinarian. l

n AFP, Toronto

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on Tuesday pulled out of next week’s Toronto Masters, joining Wimbledon champion Andy Murray in deciding to skip the event. Seventeen-time major champion Federer’s last match was his loss to Canadian Milos Raonic in the Wimbledon semi-finals, while Nadal, who has won 14 titles in Grand Slam tournaments, has not played since withdrawing from the French Open in May with a wrist injury. World number three Federer has won the Toronto event twice in his career, but also missed the tournament last year. “Toronto is one of my favourite events on the calendar and I am disappointed that I won’t be able to compete in front of the great tennis fans in Canada,” the Swiss great told Tennis Canada. “Looking ahead, it is best for me that I take more time after Wimbledon.” Spain’s Nadal has still not recovered from the problem that forced

him to end his campaign at Roland Garros when it was just two matches old. “I am disappointed to announce I won’t be able to come to Toronto to play this year,” said Nadal. “I only started practising a week ago after my wrist injury and I am not ready to play such an important event.”

Federer has won the Toronto event twice in his career Reigning Toronto champion Murray announced his decision to skip the tournament on Monday, saying that he too needed more time to recover from winning his third major title. That leaves Serbian world number one Novak Djokovic, who suffered a shock third-round defeat to American Sam Querrey at Wimbledon, as the only member of tennis’ “big four” taking part in Toronto. l

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Top room (5) 4 Billiard rod (3) 6 Spoken (4) 8 Sovereign (5) 9 Valley (4) 11 Soon (4) 12 Deceives (5) 15 Precipitous (5) 18 Free from danger (4) 20 Thunder god (4) 21 Muscle (5) 22 Old stringed instrument (4) 23 School of whales (3) 24 Ceremonial acts (5)

DOWN 1 Bitterly pungent (5) 2 Flower (5) 3 Small ropes (5) 4 Tribe (4) 5 Level (4) 7 Make suitable (5) 10 Solitary (4) 13 American statement (4) 14 Very hard mineral (5) 15 Not intoxicated (5) 16 Precise (5) 17 Painful emotions (5) 18 Halt (4) 19 Bend over (4)

Downtime

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 12 represents Q so fill Q every time the figure 12 appears. You have two letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares. Some letters of the alphabet may not be used. As you get the letters, fill in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check off the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them. ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SUDOKU How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

Showtime

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

Film stars protest unusual film exchange

The Legend Syed Abdul Hadi n Showtime Desk

n Showtime Desk Members of various film related associations from the Bangladesh Film Developments Corporation (BFDC) including the Bangladesh Film Directors’ Association, Producers’ Distributors Association and Actors’ Guild have carried out a demonstration protesting the action of bringing in Indian films to Bangladeshi theatres. Leading actors of Dhallywood

including Shakib Khan, joined a human-chain held in front of Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC) in the capital’s Karwanbazar area on July 20. In his speech Shakib Khan, the president of the Actors’ Guild said, “We never supported the exchange of films between the two countries, not even now. Just prior to this Eid, we submitted a memorandum to the information minister to take action against

such sorts of exchange. But sadly, we saw that a recently released Kolkata film was also released here.” “We won’t accept this. I believe, after today’s protest, the government will consider this matter differently,” Khan added. Other artists and film-makers including Anjana, Omar Sani, Amit Hasan, Delwar Jahan Jhontu, Sohanur Rahman Sohan and Mushfiqur Rahman Gulzar also joined the protest. l

Legal action to be taken against five filmmakers n Showtime Desk There has always been a great competition among directors regarding winning the government fund. Many have been accused of lobbying and nepotism. On the other hand, many complications were observed in the individuals involved, even after receiving the certain amount from the fund. The lack of regulations has sort of given these people the confidence for many years. However, the authorities have decided to deal with such irregularities. Not producing films just because of the excuse regarding insufficient funds year after year, the Ministry of Information has decided to sue five of the directors initially. According to sources, the directors are Maruf Hasan

Arman, Syed Salahuddin Zaki, Nargis Akter, Khan Sharfuddin Mohammad Akram and Tokon Thakur who received funds to make Nekrey Aranye, Eka Eka, Joiboti Konnar Mon, Khancha and Kanta respectively. It’s been years since the films were supposed to start but were constantly delayed and left like that even after receiving the funds. While talking about the matter, noted filmmaker Syed Salahuddin Zaki said, “Actually, I have been severely ill. That’s why the film was not completed within the allotted time. I informed the ministry stating my condition and they gave me some time to finish it. We always get help from the ministry on such matters. I hope I would be able to wrap up the film shorty.”

