28 July, 2016 by DhakaTribune

SECOND EDITION

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

Shraban 13, 1423, Shawwal 22, 1437

Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 92

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

Seven militants identified n Tribune Desk Dhaka Metropolitan Police yesterday have identified seven militants killed during Operation Storm 26 on early Tuesday morning. A total of nine militants were killed during a joint forces drive in a flat in Dhaka’s Kallyanpur, while one was caught and another managed to escape. DMP Deputy Commissioner Masudur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that seven dead militants had been identified by matching their fingerprints with national identification (NID) records at the Election Commission. After verifying their fingerprints the commission sent them to the DMP yesterday. The identified seven are Abdullah, 23, son of Sohrab Ali of Ballabhpur village, Dinajpur, Abdul Hakim Naym, 33, [name in Bengali reads Abu Hakim Naym] son of Nurul Islam of Kuakata village, Patuakhali, Taj-Ul-Haque Rasik, 25, son of Rabiul Haq from Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area, Akifuzzaman Khan, 24, son of Saifuzzaman Khan of Dhaka’s Gulshan area, Shazad Rouf, 24, son of Tawhid Rouf of Bashundhara, Dhaka, Md Motier Rahman, 24, son of

n Tribune Desk

Abdullah

Business owners located at Dhanmondi in the capital city have claimed the Rajdhani Unnyan Kartipakkha (Rajuk) has been applying double standards during their eviction drive at the city's posh areas since Monday.

PICTURE ON PAGE 2 Rajuk, the central city development authority of the country yesterday carried out a drive on businesses, including medical and educational institutions, at Dhanmondi's road no 5, 6, 7/A, and 11/A. Rajuk officials had asked one of the campuses of Eastern University on road no 5, to shift all their activities to the main campus and shut

feeling that it is our son Arko, but we will still be going to the morgue to make sure.” Tawhid later went to Dhaka Medical College morgue yesterday

Before they were killed by the police, the nine suspected militants inside the Kallyanpur den shouted to say that they were allegiant to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the chief of the so-called Islamic State terrorist group. A neighbour managed to record an audio clip when one of the suspects shouted from the balcony to make the declaration of allegiance to the police. The Dhaka Tribune has obtained a copy of the recording and has spoken to the neighbour, who requested that his name not be published. In the audio recording, one of the suspects can be heard shouting that they would follow their “Khalifah (Caliph)” Baghdadi through “happiness and sorrow.” Several of them can also be heard shouting “Allahu Akbar” or God is great. The neighbour, who was hiding inside his own home nearby, told the Dhaka Tribune he also heard

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Abdul Hakim

Akifuzzaman Khan

Taj-Ul-Haque Rasik

Shazad Rouf

Md Motier Rahman

Md Jobayer Hossain

These pictures show the seven militants who were identified after their fingerprints matched samples kept under the Election Commission database. The names mentioned here are according to the EC’s database

Md Nasiruddin Sardar of Omarpur village, Satkhira, and Md Jobayer Hossain, 20, son of Abdul Quaium of Paschim Maijdee village, Noakhali. Among the seven, three were residents of Dhaka. All except

Business owners claim Rajuk drive stenches of double standards n Abu Hayat Mahmud

‘Kallyanpur suspects swore allegiance to IS chief’

down their Dhanmondi location. The Enliven Advanced Dental Centre and one restaurant at road no 5 had their shutters demolished. They have been asked to vacate their spaces by today while MST Pharmaceutical on the same road has been given a week. The Rajuk mobile court also demolished a restaurant, two grocery shops and a saloon on plot 30 of road 7/A. “Mr Shawkat Ali (the landowner of plot 30) informed us just a day before to shift all goods from the shop immediately. We have been trying to shift but we are find out any other commercial space in Dhanmondi,” said restaurant owner Mahbub Rahman. He also said that he had  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Naym were in their twenties. In the morning, Tawhid Rouf, father of the American citizen Shazad Rouf alias Arko who was a North South University student, told the Dhaka Tribune: “I have a

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THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

Autopsy: Kallyanpur militants mostly shot in the back n Tribune Desk Most of the nine militants sustained gunshots in their backs during “Operation Storm 26” of the DMP’s SWAT assault team early Tuesday – conducted more than six hours after they resisted a police raid at a Kallyanpur mess. “All of them died of bullet injuries or from nurogenic shock [caused as a bullet hits the body]. Two of them were hit on the head,” Dr Sohel Mahmud, assistant professor of Dhaka Medical College’s forensic department, said yesterday. “We recovered seven bullets

from four bodies while the five others had bullets pierced through their bodies. Most of them were shot in the back,” he told reporters after conducting the autopsy. Dr Sohel and two other doctors carried out the examination from 11:30am to 2pm at the DMC morgue after receiving inquest report from Mirpur police. Two other members of the team are lecturers Prodip Biswas and Kabir Sohel. They have collected hair, blood, urine and thigh tissues as samples from the bodies and sent some of the samples to the CID laboratory for further investigation.

“We will also examine whether the militants were on any kind of drugs,” Dr Sohel said, adding that the whole process might take two weeks. The DMP yesterday identified seven of the militants from their fingerprints. They are Md Jobayer Hossain, Shazad Rouf alias Arko, Abdullah, Abdul Hakim, Taj-UlHaque Rasik, Akifuzzaman Khan and Md Motier Rahman. The identity of the two others could not be confirmed by the police till the filing of this report yesterday night. A total of 11 militants stayed at the house in Kallyanpur. One out of the two others staying

at the same mess, Rakibul Hasan Rigan, was held by the police while the other fled the scene sometime after the police raided the house – known as Jahaj Bari – on Road No 5 of Kallyanpur early Tuesday. Rigan is undergoing treatment at the DMCH. After primary investigation, police said these militants were linked to banned outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) – one of the terrorist groups blamed for the Gulshan and Sholakia attacks and recent targeted killings. Meanwhile, Mirpur police yesterday filed a case against unnamed persons and mentioning

house owner Momtaj Parveen, her son Mazharul Islam Jewel, and two security guards as possible accused, said Deputy Commissioner (Mirpur zone) Masud Ahmed. Momtaj was placed on a twoday remand by a Dhaka court yesterday. Thirty five other tenants of the building including students residing in several flats were detained for interrogation on Tuesday afternoon. They all had been freed yesterday, police said. The tenants were allowed to enter the building yesterday while two platoons of police were deployed to ensure security.l

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Business owners claim Rajuk drive invested all of his wealth into this restaurant, that this is his only source of income, and he needs quite a bit of money from that income to treat one of his damaged kidneys. The Rajuk Mobile court directed authorities of Paedihope Hospital on road no 7/A to move away from its current residential plot. The court also demolished Mr Baker bakery at the ground floor of a six-storey building beside the Rabindra Sarobar on the same road. Rajuk also ordered the english medium school, Dhanmondi Tutorial, at road 11/A to close their recent extension at a six-storey building. Building 15/A on road no 5 felt the brunt of this drive, since the officially registered residential entity houses several business establishments. Super shop Mini Mart, a restaurant, two Juba League offices (Juba Gobeshona Kendra, Juba Jagaran) and Boss (a retail outlet) of building 15/A had their front shutters demolished. A Mini Mart manager, who asked to remain anonymous, said Rajuk officials had previously inspected the premises and said nothing regarding the possibility of a future eviction drive. “We have not received any letter or instruction from Rajuk to cease

Seven militants

A Rajuk mobile court carries out an eviction drive against unauthorised commercial establishments on Road 6 in Dhanmondi residential area yesterday MEHEDI HASAN business here. If Rajuk informed us earlier, we would have shifted all the goods from the shop, preventing us from losing thousands of taka,” she said. The manager complained Rajuk’s drive of having double standards as on one hand, Rajuk officials are saying that they have published notices in newspapers regarding the eviction drive, while

on the other hand, they are saying that they are carrying out the drive through the use of a mobile court. Rajuk Magistrate Md Nasir Uddin, who is leading the drive at Dhanmondi, told the Dhaka Tribune that the eviction process was supervised by Rajuk mobile courts, which are empowered to conduct such drives. However, the Rajuk Authorised

Officer in Zone 5 [Dhanmondi, Lalbagh] stated that they have recently published a notice in several newspapers regarding the drive. During the drive, electricity connections of all businesses concerned were disconnected. Rajuk has also started the 21-day long eviction drive since Monday in Uttara and since Tuesday in Gulshan. l

‘Kallyanpur suspects swore allegiance to IS chief’ the militants use slang words as they shouted to the police. The neighbour quoted one of the militants as telling the police: “You [police] have worn bulletproof vests; we do not need those because we are Allah’s soldiers. If you have courage, open your vests and come.” The militants also reportedly said they did not care about what would happen to them because they would be “martyrs and go to paradise.”

‘They wore black dress sensing

death soon’

All nine suspected militants put on black panjabis and keffiyehs following Fazr prayers, after apparently sensing that the police might move in after daybreak. The neighbour, who was looking at the Jahaj Bari throughout the night to see what the suspects were up to, saw that the young men all wore ordinary clothes until the Fazr calls to prayer. But after they offered their prayers, the suspects put on the black attires and the red-and-white chequered scarves, the neighbour said.

At the time, the suspected militants were holding guns and knives in their hands, he said. However, after Fazr prayers, the neighbour said he could not see what was going on inside as the men shut the balcony door. He added that he had switched off lights and locked the doors after seeing other in their locality do the same. Following the police drive, there was much debate on social media with speculations on why the militants had been wearing black panjabis throughout the night.

In a Facebook post yesterday, DMP’s counter-terrorism chief Monirul Islam criticised the conspiracy theorists who questioned the success of the drive. Monirul pointed out that almost five hours had passed between the time the police made first contact with the suspects and the final push to enter the den. “Do you need to be an intellectual to understand whether they [suspects] they were sleeping for such a long time or whether they had time to put on these dresses?” he questioned. l

afternoon but left the morgue uncertain. He denied to make any comments. Later, Assistant Professor of DMC Forensic Department Sohel Mahmud told media that Tawhid was confused about the dead body’s identity and was advised to do DNA profiling. Arko’s name was also found in the updated missing persons list issued by Rapid Action Battalion. He went missing on February 3. Masudur Rahman, deputy commissioner of DMP (media and publication), told the Dhaka Tribune that police had obtain names and identities through various means. However, the bodies will only be handed over to families after proper verification, he added. Abdul Kaiyum, a driver working for Al-Amin Biscuit Factory, said he was the father of Jobayer and said his son was a second-year student of political science at Noakhali Government College. “The boy in the middle of the third row in the pictures released by the police is my son,” he told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday morning: “After the Gulshan attack, everyone was talking about missing people getting involved in militancy. So, we filed a general diary with Shudharam police in this regard on July 12,” Kaiyum said. He said they were preparing to go to Dhaka as per police instruction. Abdul Kaiyum claimed Jobayer was a Shibir activist and was one of the six missing people in Noakhali. Meanwhile, relatives of Rasik, an electrical engineering student from NSU, said that he had been missing for the last six months. His family denied to talk to journalists. Alamgir Hossain, the manager of the building where Rasik’s family lived, said the family was residing in flat number B-2 on the second floor. After joining the building he saw Rasik a few times but had not seen him in the last six months. He had heard that Rasik was studying in Sylhet for the last six months, Alamgir added. l

Who is this Arko? n Tribune Desk

One of the nine militants killed in a SWAT operation at Kallyanpur early Tuesday is Md Shazad Rouf Arko, a close associate of Nibras Islam who along with four others had attacked a Gulshan restaurant on July 1. Arko, 24, studied in Monash University, Malaysia and previously in North South University along side Nibras and both of them were accused in a case filed with Shahbagh police station earlier this year. He had been missing for the last six months. The investigators have found evidence that Arko was an American citizen, and his fingerprints too matched with his National Identity Card, a DB police official confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. Arko was also named on the list of 68 missing persons released by the Rapid Action Battalion. According to the RAB document, Arko, the son of Tawhid Rouf, went missing on February 3 this year.

His father filed a general diary with Bhatara police three days after he went missing. He was a resident of Bashundhara residential area in Dhaka. Seeing the photos of the nine militants yesterday morning, Tawhid called the police and said he wanted to see the body to confirm his identity. He went to the Dhaka Medical College morgue along with a US embassy official in the afternoon. None

of them spoke to the media. Dr Sohel Mahmud, assistant professor of the DMC’s forensic department, conducted the autopsies of the nine militants. He told the Dhaka Tribune that Tawhid seemed a little confused when he was shown the body. The law enforcers later said that they would conduct a DNA test to identify the body. Masudur Rahman, deputy commissioner of DMP (media and publication), told the Dhaka Tribune that they had confirmed the identities of seven of the nine militants following different procedures. However, the bodies would be handed over to their families only after proper verification, he added. After the raid on Tuesday morning, police claimed all the nine militants were linked to banned outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), which has also been named in the Gulshan and Sholakia attacks, dismissing any link to the Islamic State. l

Eden College students and teachers organise a gathering in front of their campus protesting terrorist attacks across the country yesterday MEHEDI HASAN

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Investigators get wind of over two dozen militant dens n Tribune Desk

Members of different banned militant outfits who have commando training are now trying to carry out more attacks by setting up small dens in Dhaka and its surrounding areas, law enforcement sources have said. Interrogating militants who were arrested in various operations or during the recent attacks, law enforcement agencies have gleaned information on at least two dozen hideouts in Dhaka and surrounding areas where drives will be carried out soon. A senior law enforcement official requesting anonymity confirmed to Dhaka Tribune yesterday that as a part of a new technique, militants were now renting flats in areas where low income populations and garment workers lived. Small groups of militants, usually numbering seven to nine, are living in these flats, the official said. In some cases they are using family members to rent flats. According to sources, investigators have already pinpointed some of these locations in Dhaka’s outskirts including Tongi, Savar, Kamrangirchar and Keraniganj. Shah Mizan Shafiur Rahman, superintendent of police of Dhaka, said drives were underway in Dhaka’s outskirts to find the militant hideouts. Vigilance had also been raised in these areas, he added. On June 27, three days before the Gulshan attack, a state intelligence agency reported that under pressure from law enforcement in North Bengal, militant leaders were now flocking to Dhaka and its surrounding areas and possibly they would carry out attacks here. After Kallaynpur drive where nine militants were killed, law enforcers were now running operations in Mohammadpur area, specially in shared bachelors’ flats, in search of possible militants. Law enforcement was particularly seeking out tenants who have not sub-

mitted identifying information to the police. Jamaluddin Meer, officer-incharge of Mohammadpur police station, confirmed that drives were underway in Mohammadpur. No one has been arrested from the drive till the filling of this report. Sources said after Mohammadpur, law enforcement would carry out drives in Pallabi, Mirpur, Askona, Uttarkhan, Kamrangirchar, Jatrabari, Badda, Rampura, Meer Hazaribagh, Lalbagh and Beribadh area of Dhaka in search of militant dens. Law enforcement has arrested members of banned outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh and Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh (HujiB) by conducting drives in these areas before. Sanowar Hossain, additional deputy commissioner of DMP’s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CT) Unit, said they had found militant dens in Mohammadpur and Badda before where improvised bombs, hand grenades and bomb making equipment were being kept. During a drive in February, detectives found a huge cache of bombs and explosives from a flat in Nabodoy Housing Society, being used by ABT members as a bomb-making factory. Two ABT members, Jamal Hossain alias Kamal and Shah Alam alias Hiron alias Salahuddin, were also arrested. Shaikh Maruf Hasan, additional commissioner of police at DMP, said on intelligence report, they are conducting block raid in different part of Dhaka and it would be continues. Before the Gulshan attack, militants rented a flat in Baridhara owned by North South University Pro-Vice Chancellor Gias Uddin. Investigators suspect that the militants planned the entire attack from that house. They also took their Islamic State pictures in that flat. l

‘Militants instructed to live in isolation during operation’ n Tribune Desk At the end of training or during operation, militants are supposed not to disclose anything to their neighbours, and also to avoid meeting locals in the neighbourhood, investigators have learned. They got this information while interrogating militant Rakibul Hasan alias Rigan, who survived Tuesday’s Kallyanpur police raid and is now undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Investigators said Rakibul had revealed sensational information

during interrogation. A top police official, requesting anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune Rakibul had said he and other members of the group would avoid staying outside for long during their stay at the Kallyanpur house, and would mostly remain inside. Rakibul, who was responsible for preparing food for the militant group, told investigators they would receive training on different issues of Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh. “They would also hold meetings after sunset and before going to

sleep,” the police official said. “Rakibul is a diehard militant and is applying almost all the techniques a militant does. He was not willing to disclose any information initially. “He would sometimes describe himself as a student and claimed he had been forcefully brought to Dhaka by militants for receiving training. Other times, he said his wish was to travel to Syria to join fighting. “We are now analysing the information we received and hopefully, that will help us solve other ongoing militant issues because this

group were aware of the Gulshan restaurant attackers,” he added. On Tuesday, nine militants were killed in an hour-long operation led by the SWAT team of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. Just before the drive, when police tried to search the house in Kallyanpur, two militants, including Rakibul, attempted to flee the scene by jumping off the fourth floor of the six-storey building. It was learned that Rakibul had been missing for a year since he left his home saying that he was joining a coaching centre in Bogra.

A source said Rakibul is a listed militant and police were searching for him for his alleged involvement in last year’s Hussaini Dalan attack in Old Dhaka. Two people – Sanju and Jamal – were killed in the grenade attack. Sanowar Hossain, additional deputy commissioner of the counter-terrorism and transnational crime unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told the Dhaka Tribune police suspect that Rakibul had links with the Hussaini Dalan attack but need further investigation to confirm this. l

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BNP briefs diplomats on militancy n Tribune Desk The BNP yesterday briefed diplomats on issues about militancy and the prevailing political situation of the country. To make the party’s stance on the recent militant attacks clear, its Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir briefed diplomats of different missions at the Gulshan office of the BNP chairperson. The BNP informed diplomats of its plan to form a common platform comprising representatives of political and social organisations in the wake of the rise in militancy and extremism, meeting sources said. The diplomats were also briefed about the ongoing political situation. Talking to reporters after the meeting, the BNP secretary general said it was nothing but a routine meeting. Meeting sources said Fakhrul read out a statement to the diplomats, talking about the recent militant and terror attacks, the party’s initiative to form national unity for curbing militancy and extremism, and the government’s negative reaction to the

BNP’s national unity move. “The government has taken up a vicious move to organise a midterm election by sending senior BNP leaders to prison in conspiracy cases and we have informed the diplomats of this. We have informed them that the move will not solve the prevailing political problems, rather will make the situation more complex,” a senior leader who attended the meeting said, wishing not to be named. In response to a query from diplomats, BNP leaders said their party is now more popular than the Awami League, and that a national unity is not possible without the BNP. Representatives from embassies of the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, Germany, Japan, Indonesia, Norway, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan attended the meeting while senior BNP leaders, including Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, ASM Hannan Shah, Mirza Abbas and Nazrul Islam Khan were present. The meeting was organised a day after nine militants were killed by law enforcement agencies in a raid at a house in Dhaka’s Kallyanpur. l

Netizens react to British Council’s sudden closure n Shadma Malik The social media was abuzz with remarks after British Council announced yesterday it was temporarily closing its offices across the country in order to review security procedures. Many expressed their disappointment and concern on Facebook, asking why the organisation made such a decision all of a sudden. British Council said in its Facebook page that registration for the upcoming English courses would resume as soon as operations would resume. In a press release, Barbara Wickham, director of British Council Bangladesh, said: “We recognise that people in Bangladesh are increasingly concerned about safety and security in public places. The safety and security of our staff and customers is always our top priority. Therefore we have taken the decision to temporarily close our offices in order to review our security practices. During this temporary closure, our Customer Services will be responding to queries through email “bd.enquiries@britishcouncil.org”. Out of anger, one person wrote on the organisation’s Facebook page: “You are even operational in Afghanistan! Hope this decision will be revoked soon.”

A notice of closure hangs on the front gate of British Council on Dhaka’s Fuller Road. Photo taken yesterday MEHEDI HASAN In response, the Council wrote: “We are in operation. We just closed our offices temporarily to take a range of measures and actions to further assure ourselves on security in the current context.” The education event of the Council scheduled for July 30 was cancelled as well. About IELTS exams, the Council said the tests would be held as usual, and advised candidates to register online and make the payment at any of the designated branches of Standard Chartered Bank. It said candidates would get the

exam details in their e-mail about four days before the exam date. A similar instruction was given for those who will register for A-level exams for October and November sessions. As British Council offices will remain closed for an uncertain period, IELTS examinees expressed their concern on the social media over collecting their Test Report Forms and also contacting the council for information. British Council Bangladesh has offices in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet. l

Unicef concerned over violence Ismat Jahan first OIC envoy to EU mission against children n

Tribune Report

Unicef Bangladesh has expressed grave concern over the killing of a 10-year-old boy by inserting air from a compressor through his rectum in Narayanganj. “Unicef Bangladesh expresses grave concern over a recent incident where a 10-year-old child was subjected to violence and has been killed in a heinous way at his workplace in Narayanganj. This is a serious violation of child rights,” the organisation said in a press release issued yesterday. The statement also expressed concerns over children becoming easy targets of violence and are being used for child labour which is still widespread both in the formal and informal sectors in Bangladesh. “Unicef appeals to the Government of Bangladesh, including the Supreme Court to take speedy legal action against these violent incidents and bring the perpetrators to

justice,” it added. Through the press note, the organisation also called upon the government to revisit the concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Committee and requested the government to commit actions to end violence against children, child marriage and child labour. “Unicef also strongly urges the GoB to set up and strengthen child protection systems and child rights monitoring mechanisms by activating Child Welfare Boards at national and local level as stipulated in the Children Act 2013,” the statement read. It also emphasised on strengthening monitoring of formal and informal industries by labour inspectors as per the labour law. “Reviewing the labour law to define light forms of work and include domestic child labour in the list of hazardous labour is crucial. Unicef is confident that the GoB

will take urgent action to strengthen child protection mechanisms,” the statement added. “Unicef has zero tolerance towards all forms of violence against children and is committed to assisting the GoB to take effective measures to end these violation of child rights,” it continues. It expected that the rights of all children, especially from marginalised groups, will be better protected through collective effort of all concerned authorities. Sagar Barman, 10, a child worker at Zobaida Textiles in Rupganj of Narayanganj, was killed brutally after some people inserted air into his body from a compressor through his rectum. In a similar killing on August 3 last year, 12-year-old Md Rakibul Islam was viciously killed by three garage owners in the Khulna city because he had left employment there. Rakib’s former employers also pumped air through his rectum to kill him. l

n Tribune Desk

Ismat Jahan, Bangladesh Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union, has been appointed as envoy of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Permanent Observer Mission to the EU. The OIC, an influential bloc of 57 Muslim countries, opened the mission to the EU in June, 2013, reports the UNB. OIC Secretary General Iyad Ameen Madani approved the appointment of Ismat though the government is yet to disclose it officially, a diplomatic source acknowledged it on Tuesday night. An official at the ministry said it is a big achievement for Bangladesh as Ismat will be the first Bangladeshi to get appointed as the OIC

envoy to its mission. As the second envoy, she will discharge her duties for next four years after the mission started the journey. Earlier in April this year, Ismat was appointed Bangladesh’s next High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. However, this appointment has been cancelled. And Bangladesh Ambassador to Indonesia Md Nazmul Quaunine has been appointed Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK, said another source. In her diplomatic career, Ismat served as the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN in New York and Bangladesh Ambassador to the Netherlands. Besides, she served in Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, Bangladesh Permanent Mission in Geneva and New York in different capacities. Ismat obtained MSS in Economics from University of Dhaka. She was also elected twice the member of the CEDAW Committee. l

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

Goodbye Dhaka jail

Nahid: Darul Ihsan students can claim compensation

Inmate transfer from Nazimuddin Road site begins tomorrow

n Shohel Mamun

n Mohammad Jamil Khan More than 228 years after it first started housing inmates behind bars, Nazimuddin Road’s Dhaka jail is finally ceasing to act as a place of detention. Authorities are planning to move all 6,500 prisoners over the weekend to a newly-constructed detention facility in Rajendrapur of Keraniganj – which is the new Dhaka Central Jail. After the move, the premises of Nazimuddin Road’s jail will take on a new role as a recreation centre and museum. Jail authorities expect the entire shifting process – which will begin tomorrow – to take at least two days. Assistant inspector general (AIG) of Jail Headquarters, Abdullah Al Mamun, said the shift will be carried out over July 29 and 30 if everything went according to plan. Prison vans would be used to transfer the inmates – most of them men – to the new site, while police and RAB forces would help with arranging extra security during the process. A large share of women and child prisoners who were previously held at Dhaka Central Jail have already been moved to the Kashimpur jail. Although the new jail at Keraniganj was inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on April 10, it took a few more months to complete the shift as some of the construction work was still incomplete at the time. Senior jail superintendent of Dhaka Central Jail, Jahangir Hossain, told the Dhaka Tribune that they have already shifted their necessary documents to the new Keraniganj premises and the inmate transfer would be done over the next couple of days as it was the weekend.

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Every student of Darul Ihsan University can now claim at least Tk5 lakh as compensation after the order of the university’s closure, the education minister has said. Talking to reporters at the secretariat following the annual deputy commissioner’s conference, Nurul Islam Nahid said: “The government has already ordered to close the Darul Ihsan University for massive corruption. The university authorities are responsible for paying compensation. So, the students can claim compensation from the university authorities.”

‘The government will help the affected students get admission to another university’

The file photo shows the entrance of the Dhaka Central Jail on Dhaka’s Nazimuddin Road and recreation centre.

The Dhaka jail’s past and future

Long before it became the largest jail in the country, Dhaka Central Jail started its journey as only a criminal ward in 1788. Further down the road in 1929, jails in Dhaka and Rajshahi were declared as central jails. Built on 36 acres of land, the Nazimuddin Road site in Old Dhaka witnessed many historical episodes. The facility housed many political prisoners, especially during the Language Movement of 1952, the Six-Point Movement and the Liberation War. Soon after the prisoners are transferred to Keraniganj, around 17 acres of the jail area would be used to construct a community centre, swimming pool, gymnasium, modern shopping mall and parking place. Inspector General of Prisons Brig Gen Syed Iftekhar Uddin said efforts were on to turn the Nazimuddin Road site into a museum

Facilities of new jail

The new jail site is located in Rajendrapur of South Keraniganj, just 5km from the first Buriganga Bridge. Jail Super Jahangir said the new Dhaka Central Jail has 16 buildings for inmates, spread out over 194 acres of land. Of the buildings, eight were six-storied high. On the ground floor of these buildings, there is a dinning hall and a kitchen, one water pump house and 20 toilets build just beside the buildings. There are also six more buildings that are two- and four-storied high, with capacities for holding 4,000 male prisoners. On each floor of these buildings, there are six large rooms with one bathroom. These will be used as special cells. There is a large playground surrounded by all these buildings. In the middle of it, there is a small

building that will be used for interrogation. There is also a one-storied tinshed building that has the gallows. There are also four “danger cells” built to house noted criminals and militants. The entire jail area has a 25-feet high wall around it. Four 40-feet high watchtowers also stand in each corner of the jail, making it possible for guards to maintain surveillance. The jail premises would be keep under 24-hour surveillance with CCTV cameras. The new jail has a well-equipped hospital as well as facilities for workshop, laundry and spinning mill. It can hold at least 100 teenage inmates and 30 patients with mental illnesses. In front of the jail, there is a visitor room, separate rooms for jail officials and their families, officers club, staff club, school, mosque and conference room.