Most of the directors didn’t submit or release the films on time after receiving the grant. Year after year, they only ended up giving excuses. By a calculation from the Ministry of Information, in the past nine years, there should have been at least 40 films which were to be released but the actual number of the released films is only 15. The decision that has already been taken is that, the directors will not get any more chances from the government regarding such fund issues. The secretary of information will stand in the case for the government against the directors. All the documents have already been sent to the district magistrate’s office.l

Syed Abdul Hadi has managed to win hearts all throughout his extensive career by singing a great number of patriotic as well as modern and film songs. However, a lot of the Ekushey Padak winner’s songs which were aired on the radio and television are nowhere to be found. Therefore, the singer has decided to compile an album titled, The Legend Syed Abdul Hadi consisting of 45 of his most popular as well as less heard songs. Talking about the album, Syed Abdul Hadi said, “I have no idea about the exact number of songs I have sung over these five decades. Many of the popular songs were aired on the radio and television during the 60s, 70s and the 80s but were not recorded for commercial purposes. In this collection, I have included those songs and even a few film songs which have been newly recorded.”

“Many of the songs were never included in any album. This collection would act like an archive of my songs,” the singer added. The five times National Film Award winner has gifted his fans with numerous classic songs including “Surjodoye Tumi,” “Emon o To Prem Hoy,” “Jeona Saathi,” “Je Maatir Bukey,” “Choley Jai Jodi Keu,” “Chokkher Nazar Emni Koira” and many others. The compilation will be released in four separate CDs under the record label, Bangla Dhol. The label informed that the singer had to give voice freshly for most of the tracks. The music arrangement is being left unchanged while the rest have been arranged by Rocket Mandol from Kolkata. The album is said to be released very soon through a launch event, in the presence of the lyricists, composers and musicians of the songs. l

Pokemon Go fever over Hollywood

n Showtime Desk Even celebrities can’t stay away from the world’s latest fascination, Pokemon Go. They’re not only playing it, but they’re tweeting, instagram-ing and sharing their obsessions with the new game just like everybody else. John Mayer, Demi Lovato, Ellen DeGeneres and others are tweeting updates and photos of themselves playing the game —

and possibly ponying up to buy PokeCoins. The biggest mobile game in US history has reignited interest in a Hollywood live-action movie, spurred Pokemon Go bus tours and has already contributed to its fair share of crazy news stories. Keep an eye out while hunting, and you just might run into one of these celebs. l Source: Hollywood Times

Garry Marshall dies at 81

n Showtime Desk This year has been a difficult one for Hollywood. The world has lost some talented legends who had a strong impact on global art and culture scene. After losing Abbas Kiarostami on July 1, director Garry Marshall died yesterday. Director, producer and writer Garry Marshall, who was responsible for creating sitcom hits such as The Odd Couple and Happy Days and directed hit movies Pretty Woman and The Princess Diaries, died on Tuesday, Variety reported. Marshall was the older brother of Penny Marshall, who played the unrefined but lovable Laverne DeFazio on Laverne & Shirley, a Happy Days sequel he co-created that ran on the ABC network from 1976 to 1983. It followed the lives of two single women and their nutty friends in 1950s and ‘60s

Milwaukee. Garry Marshall, the well-known actor and director who helmed the iconic film Pretty Woman, a big screen blockbuster in 1990 starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere that grossed $463 million worldwide. Roberts earned an Oscar nomination for best actress and the film was nominated for a Golden Globe for best comedy/musical. Over the course of his more than five-decade career, Marshall amassed credits on such hit projects as The Odd Couple (writer), Mork & Mindy (creator), and Happy Days (creator and executive producer). He was even partially responsible for the latter show’s infamous “jump the shark” moment that spawned its own trope. Marshall also directed several beloved romantic comedies, including Pretty Woman and Runaway Bride (both starring