Nahid added: “The students will be able to use the compensation to get admitted to another university. The government will help the affected students get admission to another university.” Also speaking after the conference, LGRD Minister Khandakar Mosarraf Hossain said: “The district council polls will be scheduled within the next six months. The government will take necessary initiatives to amend the laws to arrange the election.” Following discussions with deputy commissioners, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader told reporters: “We have identified 144 black spots across the country that are causes of road accidents. The government has been working to remove all the black spots. “Already 60% of the black spots have already been removed and rest of the work will be completed by December this year,” Obaidul said. l

Arrest warrants against 59 BNP men n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court yesterday issued arrest warrants against 59 BNP leaders and activists including the party's Vice-Chairman Salima Rahman in a case filed under the explosive substances act. Acting Judge Ruhul Amin of Dhaka Senior Special Court 1 issued

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THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN THURSDAY, JULY 28

station to submit reports by September 18 on execution of arrest warrants in the case. Apart from Salima Rahman, arrest warrants were issued against BNP Joint Secretary General Barkatullah Bulu, BNP chief’s Press Secretary Maruf Kamal Khan and her Personal Assistant Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas. l

the arrest warrants after accepting the charges levelled against 87 BNP-Jamaat leaders and activists in the case. The court issued the arrest warrant as they did not appear before the court during yesterday’s hearing in the case. The court also directed the officer-in-charge of Motijheel police Dhaka

Chittagong

Rajshahi

DHAKA TODAY SUN SETS 6:44PM

Rangpur

Khulna

Barisal

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:26AM

34.2ºC Srimangal

24ºC Tangail

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES

Sylhet

Cox’s Bazar

Fajr: 4:55am | Zohr: 1:15pm Asr: 5:15pm | Magrib: 6:55pm Esha: 8:45pm Source: Islamic Foundation

News

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

Female-link with JMB makes people worried n Aminul Islam Rana, Sirajganj People of Sirajganj are living in fear after being informed that a bunch of women in the district are linked up with Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), an Islamic militant group. According to local sources, police arrested four suspected woman members of banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from a residence at Masumpur Uttarpara areas in Sirajganj district on Sunday. The detainees are Nazira Tabassum Rani, 30, wife of Mahbubur Rahman of Badullapur village, Romana Akter Roma, 21, wife of Sujan Ahmed Bijoy of Poranbaria village, Habiba Akter Misu, 18, wife of Khalid Hasan of Bogra and Runa Begum, 19, wife Mamrul Islam Sardar of Gaibandha. Law enforcers also seized grenade making materials, 6 crude bombs and some Jihadi books from their possessions. Superintendent of Police (SP) of Sirajganj Miraz Uddin Ahmed said, acting on a tip-off, police conducted a drive at a rented house around 3:15 am Sunday and detained the four. They gathered there for planning to conduct any subversive activities, he added. “They intended to recruit members,” he said.

3 Hizb-ut-Tahrir men held in Chittagong n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong

Police arrested three alleged members of outlawed Hizb-ut-Tahrir during distributing leaflets at the city’s New Market area on Tuesday night. The arrested were Md Ismail, 26, Amiruzzaman, 37, and Nazmul Huda, 25. Humayun Kabir, Chittagong Metropoliton Police additional deputy commissioner said they had arrested three members of Hizb-ut-Tahrir who were distributing leaflets in the city. Of them, Nazmul is a MBA student of BGC Trust University while Ismail passed MBA from International Islamic University recently. Amiruzzaman was a student of Government City College. Ismail and Amiruzzaman were residents of Mohammadpur area under the city’s Panchlaish police station. Nazmul was a resident of Gulbag Residential Area of the city’s Oxygen area. Meanwhile, four other members of the outfit who were arrested on July 24 were placed on a 3-day remand. l

Police personnel paste leaflets on an auto-rickshaw in Sirajganj town yesterday in a bid to raise awareness against militancy DHAKA TRIBUNE

Husbands of the arrested women went into hiding. Police said they could not trace out of them as they had no information. Rashedul, a youth, who are most wanted by police, is a brother of an arrested woman. The police suspected the youth

, student of Bogra Azizul Haque Govt College and University, was involved in Gulshan attack. He managed a rented house in Masumpur for his sister and brother in law. Sources said he took tuitions in the town. Meanwhile, a lot of

youths came in the area involved with him and started tuitions like him. Now he and his friends are absconding and police are trying to arrest him. Residents in the town alleged when the house was given rented,

Dhaka signs credit deal with Moscow for N-power plant n Aminur Rahman Rasel

Bangladesh on Tuesday signed a $11.38 billion credit deal with Russia in Moscow for the implementation of the 2,400MW nuclear power plant at Rooppur, Pabna. “The credit agreement for Rooppur NPP was signed by Sergei Anatolyevich Storchak, Deputy Minister for Finance of Russian Federation and Mohammad Mejbahuddin, Senior Secretary of Economic Relations Department of Bangladesh,” said Kamrul Islam Bhuiyan, an information officer at the Ministry of Science and Technology. The project will be overseen by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission under the Science and Technology Ministry. On July 18, the Russian government approved the loan of $11.38 billion to help build the Rooppur nuclear power plant in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh cabinet, on June 27, approved the draft of the inter-governmental state credit agreement to be signed between Bangladesh and Russia for the nu-

clear power plant with an estimated cost $12.65 billion, Bangladeshi officials said. Of the amount, $11.38 billion will come from Russia and rest of the funding will be provided by Bangladesh.

The project will be overseen by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission under the Science and Technology Ministry

The loan will be used to pay for the construction of the plant from 2017 to 2024. Bangladesh will repay the money in 20 years in equal semi-annual installments starting March 15, 2027. According to the deal, Russia

will provide 90% of the fund on credit at an interest rate of Libor plus 1.75%. The nuclear power plant will be located on the east bank of the Ganges River, 160 kilometres off Dhaka. It will have two reactors with 1,200MW capacity each. The first reactor is planned to start operations in 2023 while the second will be opened a year later. The lifespan of the reactors is 60 years with an option to extend it by another 20 years. The contractor for the project, Atomstroyexport’s Senior Vice-President Vladimir Sabushkin said: “Now we have both legal and financial base for implementing the Rooppur nuclear power project. For us, as the General Contractor of the project, Russia’s State Credit to Bangladesh is very important to begin the main construction works.” Last year on December 25 Bangladesh and Russia signed a general contract for the construction and commissioning of the nuclear power plant at a cost of $12.65 billion. l

the owner did not inform the police about them. Locals blamed the owner of the house and demanded arrest of him. The sources said surrounded the rented house, many VIP persons including some foreigners were living there. If law enforcers did not launch drive earlier, any casualty might have taken place, locals said. On the other hand, the North Bengal Medical College is situated in the district town. More than 50 foreign students are studying here. The sources said the foreign students in fear after the militant attack across the country. Locals said they got afraid after the superintendent of police told them to be alert about the militant attack. Husneara Begum, owner of the house said Rashed was given the house as rent. The other family members were brought later. We were not alert about Rashed and his family members, locals said. DB police officer Rowsan Ali said it was alarming that women had been involved with the militant attack. The arrested women were granted 3-day remand yesterday. Chief Judicial Magistrate Morshed Alam granted the bail after the police prayed for 5-day remand. l

Five to die for killing minor boy Ripon, n Asaduzzaman Narsingdi

A Narsingdi court yesterday convicted five persons sentencing them death penalty for killing a six-year-old boy Ayon three years back. Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Shamim Ahmed handed down the verdict. The convicts are Sajib Khan, 22, son of Yasin Khan, Emran, 20, son of Hazrat Ali, Shamim Osman, 19, son of Aftab Uddin Bhuiya, Rubel, 18, son of Ruhul Amin and Shakil, 18, son of Khorshed Alam on Badarpur village in Sadar upazila. Of the convicts, Shakil was tried in absentia. According to the prosecution, the convicts kidnapped Hasibul Hasan Ayon, 6, a student of I at Brahmandi KKM Government Primary School and son of Sohrab Hossain, over previous enmity and later on strangled him on May 26, 2013. Later, police recovered his body from a water body. Father of Ayon filed a case with Sadar police station in this connection. l

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

Kader at last gets justice, verdict against OC Helal upheld n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court yesterday upheld a lower court's verdict that had sentenced former officer-in-charge of Khilgaon police station Helal Uddin to three years imprisonment in a case filed on charges of torturing former DU student Abdul Kader and implicating him in three false cases. Fifth additional metropolitan session court's Judge Md Zahidul Kabir, passed the order after dismissing an appeal filed by Helal Uddin challenging the lower court verdict. On May 17, last year, Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Alamgir Kabir Raj sentenced OC Helal to three years’ imprisonment for torturing Kader. The court also fined the convict Tk10,000, each, in default, to suf-

fer three months more in jail. The court issued a warrant as Helal was not present before the court during the judgment. Later, On May 31, OC Helal surrendered before the court and sought bail, but the court sent him to jail rejecting his bail plea. According to the prosecution, some plainclothes policemen of Segunbagicha police station hit him with sticks in the early hours of July 16, 2011 when he was returning to his dormitory, Fazlul Huq Hall, from a relative's house at Eskaton, said the documents. He was arrested even after showing his student identity card. Later, OC Helal Uddin took him to his office room and forced him to admit to various crimes. The OC also injured him on the back, leg and various other parts of his body

and at one stage the OC made a stab wound in Kader’s left leg with a sharp machete. After arresting the student, police filed three separate cases against Kader one for robbery and another for possession of an illegal firearm with the police station. He was also shown arrested in another case filed with Mohammadpur police station for carjacking. On July 28, 2011, the High Court ordered the inspector general of police (IGP) to probe the incident following media outcry. Teachers and students of DU and people from different walks of life reacted sharply to the police torture on Kader, the then master’s student of biochemistry department. Later, Kader was freed on bail on August 3, 2011 after 18 days of his

News

detention. Three officials of Khilgaon police station, including the OC Helal Uddin, were suspended. On January 23, 2012, Kader filed the case with Khilgaon police station against its former OC Helal Uddin for torturing him. On March 26, the same year, police submitted charge sheet before the court against OC Helal in the case. Kadar, now a teacher at a Comilla Victoria Government College, was acquitted of all charges in 2012. Kader was satisfied over the judgment, he told the Dhaka Tribune: “OC Helal offered a large amount of money to compromise the case, but I refused the offer”. This would be an example to the police department and the corrupted police personnel, he added. l

2 on remand for Sagar killing Hossain, n Tanveer Narayanganj

Two accused of Sagar Barman killing case were placed on a seven-day remand yesterday. Narayanganj Judicial Magistrate Mehedi Hasan passed the order following police placed them before the court seeking 10-day remand for investigation of the case. The accused are Azhar Imam, 38, senior production officer of Jobeda Spinning Mills and Sohag Hossain Ridoy, 35, lineman of the factory. According to sources, the 10-year-old boy was killed by inserting air from a compressor through his rectum on Monday. On August 3 last year, 12-yearold boy Md Rakibul Islam was viciously killed by three garage owners in the Khulna city because he had left employment there. Rakib’s former employers pumped air through his rectum to kill him. l

FLOOD SITUATION FURTHER DETERIORATES

Lack of relief multiplies people's misery n Tribune Desk Sufferings of flood-affected people in several district of Bangladesh, including Kurigram, Gaibnadha, Lalmonirhat, Faridpur, Jamalpur, has reached its peak as these unfortunate people are living a sub-human life for lack of foods and drinking water. About 0.5 million have been left marooned in nine upzila's 60 union parishads in Kurigram as water levels in major rivers keep swelling. According to the Water Development Board, the Brahmaputra River was flowing 10cm above the danger level while Dharala River and Dudhkumar flowing 6cm and 12cm above danger level respectively yesterday. Local sources said road communication between Kurigram sadar and different other areas have been cut off following the inundation of different roads by flood water. Source at Department of Agricultural Extension said aman seedlings and vegetables on over 7,000 hectares land had been inundated by flood water and about 160,000 farmers have been affected. About 200 educational institutions of the district remained closed due to flood, district education office sources said. Ajgar Ali, a resident of Noadabos char area, said: “Most of fowls have died as soon as flood water entered into my house. I have to manage food for a five-member family, but now I have no work. Why the government is not providing us assistance?”

People riding on a raft go to market to buy foods as they are yet to get any relief from district administration. The photo was taken from Jamalpur's Islampur yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE Abed Ali, a resident of Bhurongamari, said: “I tried to stay my house, but could not. I have been compelled to take shelter on road. But no public representative came here to see how we are living.” Acting deputy commissioner Akter Hossain said a total of 400 tonnes of rice, 1,000 packets of dried food and Tk8 lakh were distributed among the flood affected people of the district. In Jamalpur, flood situation has deteriorated further following the continuous rise of water level in

the Jamuna River. District Relief and Rehabilitation Office said with the rise of water level 33 unions and two municipality areas in the six upazilas out of seven in the district have been affected by flood. The source said flood has affected 8 unions and a municipality in Islampur, eight unions and a municipality in Dewanganj, five unions in Madarganj, five in Sarishsbari, three unions in Melandaha and four unions in Bakshiganj upazilas.

According to the Department of Agriculture Extension, standing crops on 2,450 hectares of land including Aush paddy on 695 hectares, Aman seeds bed on 400 hectares, jute on 750 hectares, vegetables on 560 hectares, T-Aman on 40 hectares and banana groves on 30 hectares went under flood water in the district. District primary Education Officer Abdul Alim said 231 primary schools have been closed due to flood in the district. District Education Officer Mo-

stafizur Rahman 67 institutions in secondary and higher secondary education level in Islampur, Dewanganj, Melandaha, Sarishabari and Madarganj upazaila have been closed as flood waters entered those institutions. In Gaibandha, overall flood situation in chars and the river basin of the four upazilas in the district deteriorated further as the Brahmaputra River marked rise. The Brahmaputra was flowing 60cm at Fulchharighat point and at Ghagot 68cm above their respective danger levels at New Bridge Road point of the district town, this morning said the officials. According to the Water Development Board, water levels of the Teesta and the Karotoa decreased by 3 cm and 7 cm respectively during the period, the Teesta 21 cm at Sundarganj and the Karotoa 97 cm at Katakhalibridge point were flowing below their respective danger levels, the officials added. With the rise of water level in the Brahmaputra river, the chars and the river basin areas of Sundarganj, Sadar Fulchhari and Saghata upazila had been inundated and the standing crops particularly jute and summer vegetables and Aman seed bed went under flood water. Acting deputy commissioner M. Shamsul Azam said 300 tonnes of rice received from the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief was distributed to 30,000 flood victims of the upazilas as general relief. l

8 World

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

SOUTH ASIA

Floods, landslides kill 54 in Nepal Floods and landslides triggered by monsoon rains in Nepal have killed 54 people over the last two days. Hundreds of people have been displaced after swollen rivers breached their banks and flooded homes. Soldiers and volunteers used rubber boats to rescue people marooned by the flooding. -REUTERS

INDIA

Chinese troops intrude into Uttarakhand Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat has confirmed reports of an incursion by Chinese troops in the Chamoli district of the state. He said that the good thing is that the troops didn’t touch an important canal there. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police on July 19 sent a report to the ministry of home affairs about the incursion in the state by Chinese forces. -AFP

CHINA

HK court rules out immediate decision on new election form A Hong Kong court declined to rule on Wednesday on a challenge filed by activist politicians to a requirement that all election candidates in the city must pledge that Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China. Three politicians made an urgent request to the city’s High Court for a review of a new confirmation form before nominations for a Legislative Council election end on Friday. -REUTERS

ASIA PACIFIC

Philippines lobbied Asean on sea row verdict The Philippines said Wednesday it had vigorously lobbied Southeast Asian nations to take a united stance critical of Beijing’s claims to most of the South China Sea, but insisted a diluted statement remained a victory. Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said he lobbied his counterparts at a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Laos. -AFP

MIDDLE EAST

Bahrain Shia cleric goes on trial for money laundering

The spiritual leader of Bahrain’s Shia Muslim majority went on trial on Wednesday on charges of collecting donations illegally and money laundering. Ayatollah Isa Qassim, who also faces expulsion from the country after authorities revoked his citizenship last month, says the charges are part of a political crackdown on majority Shiia. -AFP

Bernie Sanders supporters protest Hillary Clinton’s historic nomination n Tribune International Desk Hillary Clinton became the first woman nominated for president of the United States by a major political party Tuesday, marking an historic moment in American politics and putting a formal end to her long primary battle with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. “Eight years ago, our party nominated and elected the first person of colour to ever serve in the White House,” congressman John Lewis said, seconding Clinton’s nomination. “Tonight we will shatter that glass ceiling again. We’re the party of tomorrow, and we will build a true democracy in America.” Clinton’s nomination came on the second day of a contentious national convention in Philadelphia. Amid protests and sweltering heat, the party tried to pivot away from the discord that marked Monday’s program and toward the unprecedented nature of the Clinton campaign. But moments after her nomination was sealed, a vocal crowd of Sanders supporters walked out in protest. Dozens of them occupied a media tent outside the Wells Fargo Arena. Some taped their mouths shut. Several sobbed. Many complained the convention had been rigged. As the protest carried on, speakers on stage fought to keep the focus on Clinton and her landmark campaign. “The right wing has thrown everything at her — not only the kitchen sink, but the stove, the refrigerator, and the toaster,” said California Senator Barbara Boxer. “And guess what? She’s still standing.” The protests, however, continued. For hours, rebel Sanders delegates scrummed, inside the arena and out. It wasn’t until Clinton’s husband took the stage after 10 pm that the focus truly shifted again.

Sanders supporters protest

On Monday, Sanders loyalists booed Clinton’s name inside the Wells Fargo Arena while outside his supporters marched in the sun. When Sanders addressed the convention Monday night, he urged his supporters to unite and back Clinton. But many seemed unwilling to heed his pleas. Still, the arena Tuesday at first seemed to lack the flinty edge so evident the night before. Sanders die-hards could still be seen in

Hillary Clinton the crowd. One woman held up a banner reading “Election Fraud” during the roll call vote. Another unfurled a full-sized Sanders flag on the floor. But the boos were softer, if they were there at all. And in a bid for party unity, Sanders himself rose at the end of the roll call vote and asked that the nomination be made unanimous. Despite some loud objections, the vote passed and the party was, officially, united behind Clinton. But it was at that point that the protest began. It’s hard to say how many delegates were involved. They were set up outside in a circle of reporters that seemed 10 deep. For more than an hour police blocked the entrance to the media tent, while dozens of other officers waited in the wings. Eventually, the crowd cleared. But a block remained outside and the fight continued in the halls of the arena. Many of the Bernie or Bust delegates seemed angry at the idea they should vote for Clinton by default, just to stop Donald Trump. “I saw Hillary Clinton in an interview and they asked her why should we elect you president and her answer was ‘Well, because I am a woman,’” said Derel Stroud, a Sanders supporter. “Well Hillary, it’s not because you are a woman, it should be based on the policies that you put in place and your record.” The Sanders mutiny involved a small fraction of the delegates in the hall, but it drew outsized attention. The angry protestors pulled focus away from the program inside and reinforced the narrative

REUTERS

A supporter of Bernie Sanders sits in the the media center after Hillary Clinton was nominated during the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 26 REUTERS of a party in disarray. Inside, a host of speakers sought to portray Clinton as an experienced and compassionate leader, reiterating her record on issues like health care for first responders after 9/11 and reproductive rights. “I have known Hillary Clinton for many years. She is one of the most qualified candidates to ever run for president,” Lewis said. “She could have done anything with her life, but she decided long ago she didn’t want to just do well, she wanted good.” The nomination marked another milestone in a political career unlike any other. Clinton has been a fixture in American politics for more than 25 years. As First Lady, senator, and secretary of state, she has been in the public eye—and often in the heart of controversy—for most of her adult life. She moves now into a gener-

al election campaign against the unpredictable Donald Trump. It makes for a remarkable contrast: a career politician and the first woman candidate against a bombastic outsider who has never been afraid to trade in sexist clichés. At the end of the program, after a performance by Alicia Keys, black and white photos of mostly monochrome men began scrolling one by one on the giant screen behind the stage. At the end, they stacked together in a grid: The 44 presidents of the United States, all men. At that point, the image cracked then shattered. Behind, smiling on screen was Clinton, live by video feed. “I can’t believe we just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet,” she said. “If there are any little girls out there who stayed up late to watch,” she continued, “let me just say, I may become the first woman president, but one of you is next.” l

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

IS bomb attack kills 44 in Syria n Tribune International Desk

A twin bombing struck a crowd in a predominantly Kurdish town in northern Syria on Wednesday, killing 44 people and wounding dozens more, Syria’s state-run news agency and Kurdish media reported. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. Media reports said a truck loaded with large quantities of explosives blew up on the western edge of the town of Qamishli, followed by an explosives-packed motorcycle a few minutes later in the same area. The blasts caused massive damage in the area, and rescue teams were working to recover victims from under the rubble, the SANA news agency said. Qamishli, near the Turkish border, is mainly controlled by Kurds but Syrian government forces are present and control the town’s airport. Syrian state TV broadcast footage showing people running away from a mushroom cloud of gray

The online magazine of the Islamic State group has described how a 27-year-old Syrian asylum-seeker who blew himself up at a bar in the southern German town of Ansbach spent months planning the attack, once even hiding his home-made bomb in his room moments before a police raid, reports The Associated Press. The weekly Al-Nabaa magazine’s report, published late Tuesday, added that Mohammad Daleel had fought both in Iraq and Syria with a branch of al-Qaeda and the IS group before arriving in Germany as an asylum-seeker two years ago. Daleel died and 15 people were wounded when the bomb exploded in a wine bar Sunday night after he wasn’t allowed entry to a nearby open-air concert because he didn’t have a ticket. The Ansbach attack was the last one of four attacks in the country in the span of a week, two of which have been claimed by the Islamic State extremist group. The attacks have left Germany on edge and Chancellor Angela Merkel’s policies of welcoming refugees under renewed criticism. Conservative lawmakers have called for an increased police presence, better surveillance and background checks of migrants and new strategies to deport criminal asylum seekers more easily. Al Nabaa’s Arabic-language report on the attacker said he in-

USA

Judge frees man who tried to kill US President Reagan John Hinckley Jr, who wounded US President Ronald Reagan and three other people in a 1981 assassination attempt prompted by his mental illness, should be freed after 35 years, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday. US District Judge Paul Friedman said Hinckley, 61, no longer posed a danger to himself or others. -REUTERS

THE AMERICAS

People look for survivors under debris at a damaged site after two bomb blasts claimed by Islamic State hit the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli near the Turkish border REUTERS smoke rising over the town and others running amid wrecked or burnt cars. Qamishli resident Suleiman Youssef, a writer, told The Associated Press by telephone that he heard the first explosion from a few miles away. He said the blasts leveled several buildings to the ground and many people were trapped under the rubble. “Most of the buildings at the

scene of the explosion have been heavily damaged because of the strength of the blast,” he said. The Islamic State group, in a statement published by the ISlinked Aamaq news agency, said it carried out the attack in Qamishli, describing it as a truck bombing that struck a complex of Kurdish offices. The extremist group has carried out several bombings in Kurdish areas in Syria in the past.

The predominantly Kurdish US-backed Syria Democratic Forces have been the main force fighting IS in northern Syria, capturing significant territory from the extremists over the past two years. Wednesday’s explosion came as US-backed Kurdish forces pressed ahead with their offensive to take the IS-held town of Manbij, also in northern Syria but further to the east of Qamishli. l

IS magazine describes bombers preparations in Germany n Tribune International Desk

World

itially fought against government forces with al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria before pledging alliance to IS in 2013. He also helped the group with its propaganda efforts, setting up pro-IS accounts online. In Germany he started making the bomb, a process that took him three months, al Nabaa wrote. It added that German police once raided his asylum shelter in an unrelated case and searched Daleel’s room without noticing the bomb that he hid moments before the raid. The IS group earlier claimed the Ansbach attack, publishing a video it said of Daleel pledging allegiance to the group and vowing that Germany’s people “won’t be able to sleep peacefully anymore.” It appears to be the same video as the one found by German investigators on the suicide bomber’s phone. Daleel unsuccessfully applied for asylum in Germany and was awaiting deportation, German authorities said. The unprecedented bloodshed in Germany began July 18, when a 17-year-old from Afghanistan wielding an ax attacked people on a train near Wuerzburg, wounding five people before he was shot to death by police. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility. The deadliest attack came Friday night in Munich. The German-born, 18-year-old son of Iranian refugees went on a shooting spree and killed nine people. The youth had obsessively researched

Venezuela government aims to sink Maduro recall Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government sought on Tuesday to scupper a push by the opposition to oust him this year via a referendum, while his opponents called for protests. The opposition urged supporters to march to the council’s Caracas headquarters on Wednesday to demand it validate the first round of signatures, 1% of registered voters in each state. -REUTERS

UK PM: Model for Brexit deal may not exist yet Britain’s future ties with the EU may not mirror any of the existing relationships between non-EU countries and the bloc, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday after meeting her Italian counterpart. International trade minister Liam Fox has said a free trade agreement with the EU was more likely, which could restrict Britain’s ability to negotiate lower tariffs with other trading partners. -REUTERS

EUROPE

Catalan government calls confidence vote Al-Nabaa, an online magazine of the Islamic State group, shows Mohammad Daleel in an article published AP mass shootings, and authorities said the attack does not appear to be linked to Islamic extremists. On Sunday, a 21-year-old Syrian used a machete to kill a 45-yearold Polish woman in the southern city of Reutlingen. Authorities said assailant and victim knew each other from working in the same restaurant, and the incident was not related to terrorism. Despite the fact that not all the cases were terror-related, they have caused concerns about the government’s migration policy that saw more than 1 million people enter Germany last year. A senior figure in the nationalist Alternative for Germany party, which has no seats in the national parliament but saw its popularity surge after last year’s migrant influx, suggested Wednesday that there should be “a halt to immigration for Muslims to Germany”

until all asylum-seekers currently in the country have been registered, checked and had their applications processed. “For security reasons, we can no longer afford to allow yet more Muslims to immigrate to Germany without control,” Alexander Gauland, a deputy party leader, said in a statement. “There are terrorists among the Muslims who immigrated illegally and their number is rising constantly.” The Interior Ministry rejected the notion that Germany is still seeing uncontrolled migration. Spokesman Johannes Dimroth said that “for some time” all new arrivals have been registered and checked against security databases. The city of Munich said it is re-evaluating its security concept for the annual Oktoberfest and is considering banning all backpacks from the popular beer feast. l

The leader of Spain’s Catalonia region announced on Wednesday its parliament would hold a vote of confidence in his pro-independence government in September. The Catalan parliament voted on Wednesday to continue with its plans to detach the wealthy north-eastern region from Spain, despite a ruling by the Spanish Constitutional Court annulling its resolution to form an independent state. -REUTERS

AFRICA

Morocco arrests 52 suspected militants Morocco said on Wednesday that it had arrested 52 suspected militants inspired by IS and that it had foiled several attacks in the North African kingdom by seizing weapons and bomb-making materials. It is the largest group arrested in years and the latest of a series of cells that the authorities say they have found plotting attacks inside and outside Morocco. -REUTERS

World

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

Regional armies struggle in last push against Boko Haram n Reuters, Diffa, Niger You’ll all be able to go home soon. Boko Haram is nearly finished,” Niger’s Interior Minister Mohamed Bazoum told a crowd of refugees seated quietly on dusty, sun-baked flats. His words of optimism were belied by the dozens-strong security detail required to protect him as he toured his country’s southern border. Seven years into an insurgency that spread from Nigeria into Chad, Niger and Cameroon, regional armies are now in a final push to defeat Boko Haram, a once obscure Islamist sect turned deadly militant group. But lingering divisions in the countries’ multi-national joint task force (MNJTF) are complicating that mission. “If there’s no strategy to attack Boko Haram together, we won’t ever finish with them,” Mahamadou Liman Ali, an opposition lawmaker from southern Niger, told Reuters in Niamey. At a time when the world’s wealthy nations are focused on the fight against Islamic State and al Qaeda, financial support for the MNJTF’s efforts against Boko Haram, which has pledged its allegiance to IS, have fallen short of targets. That has left the task force’s members - including Chad, the region’s capable but increasingly reluctant military powerhouse - to shoulder the bulk of the costs of fighting the group. Boko Haram’s victims, which include 2.4 million displaced, live in hope that this month-old offensive - dubbed Operation Gama Aiki, or “finish the job” in the local Hausa language - might succeed where others have failed. Some have doubts. From where he stays in southern Niger, refugee Usman Kanimbu sees smoke rising from the coalition’s air strikes on insurgent positions in Nigeria, the home he fled. “We’ve fled eight times. Each time we arrive somewhere Boko Haram attacks again. We would keep running, but we can’t afford to anymore,” he said. “I’m not sure this will ever end.”