Jacqueline Fernandez’s thighs Vs John Abraham’s arms n Showtime Desk

Looks like Dishoom boys John Abraham and Varun Dhawan are having a blast. Their bromance during the promotions of Dishoom is something that live audiences are enjoying the most! Especially when the “topic” is Jacqueline Fernandez, they are becoming wittier than ever. Recently the Dishoom heroine was busy at the trailer launch of her upcoming film

The Flying Jatt with Tiger Shroff and the Dishoom boys were promoting their film at a radio station. The boys were missing their heroine big time. At one point Varun while referring to John’s arms said “Well this is Jacqueline. We are sure you won’t believe us. Watch the video right now and you will agree.” Some of the journalists were shocked when they heard but yes let’s not forget Varun’s sense of humour! l

Julia Roberts and Richard Gere) and the film that launched Anne Hathaway’s career, The Princess Diaries. In recent years, he’s been best known for his holiday-themed movies featuring massive all-star ensemble casts such as Valentine’s Day (which marked Taylor Swift’s big-screen debut), New Year’s Eve, and, most recently, Mother’s Day. Marshall leaves behind his wife of 53 years, Barbara, and three children, as well as his sister Penny Marshall, the star of the TV series Laverne & Shirley, which he also created. According to TMZ, “He had suffered a stroke a while ago and was in and out of the hospital.” The Princess Diaries, Beaches and The Flamingo Kid, were among other popular films Marshall had a hand in putting on the big screen. He has died at age 81 of complications from pneumonia. l Source: Hollywood life

Showtime

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

JLo with World of Dance on NBC primetime

n Showtime Desk Jennifer Lopez signed a deal to bring World of Dance to primetime. With her production company Nuyorican Productions, Lopez inked a deal with NBC to bring World of Dance to the small screen, it was announced Tuesday. The series will pit top dancers from around the globe against each other in “epic battles of artistry, precision, and athleticism.” The winner will walk away with a dazzling $1 million prize. Introducing the series in a video Lopez said, “This will be a fierce, talent-heavy dance competition that embraces the raw emotion and excitement

that dance represents.” “I am excited to work with World of Dance, an organisation that has had an immeasurable impact on the dance community, to give all dancers an enormous platform where their dreams can be realised,” she added. Emmy-winning choreography duo Nappytabs (Napoleon and Tabitha D’umo), who choreographed JLo’s Las Vegas show, are also on board for the series. World of Dance began in 2008 as an online dance competition and has since grown into a global organisation, with worldwide tours and performances every year. Lopez will executive produce its move to primetime. l

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016

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CHINA RAILWAY GROUP GETS MASHRAFE HOPEFUL ABOUT GARRY MARSHALL PADMA RAIL LINK WORK PAGE 12 ENGLAND TOUR PAGE 24 DIES AT 81 PAGE 31

Stray elephant wanders into Bangladesh n Abu Bakar Siddique Twenty-four days ago, a stray elephant from Assam entered Bangladesh with flood waters through the Rowmari border. The animal was recently spotted near the Brahmaputra river. “The elephant is in Sengrar Char in Kazipur, Sirajganj district. Forest officials have been keeping a close eye on its movements,” Deputy Conservator Shahab Uddin said. Over the last 3 weeks, the elephant was also spotted in Kurigram, Gaibandga, Jamalpur and Bogra. The Bangladesh government has prompted the Indian government to pick up their elephant. A forest official told Dhaka Tribune a team of experts from India will rescue the elephant shortly. “It is tough to rescue the elephant from her current location because the Brahmaputra river is flooding,” he added. The forest department is closely observing the elephant’s movements.