Fragile progress

As the sun sets over the Nigerian border, a featureless expanse of sand and scrub trees, soldiers from Niger peered over an earthen bern at territory held by Boko Haram. The skies above the borderlands now rumble daily with the sound of fighter jets. Chadian troops have ventured onto Lake Chad, a Boko

Haram stronghold. Regional military officers say they are taking back ground from the insurgents. The task force may indeed be making headway against Boko Haram, which has fewer footholds than it once did. Its leader, Abubakar Shekau, may even be dead. But the MNJTF is a far cry from what it was conceived to be, a dedicated 8,700-strong force blending soldiers from Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Chad and Benin. Instead, the nations rely on their own armies to deal with Boko Haram threats. Troops from Chad, which has the region’s strongest military, reinforce when needed then head back home. “Each force is based in its country of origin. There’s no integrated force with battalions moving in perfect coordination,” said Vincent Foucher, West Africa researcher at International Crisis Group (ICG). The need for operational integration in the fight against an enemy that knows no borders was exposed during a similar regional offensive early last year. After troops from Chad and Niger drove Boko Haram from a string of towns in Nigeria’s far north, they waited in vain for the Nigerian army to arrive and hold them. “We were there for three or four months, but the Nigerian troops that were meant to take over from us were not ready,” Niger’s Brigadier General Abdou Sidikou Issa told Reuters. Niger and Chad withdrew, according to a source with knowledge of the operation, because they feared becoming an occupying force. Issa said the troops were overstretched logistically, however. Either way, the vacuum they left allowed Boko Haram to reclaim positions and carry on cross-border raids. “That’s what’s created problems for us again today,” Issa said. The MNJTF was meant to prevent a repeat of those kinds of incidents. The African Union endorsed the force in January 2015 and a headquarters was established in Chad’s capital N’Djamena to coordinate forces against the ever-evolving threat of Boko Haram. The AU has struggled to rally contributors to foot the bill for the MNJTF’s $700m budget, however. Donors, led by Nigeria and France, pledged $250m in February, just over a third of what was needed, but dispersal has been slow. The United States has also aided with intelligence and training. A senior MNJTF officer, who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to speak, told Reuters the money received so far was

so little that it only had covered the cost of 11 vehicles and some radio equipment, with the individual armies bearing the rest of the costs. “There are all these declarations of intentions, but, in concrete terms, nothing has been done yet,” he said. A spokesman for the MNJTF did not respond to a request for comment.

Hurting

A Boko Haram attack last month on Bosso, in southeastern Niger, which killed 32 soldiers and a number of civilians, was the kind of incident the MNJTF was created for. But rather than the multinational force kicking into action as it is supposed to, Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou had to fly to N’Djamena to lobby neighbour Chad for help. Having played a lead role along with France in a 2013 intervention in Mali to drive back jihadist groups there, Chad’s President Idriss Deby has become indispensable in the fight against West African Islamists.

But with low oil prices now causing Deby economic headaches at home and little direct financial support coming from his allies, analysts say he has grown resentful. Two weeks after President Issoufou’s visit, Reuters visited a half-finished hotel complex in the southern Niger city of Diffa that had been fully booked out by the Chadian army. The Chadians were nowhere to be seen. Dozens of bungalows sat empty. It would take more than a month for them to arrive. Excluding its oil sector, after 7 percent growth in 2014, Chad’s economy contracted by 1.5 percent last year, according to the International Monetary Fund. Oil output rose to record levels, but low prices meant revenues dipped. “This is costing (Deby) a lot of money. There’s a big budget crisis ... He’s definitely hurting,” said Nathaniel Powell, a researcher with the Swiss-based Fondation Pierre du Bois. A Chadian government official

did not respond to a request for comment. Niger’s tiny army - 15,000 troops to cover 1.2 million square kilometres (463,300 square miles) of territory - is overstretched by Boko Haram, but also by the overflow of unrelated Islamist violence from Mali to its west. Cameroon has meanwhile deployed thousands of troops, including special forces, to its north to secure its own territory against a suicide bombing campaign. And while Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has shown more willingness than his predecessor to take on the insurgents, decades of graft have hollowed out his military and it now faces resurgent militancy in the oil-producing Niger Delta. The senior MNJTF officer said the regional neighbours would continue to improve the force. In the meantime, they had no other choice than to act. “If we wait, Boko Haram isn’t going to wait for us, are they?” he said. l

World

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

FBI probes Russian involvement in leak of top Democrats’ emails n Tribune International Desk Russia on Tuesday denied claims that it hacked internal emails from members of the Democratic Party, a day after the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said it was investigating possible Russian involvement in the WikiLeaks release. The FBI announced Monday it was investigating the embarrassing hack of Democratic National Committee emails - a breach the Clinton campaign blamed on Russia, accusing Moscow of seeking to influence the US presidential election. The emails leaked by WikiLe-

aks, which reveal that party leaders sought to undermine the campaign of Hillary Clinton’s rival Bernie Sanders, threw the Democratic National Convention into disarray on its first day and prompted the party boss to resign. While a series of experts pointed the finger at Moscow, others urged caution. Russia denied any involvement. Both the White House and the State Department deferred to the FBI on whether Russia was to blame, but highlighted that cybersecurity has been an ongoing issue of concern between Washington and Moscow.

India’s parliament passes controversial child labour bill Reuters n Thomson Foundation, New Delhi India’s parliament on Tuesday approved a controversial law that would allow children to work for family businesses, despite widespread concern by the United Nations and other rights advocates that it will push more children into labour. A week after the bill was passed by the upper house of parliament, India’s lower house approved the measure that brings a raft of changes to a three-decade-old child labour prohibition law. The bill now goes for the President’s assent before becoming law. The U.N. Children’s Agency (UNICEF) as well as many others have raised alarm over two particular amendments - permitting children to work for their families and reducing the number of banned professions for adolescents. A 2015 report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) put the number of child workers in India ages 5 to 17 at 5.7m , out of 168m globally. More than half of India’s child workers are employed in agriculture and more than a quarter in manufacturing embroidering clothes, weaving carpets or making match sticks. Children also work in restaurants, shops and hotels and as domestic workers. The new legislation extends a ban on child labour under 14 to all sectors. Previously, only 18 hazardous occupations and 65 processes

such as mining, gem cutting and cement manufacturing were outlawed. It also stiffens penalties for those employing children, doubling jail terms to two years and increasing fines to Rs50,000 from Rs20,000. While child rights groups have welcomed such changes, there has been concern over other amendments proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. For example, children will be allowed to work in family businesses, outside of school hours and during holidays, and in entertainment and sports if it does not affect their education. Also, children 15 to 18 will be permitted to work, except in mines and industries where they would be exposed to inflammable substances and hazardous processes. The government says the exemptions aim to strike a balance between education and India’s economic reality, in which parents rely on children to help with farming or artisanal work to fight poverty or pass on a family trade. “The purpose of this very act is that we should be able to practically implement it,” Labour and Employment Minister Bandaru Dattatreya told parliament. “That’s why we are giving some exemptions.” UNICEF had urged India to exclude family work from the proposed law and include an “exhaustive list” of hazardous occupations. l

“We know that there [are a] variety of actors both state and criminal who are looking for vulnerabilities in the cyber security of the United States and that includes Russia,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. State Department spokesman John Kirby added: “I think we need to let the FBI do their work before we try to form any conclusions here about what happened and what the motivation was behind it.”

Moscow’s Counterpunch

The Kremlin on Wednesday dismissed allegations Russia had

hacked Democratic Party emails as “horror stories” dreamt up by US politicians, saying it never interfered in other countries’ election campaigns. “Moscow is at pains to avoid any words that could be interpreted as direct or indirect interference in the election process,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters. “... We see that the Russian card is in the red corner on the writing table of all Washington politicians during the election campaign, and that very often they make it a trump card in their game.”

Peskov was responding after US President Barack Obama in an interview with NBC News said it was possible Russia would try to influence the US presidential election after a leak of Democratic National Committee emails that experts have blamed on Russian hackers. “This reminds me of a company where they tell each other horror stories and then start being frightened of their own stories,” said Peskov. The Kremlin on Tuesday said unidentified individuals in the United States were trying to cynically exploit fear of Russia for electoral purposes. l

12 Business

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

TOP STORIES

BEZA: Committee soon to finalise tariff for acquired land Mirsarai economic zone proposal gets nod

Japan’s government yesterday announced a stimulus package worth more than 28tn yen ($266bn) in its latest attempt to fire up the lukewarm economy, with the central bank expected to unveil its own measures this week. PAGE 15

Capital market snapshot: Wednesday DSE Broad Index

4,538.2

-0.3% ▼

Index

1,113.1

-0.3% ▼

30 Index

1,771.9

-0.3% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk

4,052.2

-9.6% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

8.8 -91.4% ▼

CSE All Share Index 13,976.9

-0.2% ▼

30 Index

12,809.2

-0.5% ▼

8,506.7

-0.2% ▼

Selected Index Turnover in Mn Tk

210.2 -28.1% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

6.3 -26.7% ▼

% 20 7.

% 55 6.

% 6. 06

FY 13

FY 14

FY 15

FY 12

FY 11

05 %

8% %

The US-based Citibank NA remained hopeful about Bangladesh’s economic growth prospect. In its latest half yearly economic update released yesterday, the bank said: “Bangladesh has managed to set growth on a higher trajectory, posting GDP growth of 7.05% in FY16 on the back of surge in both private and public investment as well as increase in consumption expenditures.” To achieve sustainable growth and investment, it is imperative to reap the benefits of the favorable demographic characteristics of a large working population, it said. “Enhancing the quality of the workforce and addressing the skill gap will help align the supply side factors with supportive fiscal measures.” Pointing finger at the country’s recent economic growth, the bank said higher implementation of Annual Development Program and higher consumption driven by new pay scale for public sector employees and moderate inflation helped boost the GDP growth. GDP growth target for FY17 has been set at 7.20%, while the target is to achieve 8% by 2020 as per the government’s 7th Five Year Plan. To support the growth, investment-GDP ratio of 34.40% has been aimed for the same period from the existing level of 29.38%, it said. About the local currency versus greenback, it said the demand for dollars subsided briskly in March with growing exports as the pair

5% 4% FY 16 FY 17 (est.) Target

Source: Bangladesh Bank

fell to 78.40 in early March, a level which has prevailed since then. While Taka has remained robust, many of Bangladesh’s trade partner countries have seen their currencies weaken against US dollars. Under the circumstances, it warned that the primary challenge lies in promoting investor confidence and thereby increasing import of capital stocks in productive sectors to take advantage of lower costs induced by exchange rate benefits, which will eventually help in easing appreciation pressure on Taka. Average inflation slid to 12 year lows to 5.92% in FY16 on the back of low food inflation, which was well below the government’s target of 6.20% for the period. Good domestic harvest, low international commodity prices and political stability helped in keeping inflation manageable. Food inflation dived to 4.92% from 6.68% in

Addressing the meeting, PM Sheikh Hasina urged local and foreign investors to invest at the economic zones across the country. “To ensure a sustainable economy, it is required to increase investment, expansion of business, and industrial diversification,” she said. The premier put emphasis on setting up raw materials-based industries in those areas where the raw materials are available. She expected that the economy would be strengthened, the poverty would be alleviated, and the production and export income would rise once 100 economic zones, as planned by the government, were established. l

BB suspends euro transactions through ACU

REAL GDP GROWTH RATE 52

n Tribune Business Desk

Japan PM unveils $266bn stimulus plan to boost economy

a total 28 approvals required for investment purposes, which will be introduced soon, officials said. The other services required for investors will be included in the automated web platform in phases. Currently, many prospective investors feel discouraged mainly due to lengthy and complex procedures. The authorities are, therefore, going to introduce the service to facilitate fast track services for the investors to help them complete the processes smoothly, officials said. The BEZA governing body meeting also cleared setting up of 28 new economic zones, both under public private partnership and private initiatives.

Citi: GDP growth gathers pace %

Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline on Wednesday revealed plans to invest £275m into three of its British manufacturing sites, shrugging off Brexit worries. PAGE 14

UK drugs giant GSK invests £275m despite Brexit

Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) has decided to form a committee for finalising tariff proposals for land directly allocated to the zone’s investors. At a meeting yesterday, the authority also approved setting up of an economic zone by Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) at Mirsarai in Chittagong, said a press release. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presided over the meeting held at her office. The members of the BEZA governing board, top government officials and representatives from

different bodies concerned were present. The meeting approved in principle the finalising of “One Stop Service Act” and building construction rules for economic zones. The BEZA is laying emphasis on introducing one stop service so the investors can get better and quick services. The authorities earlier decided to introduce one stop service for prospective investors to facilitate fast track processing of investments in Bangladesh. During initial level, BEZA will offer five services – project clearance, visa recommendation, work permit recommendation, import permit and export permit – out of

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday asked the deputy commissioners (DC) to remain alert about Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) business as the government has stopped issuing such business licence. PAGE 13

n Tribune Business Desk

Growth rate

Tofail asks DCs to remain alert about MLM business

the past fiscal. However, non-food inflation surged to 7.45% from 5.99% during the same period. It said the lagged impact of the new pay scale for government employees and upward adjustment of gas and electricity prices drove the non-food inflation higher, however, a cut in fuel prices in April  PAGE 13 COLUMN 5

n Asif Showkat Kallol

Bangladesh Bank has suspended euro transactions in nine countries whose central banks are members of the Asian Clearing Union (ACU). Bangladesh Bank is also a member. The decision followed a letter from Germany’s central bank Deutsche Bundesbank that it was no longer interested in euro transactions as the currency fell after the Brexit. Deutsche Bundesbank was involved in euro transactions of Bangladesh Bank. A circular was issued by Bangladesh Bank yesterday directing the authorised banks of foreign currencies to stop transaction of the euro in the countries. In the letter, Deutsche Bundesbank informed Bangladesh Bank that it is not interested in transaction of euro after the Britain’s exit from the European Union. l

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

Tofail asks DCs to remain alert about MLM business n Tribune Business Desk Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday asked the deputy commissioners (DC) to remain alert about Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) business as the government has stopped issuing such business licence. The minister came up with the direction at a four-day DC conference that began Tuesday at the secretariat in the capital. “It has been noticed that common people are being harassed in the name of false MLM business. We ask the DCs to remain alert so none can run this business as the government is not approving any such licence,” Tofail Ahmed told reporters after the meeting with DCs yesterday. Crores of Taka had been taken away in the name of fraudulent MLM business like Destiny 2000 and Unipay2U by deceiving thousands of Innocent people across the country.

FBCCI to assist NBR in collecting pending revenues

n Tribune Business Desk

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) has assured the National Board of Revenue (NBR) of providing all kind of support in the collection of the pending revenues and expediting its modernisation activities. The country’s apex trade body came up with the assurance to the tax authorities at a joint meeting held at NBR headquarters in the city yesterday. NBR Chairman Md Nojibur Rahman presided over the meeting, according to a NBR press release issued yesterday. Attending the meeting, FBCCI Chairman Abdul Matlub Ahmad said: “The revenue authorities will get better results and can collect more pending revenues as long as all efforts are on.” “Both the NBR and FBCCI are important partners,” said Matlub who also assured the revenue authorities of extending all sorts of necessary support from the apex body in future. NBR Chairman Md Nojibur Rahman said: “FBCCI has always been very helpful in strengthening state exchequer and ensure taxpayer-friendly and revenue-friendly culture.” “The support from FBCCI will continue in future while it comes for proper collection of pending revenues from different business,’’ hoped Nojibur. l

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed “Since the Dcs implement the government policy decision, we urged them to identify non-traditional products to export under the scheme of One District One Product as part of the government product diversification initiative,”

DHAKA TRIBUNE

he added. The confidence of global retailers is being restored as the government is launching crackdown on militant, Tofail said, adding that early Tuesday nine militants were killed in a swat team drive at Kaly-

anpur in the capital. Quoting buyers of RMG products, the commerce minister said they will continue import from Bangladesh and no one said anything about closing or sifting business from Bangladesh. Commenting on the death of Dutch-Bangla Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DBCCI) Md Hasan Khaled, Tofail said: “It is a stray incident and we are shocked. The government is investigating into the matter.” Industry Minister Amir Hossain Amu asked DCs to cancel the allocation of plots in Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) areas across the country, which are not in operation. He also directed them to reallocate those plots to real business individuals, who want to run business. “We also seek cooperation from the DCs to look after the inoperative mills.” l

IT Incubation Centre launched n Ishtiaq Husain

The first-ever “IT Incubation Centre” has been launched in the country to promote IT sector by young entrepreneurs. The ICT division under the ministry of Post, Telecommunication and ICT and the private mobile phone operator Banglalink have jointly created this centre at the Software Technology Park (Janata Tower) in Karwan Bazar. Prime Minister’s ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy formally inaugurated the centre at a city hotel yesterday. Inaugurating the IT Incubation Centre, Sajeeb Wazed said: “Nothing is impossible for us to produce

innovative IT products as there are lot of young entrepreneurs in Bangladesh.” The government has undertaken a good number of initiatives on right time whenever is needed to solve all the problems rapidly, he said. Lauding the present government’s activities, Joy said: “We want to establish a knowledge-based society. Bangladesh will become an IT leader as our country is truly a land of opportunities.” State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union Houlin Zhao and Managing Director and CEO of Banglalink Erik Aas also spoke at

the launching ceremony. Of 50 finalists, top 10 got a free office space along with dedicated mentor-ship. The rest of the finalists will be provided with a co-working office space for three months including the accelerator support. According to the officials, the centre will support the youths in executing their innovations seamlessly and help the young entrepreneurs earn expertise in the ICT sector. ICT industry people said the centre will also help to create over 100,000 jobs in the country’s ICT industry over the next 10 years and help to earn foreign currencies as well. l

RMG union leaders call for buyers’ security n Tribune Business Desk Trade union leaders in Bangladesh’s readymade garment industry called on the government to ensure security of foreigners and garment workers so buyers can have their confidence restored after terror attacks. The Confederation of Garment Workers made the call at a press conference in Dhaka yesterday. International buyers of Bangladesh’s garment products feel insecure to visit Bangladesh after recent terror attacks, including Gulshan incident in which 17 for-

eigners were killed. “We are worried after the Gulshan tragedy as victims also included people from garment business. This is a threat for the buyers’ security in Bangladesh,” said Sirajul Islam Rony, convenor of the Confederation. “I think it’s a conspiracy to destroy our apparel industry which is giving jobs to millions,” he said. Sirajul Islam, also president of Bangladesh Garment Workers and Employees League, urged the authorities to ensure security for the RMG stakeholders, foreigners, buy-

Business

ers and buyers’ representatives. He said: “We want to work together in the fight against terrorists to save lives of workers in our clothing industry.” Sirajul Islam asked the workers to remain alert against any terror rumours designed to spread panic among people. Confederation leaders including Abul Hossain, Tapan Saha, Bahrain Sultan Bahar, Shahidullah Badol, Md Rafiq, Asad Choudhury, Abul Kalam Azad, Roksana Akter, Arafat Zakaria, Md Mostafa and Tanvir Hossain were also present at the press conference. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

Citi: GDP growth gathers pace helped in limiting the non-food inflation during May and June. Following the recent upsurge in private sector credit, a highly expansionary fiscal policy and spike in oil prices in the global market, the Citi said, “Prudent macroeconomic management is warranted to contain inflation within 5.80% target set for FY17 in the national budget and monetary policy.” Export posted a healthy 9.72% growth in FY16 to reach US$34.24 billion compared to $31.21 billion in FY15. The export numbers also beat the FY16 target of $33.50 billion by 2.21%. The Ready Made Garments (RMG) sector grew by 10.21% raking in $28.09 billion. “While the growth in RMG sector is commendable, it is also a cause of concern from diversification aspect as it accounted for over 82% of the earnings,” said the banking giant. It said improvement in workers’ safety standards and gradual migration to manufacturing of high-value apparel items have helped in boosting the exports. Exports to the US, the biggest single market for Bangladesh, was resilient despite the suspension of the generalized system of preferences. In FY16, Bangladesh’s exports to US grew 7.5% to $6.20 billion. Given UK’s decision to leave the EU, it is crucial for Bangladesh to ensure existing preferential terms are maintained as UK is one of the major RMG export destinations for Bangladesh. In order to achieve sustainable export growth, it put importance on ensuring infrastructural support and sound business climate is the key to attracting investors to economic zones and achieve the much desired export basket diversification. About the declining remittances despite growth in overseas jobs, it said the Gulf countries, which host a large Bangladeshi diasporas accounting for over 65% of Bangladeshi workers abroad has been bearing the brunt of continued low oil prices. “This has led to lower spending on infrastructure and construction projects, which provides employment for most Bangladeshi workers abroad.” “In addition, the weakening of other currencies in some of these countries in the recent months also put a negative impact on inward remittance.” Bangladesh Bank has projected FX reserves to grow to $33 billion by the end of FY17 in the monetary policy statement and have indicated that large infrastructure projects may be implemented using the reserves under the large current account surplus scenario to stimulate private investment. l

Business

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

UK drugs giant GSK invests £275m despite Brexit n AFP, London Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline on Wednesday revealed plans to invest £275m into three of its British manufacturing sites, shrugging off Brexit worries. The investment - worth $361m or 328m euros - will be ploughed

into facilities in Barnard Castle in northeastern England, Ware in the southeast, and Montrose in Scotland, GSK said in a statement. The move will “boost production and support delivery of its latest innovative respiratory and large molecule biological medicines”, it said, adding that the “vast major-

ity” of products will be exported globally. GSK, which already employs 6,000 staff across its nine manufacturing plants in Britain, also noted that the investment would provide new job opportunities. “Today’s announcement reflects further investment to sup-

port our pharmaceutical pipeline and meet growing demand for our innovative portfolio of newly launched products,” said chief executive Andrew Witty, who had backed the unsuccessful ‘Remain’ campaign in Britain’s June 23 EU membership vote. “It is testament to our skilled UK

workforce and the country’s leading position in life sciences that we are making these investments in advanced manufacturing here,” added Witty. “From their manufacture in the UK, many of these medicines will be sent to patients around the world.” l

CORPORATE NEWS

Meghna Bank Limited has recently held a half-yearly conference for its executives and managers, said a press release. The bank’s managing director, Mohammed Nurul Amin presided over the conference

EXIM Bank has recently opened its 107th branch at Madhabdi in Norsindhi, said a press release. The bank’s managing director, Dr Mohammed Haider Ali Miah inaugurated the branch as chief guest

Walton Plaza has recently held a distributor conference for the year 2016 in Gazipur, said a press release. Chairperson of Walton Group, SM Nurul Alam Rezvi inaugurated the conference as chief guest

Business

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

Trump: US could pull out of World Trade Organisation n AFP, Washington Republican White House nominee Donald Trump suggested that the United States could pull out of the World Trade Organisation if he is elected president. The New York billionaire made the comments during a wide-rang-

ing interview with NBC television’s “Meet the Press,” his first since being crowned as his party’s presidential nominee. Trump, who has already threatened to renegotiate or rip up the North American Free Trade Agreement, also doubled down in the interview on recent comments questioning the US

Japan PM unveils $266bn stimulus plan to boost economy n AFP, Tokyo Japan’s government yesterday announced a stimulus package worth more than 28tn yen ($266bn) in its latest attempt to fire up the lukewarm economy, with the central bank expected to unveil its own measures this week. Policymakers are under pressure to boost growth as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ‘Abenomics’ plan to kickstart the world’s number three economy comes under threat from poor data and sagging business confidence. Abe confirmed the new plan Wednesday but gave few details, except to say about half the total would be fiscal measures including government spending. Cheap loans could also be part of the package. More details are expected next week when the cabinet meets to approve the measures. The move is a response to Britain’s vote last month to quit the European Union. The decision sparked a rally in the safe-haven yen currency that threatened profits at Japan Inc and fanned fears about the already weak economy. Traders buy Japan’s currency as a safe bet in times of turmoil or uncertainty. But it makes exporters less competitive overseas and takes a bite out of their bottom line. The stimulus news yesterday briefly pushed the yen into a dive, giving Tokyo stocks a boost. Our package “has to be something that will support domestic growth and ensure there is a path to a recovery in the economy”, Abe said. However, analysts generally gave a thumbs down to the plan, with some suggesting

that actual new spending may only comprise a fraction of the total. “This is not a very meaningful number,” Martin Schulz, senior research fellow at the Fujitsu Research Institute in Tokyo, said of the whopping 28tn yen figure. “It adds up all sorts of existing and additional incentives and credit guarantees for infrastructure programs that stretch out over years and do not result in immediate spending.”

‘Abenomics engine’

The package would do little to advance Abe’s longer-term goals such as bringing more women into the workforce, said Satoshi Osanai, senior economist at Daiwa Securities. “Abe pledged to ‘rev up the Abenomics engine to the maximum’ but this stimulus won’t be enough for that,” Osanai said. The news comes as speculation mounts that the Bank of Japan will further ease monetary policy after a two-day meeting ends Friday. Among the possible measures, the central bank could expand its mammoth bond-buying plan, a cornerstone of Abe’s push to end years of deflation and kickstart growth. It might also cut interest rates further into negative territory, as it tries to boost lending to people and businesses. But the BoJ’s fledgling negative rate policy, launched in January, was widely criticised as a desperate move to prop up Abe’s failing growth plans. The programme effectively charges commercial banks for keeping excess reserves in the BoJ’s vaults, giving them an incentive to lend more. l

commitment to its NATO allies. He said he would slap punitive import taxes of up to 30% on firms that moved manufacturing activities abroad, citing NAFTA partner Mexico as an example. When show host Chuck Todd objected that such plans would be challenged at the WTO, he responded:

“Doesn’t matter. We’ll renegotiate or pull out. These trade deals are a disaster, Chuck. World Trade Organization is a disaster.” Asked if he was concerned such actions could rattle the world economy - much as the British decision to exit the European Union has done - Trump was dismissive.

“I’m the only one that said Brexit is going to happen,” said the billionaire. “What did it do? The stock market is higher now than when it happened.” Pressed again on whether a fractured Europe was good for America, Trump equivocated, putting forward a vision of Europe as an economic competitor to be bested. l

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

Teen

To date your friend’s ex or not? n Fariha Afroz Dating is tricky on its own. More so if you are in love with your friend’s ex. It is typical to be unsure of what to do in a situation like this. Overthinking, fretting, spending sleepless nights going over what one’s decision should be is common when you fall for your friend’s ex. Everyone has a different outlook on the matter but really, if we want to look at it broadly, is it really fair to judge and hate those who fall for their friend’s ex? A popular opinion is that it is just plain “wrong.” “Personally, I think it just wouldn’t feel right to me to date a friend’s ex, especially if it’s a close friend. Naturally, if I am dating someone, I would want him to get along with my friends.. but that entire dynamic becomes uncomfortable if my boyfriend and my close friend have history,” says Ishmum, a twelfth grader. Tousif Ahmed, a 19 year old “A” level graduate, agrees wholeheartedly. “No way would I date my friend’s ex. Partly because I would know all the reasons my friend left her and would constantly look for those flaws too. Also, I wouldn’t want to get into any sort of fight with my friend. No matter how much he says he is okay with it, no one ever really is.” Maybe the heart wants what it wants, but it does it really lead to making the best decisions? PHOTOS: BIGSTOCK

However, the question arises what if your friend and their ex dissolved their relationship many years ago? Is it okay to then date your friend’s ex, especially if they have gotten over their past relationship. “It doesn’t matter when they dated and for how long, an ex will always be an ex. For me, it is never okay to date a friend’s ex. I wouldn’t even consider any of my friend’s exes in a romantic manner. Total no-no for me,” says Zawad. “I think if my friend dated him quite some time ago and if they were not very serious, I would date him if I had real feelings for him,” says Tasfia Chowdhury. Dating a friend’s ex if they have recently dated is often frowned upon. However, if it is a relationship buried well in the past and both parties are over each other, some argue that perhaps you should allow love to win. However, some people are not as considerate about everyone’s feelings and believe that friendship should triumph over a new flame. “If I like her and she feels the same for me, I wouldn’t really stay away from her for my friend’s sake. They broke up for

People in love cannot fathom why everyone cannot stop living in the past, move on and focus on the future

a reason and he would just have to get over it,” says Shafin, a 21 year old who is currently dating a friend's ex. People in love cannot fathom why everyone cannot stop living in the past, move on and focus on the future even though it might be a little awkward in the beginning. “Most of the times, the code is not strictly followed by everyone all the time. Sometimes you have to think of your own happiness instead of thinking of whether or it will be convenient for everyone or not. I say if you both have actual feelings for each other, go for it. The friend will just have to understand,” adds Tasmia Saha, a 22 year old private university student.

The fact that you’ve developed feelings for your friend’s ex is surely likely to put you in a dilemma about whether you should uphold the friend code or follow your heart. It is advisable for you to be open with the both of them and figure out what is the best course of action. Analyse the situation, weigh the pros and cons and ask yourself if you are ready to deal with the consequences. Your decision needs to be one that you are sure you will not regret once you have set the wheels in motion. We are told to follow our heart but make sure not to disregard your friend’s feeling in the process: think it through. Good luck! l

Feature

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

4 types of people in a doctor’s waiting room

nFariha Afroz In the midst of circulating germs and pressing boredom one feels at the doctor’s office, we manage to come across quite a few stereotypical characters. Here are four types of people you can find in a doctor’s waiting room, some that cure you from their boredom and some that multiply your ailments tenfold. The Chatterbox These are people who love the sound of their own voices and will not stop talking no matter what. They will begin by asking you why you are at the doctor’s and the proceed to tell you why they are there. The conversation will then move onto your personal life. If they sense that you are trying to dodge their questions, they will hit you with the “Come on, you can tell me!’ line. They cannot fathom why you might not want to talk and will not let you have a single quiet moment to yourself.