Law enforcement agencies have been deployed to keep locals from disturbing the animal because it seems confused. “An elephant entering Bangladesh like this is nothing new but the flood waters make this case unique. Furthermore, the elephant has been separated from its herd and has travelled a long way alone.” said International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Country Representative Ishtiaq Uddin Ahmed. “The only way to rescue the elephant at this point is to use a tranquilliser and an air lift,” he added. Authorities are waiting for the Indian team since Bangladesh does not have the capacity or resources to conduct this operation. Former IUCN Country Representative Ainun Nishat said a similar situation occurred a few years back when an elephant from India walked into Bangladesh. The West Bengal government tranquilised that elephant and picked it up in a truck. l

Trump secures Republican nomination n Tribune Desk

PHOTO: ASADUZZAMAN LEON

June 27-28

Baguar Char, Rowmari June 29

Kheruar Char, Rowmari June 30

Noya Char, Rajibpur July 01-07

Chorai Hati, Rajibpur July 08-09

Noya Char, Rajibpur July 10-11

Erendabari Char, Fulchhori July 12-13

Hagrar Char, Saghata July 14

Patiltola Char, Dewanganj July 15-16, Missing July 17-18

Kashiabari Char, Sariakandi July 19-20 Source: Different media reports in Bangladesh

Sengar Char, Kazipur

‘Pakistan to pass law against honour killings’ n Reuters, Islamabad

Pakistan’s ruling party plans to pass long-delayed legislation against “honour killings” within weeks in the wake of the high-profile murder of an outspoken social media star, the daughter of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Wednesday. The bill will go before a parliamentary committee as early as Thursday, said Maryam Nawaz Sharif, who is an increasingly influential member of her father’s ruling party. The government has faced mounting pressure to pass the law against murders carried out by people professing to be acting in defence of the honour of their family. The law would remove a loophole that allows other family members to pardon a killer. The brother of social media star Qandeel Baloch, often described as Pakistan’s Kim Kardashian, has been arrested in connection with

her strangling death and told a news conference he was incensed by her often risqué posts on social media. Some 500 women are killed each year in Pakistan at the hands of family members over perceived damage to “honour” that can involve eloping, fraternising with men or any other infraction against conservative values that govern women’s modesty. Maryam Nawaz Sharif said the government wanted to pass the law unanimously and had been negotiating with religious parties in parliament. “We have finalised the draft law in the light of negotiations,” she told Reuters in an interview. “The final draft will be presented to a committee of joint session of parliament on July 21 for consideration and approval.” Maryam said once the parliamentary committee approved the

bill, it would be presented for a vote in a “couple of weeks” before a joint session of parliament. A spokesman for Jamaat-e-Islami, one of the two major religious parties in parliament, said his party would not oppose the bill. Pakistan’s other main religious political party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, could not be reached for comment but it has only a small number of seats in parliament. Both religious parties have traditionally opposed legislation empowering women. The upper house of parliament passed the bill in 2014 but it lapsed after the government failed to put it up for a vote in the lower house because it was preoccupied with legislation aimed at tackling security problems and economic reforms. A senior government official told Reuters all major parties were now backing the bill and it was likely to be passed in a few weeks by a

joint session of parliament. “The prime minister is taking personal interest,” added a second official and close aide to Sharif. “You will see in coming days more will be done, big changes will be announced.” In a rare move, this week the government became a complainant in the police case against Baloch’s brother accused of her murder, designating it a crime against the state a n d thereby blocking her family from forgiving their son. l

Thirteen months after launching an improbable bid for the White House, Donald Trump captured the 2016 Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday, having vanquished 16 party rivals, warred with much of its establishment and provoked controversy at every turn. The state-by-state vote to put Trump’s name in nomination took place a day after opponents staged a failed attempt to force a vote opposing his candidacy at the start of the four-day convention, and after a speech by his wife, Melania, drew accusations of plagiarism. The roll call of the states Tuesday night delivered Trump the nomination, which he welcomed from afar in a videotaped message saying “This is a movement, but we have to go all the way.” House Speaker Paul Ryan announced that Trump had amassed 1,725 delegates, more than triple the number of his nearest competitor, the fruits of a political phenomenon without parallel in modern times. Trump won with 1,725 delegates, followed by US Senator Ted Cruz of Texas with 475 delegates, Ohio Governor John Kasich with 120 and US Senator Marco Rubio of Florida with 114. Three other candidates emerged with a total of 12 delegates. Trump became the presumptive nominee nearly two months ago. But relentless controversy over his campaign rhetoric and a simmering movement by anti-Trump delegates to deny him the nomination made it less than a foregone conclusion. After a turbulent campaign that saw Trump defeat 16 rivals and steamroller stubborn party opposition, he said it was time to “go all the way” and beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in November.l

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