By the time they are done you will have learned everything there is to know about them, you might just even know them better than you know your best friend. These people will not just tell you all about them, they will also try to pass onto you every bit of knowledge they have gathered about the doctor and nurse, and sometimes even the receptionist. So if you find yourself wondering how you know about the doctor’s spat with his barber, just know Chatty Cathy told you. The Reader They will have their nose buried in a book the entire time they are waiting. Sometimes they will keep their book down and go through all the magazines that’s laid out. You can always see a few books peeking out of their handbag that they couldn’t close due to stuffing them to full capacity. They do not pay attention to anything happening around them and are lost in a world of their own. These

Let’s face it. Your medical visit would not be complete without an encounter with these characters.

are the least annoying people that you are going to find in a doctor’s waiting room. They are just there to catch up on their reading, mind their own business and get checked up. People fight over the coveted seat beside them and you will find yourself to be one of them. The Cougher Sitting beside them is an absolute nightmare. They are constantly coughing and make no effort to

do it quietly. While you cannot blame a sick person for not being quiet, some people just over-do it. For them, coughing is always accompanied by moaning and complaints about how they feel. Even then it is possible to sympathise with them because after all, they are sick. What makes them so annoying is how they will always lean towards you while coughing and never remember to cover their mouth. Coughing etiquette is not rocket science, but

these ones are particularly daft in this department. If you are sitting beside them, it is advisable that you move to a new seat. If you cannot, mentally prepare for the long shower you will have to take when you get home. The Panicky These people really, really want to live a long healthy life. The thought of being sick scares them to death (no pun intended). You will find them with prayer beads in their hands, desperately calling to God to save them. They will go into the doctor’s chamber wideeyed and visibly terrified and come back out in worse shape than they were when going in. They panic about every little ailment, hyperventilating in fear. You might go in with a cold but these people will convince you that there is something horribly wrong and you have very little time to live. It is best to avoid them if you do not want to have a panic attack before your check-up. l

Feature

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

School diaries n Noor-E-Shahrin

something. You were supposed to prepare a presentation on the Industrial Revolution but obviously didn’t since you were too busy watching whichever series was trending back then. Either you face the music or you bunk. The latter seems to be the more popular option. Whatever the reason for bunking the class (the teacher’s, you are tired after a football match, or you have a disregard for school rules), you now have a great story to tell. Siene Haque, a high school student says the moment she will miss the most after graduating is “bunking classes and running away from teachers.”

“S

ometimes you will never know the value of something, until it becomes a memory,” is one of Dr Seuss’ famous quotes. If you had a time machine, which part of your life would you chose to relive? The last summer? The Sundarban or Cox’s Bazaar trip with family? Or maybe your first date. Great answers; but for those of you who answered “school days” - bingo! We all hated the very idea of school; text books, scary teachers, mean classmates, waking up before sunrise, tiring lectures, and worst: EXAMS. But let’s not look back in anger. Here are a few school memories that remind you of the younger days.

Teacher Teacher Even if you were not a complete teacher’s pet, there was this one teacher you just couldn’t help but listen to. All your friends thought s/he was one of you. You loved the subject s/he taught and never bunked the class. S/he would crack jokes, gossip about what’s going on around the campus and turn the lecture into a 3D movie. You would consult him with whatever problems you had in life and he would answer the most trivial of your queries whether he was in a lift or going to the bathroom or in the middle of a lunch break.

“Oops, sorry! Wrong class.” This is probably the most embarrassing thing that someone can go through. Imagine you and your friends running down the long corridor hoping you are not too late for geography. As soon as you think you have reached your door and you turn the knob and rush into the classroom: you see strange faces. Those aren’t your classmates and that doesn’t look like the geography teacher! All those curious eyes turn to you and there is a moment of silence and utter confusion. And then you awkwardly try to say something like “Extremely sorry for the interruption” but of course it sounds gibberish as you are too busy fleeing from that room of embarrassment. After a few seconds of exchanging looks at each other you break into unstoppable hysteria. If it was possible to die of embarrassment, we would all be zombies. The Cheaters If you were an expert at copying answers from your straight-A friend, hats off to you. The victory of successfully pulling off a great strategy for ensuring passing marks always make for great memories we love to look back on. Lab Tantrums You were supposed to be following the instructions on the question paper and jotting down data. But no, you solemnly swore to each another that you were up to no good. So you and you lab partner do the exact opposite and randomly mix two chemical solutions to create colourful solutions or light up a flame and try boiling liquids to check if a pungent gas evolves. Hail troublemakers!

Things of course, got complicated, along with our thought-process, when we saw things from a high-schooler’s point of view

The Chits Now, speaking of the time when we believed in fairies and everything on Nickelodeon, we hadn’t learned about texting or the internet. We had one other way

of communicating: the chits. The entire English lesson on verbs and nouns, we would write silly things on pieces of paper and pass on to our friend.

The Bunking The bell rings after lunch break. You and your gang head for the classroom. You see your history teacher enter the room before you and you suddenly remember

First Love You just hit puberty. You can feel the changes in your physique and mind. Soon enough your eyes spot a beautiful girl or a good looking guy (whatever gets your hormones on overdrive) and voila! You have a crush and then you go on dates. Of course, when you were too young to go out without adult supervision, you take your significant other to the school cafeteria or sneak out of everyone’s sight to a less crowded place. You spend all day pulling your friends’ legs about their new crushes. But of course in those immature days, when we first started exploring this new-found attraction towards the opposite sex, we didn’t know a thing. Most of us didn’t even realise when we broke up. Things of course, got complicated, along with our thought-process, when we saw things from a high-schooler’s point of view. But first love is hard to forget, or so says a cliché. There were the sports events, the field trips, the parties on campus, the bitter-sweet punishments by the teachers, and the friends. Finally, we had our golden school years, years we cannot forget, years we’d truly say were the best times of our life. l

Biz Info

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

| notice |

| food |

Temporary closure of British Council offices in Bangladesh

Absolute Thai’s Mango with Sticky Rice

The British Council has temporarily closed its offices in Bangladesh in order to review their security procedures, the British Council announced today. The organisation hopes to reopen its offices and resume normal services to the public once new security measures are in place. Barbara Wickham, director of British Council Bangladesh said “We recognise that people in Bangladesh are increasingly concerned about safety and security in public places. The safety and security of our staff and customers is always our top priority. Therefore we have taken the decision to temporarily close our offices in order to review our security practices. During this temporary closure, our customer services will be responding to queries through email

bd.enquiries@britishcouncil.org” The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. They create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide. Working in

more than 100 countries with 7000 staff – including 2000 teachers – they work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year by teaching English, sharing the Arts and delivering education and society programs. l

| meals |

Kebab Factory’s special Tandoori Chicken Different from a regular tandoori chicken, Kabab Factory’s special tandoori chicken is made from a beautiful blend of spices specially imported from Dubai and Pakistan. The item is made by their Pakistani chef who adds

his own special touch, making it one of the most delectable dishes offered on their menu. The price of their dish is Tk240 per piece. Currently Kabab Factory is also offering breakfast at their Uttara branch. For more information,

contact their Uttara branch (House 2, Lake Drive Road, Rabindra Sarani, Sector 7, Ph: +8801754244455), or their Gulshan Branch (House #9/A, Road #53, Gulshan-2, Ph: +8801941111333, +8801941111555). l

Thai desserts are a gateway to a new angle of sweet flavours. A food gastro-adventure that’s sure to never get boring, Thai dishes are full of flavours. Out of all the fascinating Thai desserts a real crowd-pleasing and unforgettable sweet dish is Mango with Sticky rice. Cold desserts are usually preferred in many parts of the world, but summer for Thai’s is the coming of the mango season. In Thai cuisine this fruit is used in savoury dishes but is more popular for desserts. The best part being it does not melt as ice cream does. At Absolute Thai this dish is paired with the juiciest Thai

mango with sticky rice that has been soaked in coconut milk to allow each grain to contain the rich coconut aroma. In fact, the coconut sticky rice is made to complement the mango, not the other way around. The dessert is then topped with an extra layer of coconut milk, which is slightly salted and sweetened. Head to Absolute Thai if you have a chronic sweet tooth or an occasional sweet craving to try this dish, it will surely satisfy your dessert yearnings. For more information contact House 52, Road 12/A, Block-H, Banani Dhaka or call 01610-50002. l

| dining |

Pizza Hut introduces thin crust pizza

Pizza Hut is a US based international restaurant chain that is home to one of the world’s favorite food: pizzas and much more. Pizza Hut, in Bangladesh, is committed to serving customers with the very best food. Pizza Hut, in an effort to listen to the customer voice out in the market is constantly evolving, responding to changing consumer demands. As a result, they’ve introduced the thin crust pizza, responding to customer’s changing preferences. Akku Chowdhury, announced the news along with the news of a

few other additions to the menu on July, 26 Tuesday at Pizza Hut Gulshan. TV personality Sharmin Lucky, Actress Bonna Mirza and Tushti, Renowned singer Topu and TV host Munmun joined the festivities. Akku Chowdhury, the MD and CEO of Transcom Foods, said in a message, “We are following the Yum! Roadmap of the global journey of Pizza Hut to build the most loved, fastest growing brand. We plan to evolve in Bangladesh too, with new and exciting things to keep our valued customers coming back to us.” l

20 Editorial

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

TODAY

Inform to misinform When information is scarce, rumours serve as a social coping mechanism to deal with uncertainty and assist in social sense-making even if it means not all perspectives are equally valid PAGE 21

A history of violence This is nothing but a fallacy, and when one gets rid of the rose-tinted lenses, one can see that there is very little to idealise about the distant past PAGE 22

MEHEDI HASAN

Not yet October 4

A tipping point in Pakistan The Qur’an reserves a very special place in hell for hypocrites, and those who exploit a great faith for selfish, personal ends must surely be hypocrites of the worst kind. In whatever shape they come, in whichever context they exercise their malevolence, hypocrites should not ‘be taken as friends’ but treated as deceivers and cowards 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.

ajuk’s action to close down establishments before the October 4 deadline is an unfair move that fails to consider its full implications. Business-people and entrepreneurs have invested crores in ventures such as restaurants -- the proprietor of Dawat had invested Tk45 crore -and shutting these down suddenly will result in terrible losses from which many of them may not be able to recover. And the fact that the eviction drive was started a well before the issued deadline of October 4 shows the carelessness on part of the mobile court that led the drive. But that is only a fraction of the cost. The government would do well to consider the human cost of such a move. These establishments are crucial to the economy, providing much-needed employment to thousands across the capital. Where will these people go? With thousands losing their jobs, the inevitable outcome would be a significant amount of the population who are unemployed. As urban planning experts and social scientists have constantly iterated, this might result in, contrary to the government’s plan, more youths who are ripe for the picking by extremist groups. The nation would benefit from a well-thought-out plan which addresses the issues that lead to extremism in the first place, instead of ad hoc eviction drives which have little or no connection to the issue at hand. Yesterday’s Operation Storm 26 in Kallyanpur, which resulted in the death of nine militants and the capture of one, is the right way to go about tackling terrorism in the nation, not destroying businesses and livelihoods. Though it is understandable that the government is under pressure, in the wake of the Holey Artisan and Sholakia attacks, we must be careful that the action taken is helpful in the fight against terrorism, and does not harm ordinary citizens in the process.

The nation would benefit from a well-thoughtout plan, instead of ad hoc eviction drives which have little or no connection to the issue at hand

Opinion

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

Inform to misinform Rumours always spread faster than facts

We need to be a little more careful about what information we share

n Md Kamruzzaman

any experts believe the Arab Spring was sparked by social media. During the initial Ebola outbreak, hashtags were used in social media to keep uninformed citizens in the loop. However, social media is also a hub for misinformation. The online “detective” work done by Reddit users infamously misidentified a student as a perpetrator of the Boston Marathon Bombing, and several media outlets ran this story. Social media also sensationalised fear during the Ebola crisis. People ran amok with fear. Apparently, the odds of dying from Ebola is one in two million, while it’s one in seven for heart diseases for an average American. Just like teenagers with raging hormones, global netizens always dump beautiful facts for hot rumours. Bangladeshi netizens also know how to kick facts to the curb. While the whole hostage situation in Gulshan was causing nationwide pandemonium, internet Sherlocks were busy cooking up stories and publishing them on Facebook. These net detectives also stirred up rumours when SP Babul Akhter

was brought in by the authority for questioning. Many online news portals published false news of Babul Akhter confessing to killing his wife. The amount of likes and shares those click-bait stories received, even after an official statement was released, was staggering. So why do we invest in false rumours or unverified sources? According to a study on viral images, emotions like curiosity, amazement, interest, astonishment, and uncertainty have high viral attention. Uncertainty is the strongest of these emotions, and can catalyse the spread of fear and misinformation. The longer an organisation takes to release official information, the more people will work against the organisation to obtain any information that gets rid of the uncertainty. And let’s be honest -- we are always on Facebook. We have an appetite for up-to-date information which goes up at times of crisis. Traditional print and electronic media face institutional constraints and legal bindings to feed us real-time information. Hence, curious minds will always snoop around in social networks like Facebook where information is more easily and readily available.

Similarly, sources in proximity to the crisis event are often perceived to be credible sources. And they can aid in spreading falsified information. This reminds me of a parable made famous by Jalal-ud-Din Rumi, the 13th-century Sufi. An elephant broke into the vicinity of a city full of blind people. Since none of them ever saw an elephant, they sent three blind men to inspect the animal. The first man felt the trunk of the elephant, the second the leg, and the third the ear. All of them came back and described the elephant -- a giant snake, a pillar, and a broad fan, respectively -- based on what they had experienced. It is our evolutionary instinct to make sense of things, and manage risk in the event of a crisis. Our inner blind men find their own way to address the unknown elephant roaming in our bubble. When information is scarce, rumours serve as a social coping mechanism to deal with uncertainty and assist in social sense-making, even if it means not all perspectives are equally valid. Is there any way to stop the spread of misinformation? The answer is “no.” If there’s no rumour in social media, there’ll always be rumours on the streets because people talk.

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When information is scarce, rumours serve as a social coping mechanism to deal with uncertainty and assist in social sensemaking even if it means not all perspectives are equally valid

But authorities can help in curbing this problem. They need to understand that we starve for updates whenever a crisis happens. They need to provide relevant information at the earliest. Maybe they can be more active on social media rather than relying on traditional media all the time to dissipate information. Most importantly, netizens need to be more rational before capitalising on a trending story. We need to do our own research, and should scour as many relevant and credible sources as possible. In our instant-gratification society, it might be tough, but it’s worth our time. It’s better to be an informed netizen than to be one with posts that says Facebook will donate $1 for every share. l Md Kamruzzaman is a Research Assistant at the Institute of Informatics and Development (iidbd.org).

Long Form

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

A history of violence

We are living in terribly violent times. But was the past better? This is the first part of a two-part long form

Murder and mayhem is not a recent phenomenon

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very little to idealise about the distant past. Prior to the sprinkling of numbers and stats, perhaps it is for the best if a cursory analysis of cultural products -- both of past and present -- are presented. These cultural products can provide some insights into society’s mindset as they often serve as mirrors in which cultural values and ideals are reflected. Take Game of Thrones for instance. The work of epic high fantasy penned by the now-fabled George RR Martin, along with its HBO adaption, has proven to be controversial at times, with its overdose of gore and explicit content. Yet, people fail to realise that its unsavoury plot elements do not solely owe their origin to modern societal norms of freedom of expression, or Martin’s creative prowess. Rather they can be attributed to the inspiration Martin took right of the pages of history (fun fact: Martin is a history buff ). Let us juxtapose two similar literary or fictional figures from

complete in order to repent for killing his own family in a fit of induced rage. The jealous Hera was behind it. If the completion of the task brought any benefit to the innocents and advocated justice, it was purely out of happenstance. Hercules’s ordeals mostly showcased his prodigious strength. His modern counterpoint though, the last son of Krypton, not only possesses greater strength, but adheres to a strict code of honour founded on the sanctity of life, evident in his refusal to kill even his archenemies, and in the fact that he lives a life of unwavering dedication to people. Indeed, in Snyder’s darker film adaptation Man of Steel, Superman is visibly traumatised in being forced to kill General Zod, and the large-scale destruction he wrought presented a moral drama, not to mention a backlash from the fans. Interestingly, Siegel and Shuster’s original take on this cultural icon depicted him as overly aggressive, and in the 1930s

n Syed Raiyan Nuri Reza

o doubt, the grim shadow of the terrorist attack at Dhaka still has all of us reeling. Many will see this event as the latest chapter of a much grander narrative of moral decadence which so far chronicled the harrowing tale of 9/11, the brutal story of armed conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Gaza, and lately Syria, and the terror attack episodes that recently scarred Istanbul, Ankara, Beirut, and Brussels. Not to forget the Orlando mass shooting, the Ataturk airport attack, the truck incident in Nice, France, and many others. In addition, the violent saga of the last century is still not quite forgotten, and the bloodshed over two devastating world wars has forever stained the pages of history. Even at the exclusion of real world cases of violence, many have to confront it in its graphic depictions, and at times what seems like celebrations in books, TV shows, video games, and other media products. In the face of all these, many have expressed the sentiment that we live in violent times, and things must have been better off in the past.

This is nothing but a fallacy, and when one gets rid of the rose-tinted lenses, one can see that there is very little to idealise about the distant past

This is by no means an unsubstantiated statement -- a survey conducted by Bennett Haselton and the esteemed Steven Pinker presented 265 Internet users with five pairs of historical periods and asked them which they thought had higher rates of violent death. In each case, the respondents identified the latest period present -- 20th century England rather than 14th century England, warfare in the 2000s rather than the 1950s, homicide in the US in the 2000s rather than the 1970s, and modern Western societies instead of the days of huntergatherer groups as the more violent epochs, whereas the reverse turned out to be true. I am here to say that this is nothing but a fallacy, and when one gets rid of the rose-tinted lenses, one can see that there is

the past and the present. One can argue that Hercules was to the Greeks what Superman is to us. Both are men of extraordinary strength and have been conferred the status of a hero. Yet, with our modern day sensibilities and attitudes, it is hard to justify the status of hero in the former’s case. A man who happens to be so short-tempered that he clubbed his music teacher, Linus, dead for reprimanding him -- can he really be a hero? More disturbing yet is that this act was only mentioned in passing, and has no moral significance whatsoever. Even the most celebrated acts of Hercules -- the twelve labours -- are not heroic in nature. They were nigh impossible tasks thought up by the divinely inspired and sadistic king Eurystheus that Hercules had to

comics, he had no qualms over the harm caused by his unparalleled strength, being illustrated in throwing villainous characters in such a rough manner that it was only natural to presume that fatalities occurred. It was only in the later versions that Superman shows consideration and care in the use of his powers. Our preliminary analysis -- a generous term, I am aware -- in the light of all these imply that far from being more tolerant to violence, we have grown averse to it, and when we do incorporate it into works of fiction, it is in a nuanced and complex manner, done mostly to frame ethical questions rather than to glorify it. Sometimes, violence is used for the sake of historical realism. That’s quite telling. l Syed Raiyan Nuri Reza writes from Iran.

Opinion

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

A tipping point in Pakistan The misues of religious power is a delicate matter regression has occurred. We saw, for instance, how Indian conservatives rallied successfully to mobilise public opinion during the 1980s after the Supreme Court ruled that Shah Bano, an elderly lady, deserved far more than the pittance she was getting as alimony. The money offered by her exhusband was not enough to buy one meal, let alone survive for a month. This was an instance of how a progressive Muslim law had been reversed by gender brutality, by men who treat wives and other female relatives as their possession rather than individual human beings. Such a mindset takes shelter in false religiosity. This problem has become a crisis in Pakistan. The Hindu reports that “Some of [CII’s] rulings are that DNA tests were not acceptable as primary evidence in rape cases and a model bill prohibiting mixing of genders in schools, hospitals, and offices.

Islam gave women inheritance rights before anyone else did

n MJ Akbar

iven the track record, and growing influence of regressive conservatives in Pakistan, this news item was unusual. The Pakistan senate’s Functional Committee on Human Rights has recommended that the Council of Islamic Ideology, be dissolved. The CII was established in 1962 by the semi-benevolent dictator Field Marshal Ayub Khan, when he forced through his new constitution, to recommend ways by which all laws could be in conformity with religious doctrine. Demanding dissolution of a constitutional body is hardly routine, but the tipping point seems to have been CII’s suggestion that husbands should be allowed “light” violence against “errant” wives, with the decision on quantum of crime and punishment being left, naturally, to the husband.

It is true that CII’s recommendations are not mandatory, but they affect public discourse. This preposterous instance of misogyny and, indeed, misogamy, made headlines across the world, eliciting ridicule mostly. But ridicule is an inadequate response. The misuse of religious power is always a delicate matter, since vested interests always blanket themselves in hypocritical piety. So a little perspective is in order. First, Council of Islamic Ideology has been misnamed. It may be a council of sorts, although it surely does not meet the first requirement of any democratic committee, which is representation from all sides of the house. In any case, it is not Islamic. When Islam defined a social and moral code in the 7th century, its revolutionary vision was far ahead of its times, particularly on gender issues. This is why women were among the most eager of converts. Islam

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gave women inheritance rights and a form of alimony when no one else did. But over time, male monopoly over the interpretation of law has ruined its liberal original spirit and turned practice into male gender aggression. Islamic jurisprudence includes the concept of ijtihad, by which you can interpret the law in order to preserve its basic intention. Let us take a very familiar example. The holy Qur’an enjoins the faithful to cut off the hands of thieves. But this is no longer done in any Muslim country, because societies have found other ways to control the problem. In Pakistan, the utterly nonbenevolent dictator General Zia ul Haq tried to revive this punishment during his long and brutal decade in power. He failed. If there can be amendment in one area of law in the light of changing conditions, there can surely be in any other where

distorted interpretations of religious and cultural norms” and urged the country’s legislators to ensure that, in a democracy, “laws impacting women are passed through parliamentary consensus.” Implicit in this advocacy is the belief that obscurantism will not survive, let alone thrive, in parliament. The Qur’an reserves a very special place in hell for hypocrites, and those who exploit a great faith for selfish, personal ends must surely be hypocrites of the worst kind. In whatever shape they come, in whichever context they exercise their malevolence, hypocrites should not “be taken as friends” but treated as deceivers and cowards. Hopefully, Pakistan will unmask and expose its hypocrites. l MJ Akbar is Minister of State for External Affairs of India. This article was previously published in The Sunday Guardian.

The Qur’an reserves a very special place in hell for hypocrites, and those who exploit a great faith for selfish, personal ends must surely be hypocrites of the worst kind. In whatever shape they come, in whichever context they exercise their malevolence, hypocrites should not ‘be taken as friends’ but treated as deceivers and cowards

While the Council has been proactive in taking cognisance of complaints under the dreaded blasphemy law, it has refused to entertain pleas for measures to punish those who file false complaints under the law.” What is, however, encouraging is that influential sections of Pakistani opinion are ready to challenge such abuse of authority. People are willing to speak up. Members of the human rights committee are one, but not the only, example. A major Pakistani English daily, Dawn, condemned the Council for Islamic Ideology for flooding “the airwaves with

24 Sport

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

TOP STORIES

From happy days to a tough world Like any kid next door in Bangladesh, Taskin Ahmed’s cricketing zest was limited to the field close to his Mohammadpur home. He does not have stories to tell where he had to travel miles to attend cricket practice. PAGE 25

‘Absence of Russian stars damages Rio’ President Vladimir Putin yesterday said the absence of some Russian stars at the Rio Games would hit the quality of the competition. “The absence of Russians lower the intensity of the fight,” said Putin. PAGE 26

Sussex to miss Fizz’s magic n Tribune Report A shoulder injury has ruled out Mustafizur Rahman from the remainder of Sussex’s group phase matches in the Royal London One-Day Cup and the NatWest Twenty20 Blast. Mustafizur had an MRI taken a couple of days ago, after he missed Sussex’s latest one-day game. The Bangladesh Cricket Board has asked him to do more tests, and it is still undecided whether he will return to Dhaka within the week. BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury said yesterday that the board will wait for another medical assessment before deciding on what he should do next. “He has to undergo another assessment [yesterday], after which we will be able to know whether he will stay back in the UK for further medical attention or if he will return to Bangladesh,” said Nizamuddin. BCB’s media committee chairman Jalal Younus said Mustafizur

New twist in Saintfiet-BFF tale n Mazhar Uddin

Aussies build up lead over Sri Lankans Australia took command yesterday of a low-scoring Test against Sri Lanka, building up an 86-run first innings lead before dismissing opener Kulsan Perera with the last ball of a rain-affected day in Pallekele. PAGE 27

From hero to zero? On 36 occasions last season, Argentina striker Gonzalo “El Pipita” Higuain boosted Napoli dreams of ending a 26-year title drought as he inspired with goalscoring feats in the Scudetto race with Italian champions Juventus. PAGE 28

could even have surgery in the UK given the state of his injury. “He will need another MRI to understand the exact nature of his injury. There’s some extra fluid on his shoulder. The MRI will tell us what he should be doing thereafter – an injection or a surgery. We will hear the advice of the specialists in the UK and our doctors and physio,” said Younus. The Sussex county side said in a statement that, “the 20-yearold is suffering from a shoulder injury, and, under the direction of the BCB, is due to have a scan this week to ascertain whether or not he will be fit enough to play in any knockout matches should Sussex qualify for the latter stages of either competition”. Mustafizur, who arrived late in Sussex’s one-day and T20 campaigns, took four wickets in his first match for the county before going wicketless in his second outing. He was scheduled to play at least five more games in the group phase of both competitions. l

A new twist has appeared in Tom Sainfiet’s appointment as Bangladesh football team’s head coach after the Bangladesh Football Federation postponed his signing ceremony yesterday. But Saintfiet, who the BFF said fell “sick” leading to the cancellation of the morning ceremony, had a meeting with the federation president Kazi Salahuddin at his office later in the day. There was still no official agreement between the two sides with news circulating that he had told a South African website of his desire to take Nigeria to the 2018 World Cup semifinal. BFF general secretary Abu Nayeem Sohag conceded that they will have nothing to do if the Belgian receives an offer from Nigeria. “[Tom] Saintfiet may not stay with Bangladesh if he gets an official offer from Nigeria and we have nothing to do but accept it,” he said. Saintfiet is likely to leave for Belgium on July 31 for two weeks, which puts more doubt into the deal. But he insisted that he will

remain with the Bangladesh team till the Bhutan match next month. “I will remain with Bangladesh till the Bhutan match as I will go to Chittagong (today) to watch the Bangladesh Premier League

game. I have watched all the first round games and I had enough experience and I will return to Dhaka on Sunday after completing the second round and then I will return to my country for two weeks. I will come back on August

Nigeria is my priority and that is why I have not taken up the Bangladesh job. I have postponed the signing and I want to go to the World Cup with Nigeria

17 and the national camp for the Bhutan game will start from August 21,” said Saintfiet outside Salahuddin’s office in the city’s Panthapath. Saintfiet said some “issues” remain unclear about his contract which is delaying the signing. “There are still some issues which are not clear that’s the main reason I am yet to sign the contract. But there’s no doubt I am with Bangladesh till the Bhutan match. I will think about the future after the qualifier round and even I am also planning for the practice match against Maldives,” he said. But on July 24 the Belgian told Supersport that he didn’t sign with Bangladesh because he has high hopes with Nigeria. The development came after Frenchman Paul Le Guen refused to take over Nigeria’s head coach offer. “Nigeria is my priority and that is why I have not taken up the Bangladesh job. I have postponed the signing and I want to go to the World Cup with Nigeria and not just that but to reach the semis of the World Cup because they have the quality to do so. I am ready to live in Nigeria,” said Saintfiet. l

Sport

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

Of Ctg Mohammedan and forgotten glories Hoque from n Shishir Chittagong Every time Chittagong Mohammedan took part in the professional football league, they finished above Chittagong Abahani, that too with notable margins. The last time they played in the top-flight was back in the 2010-11 season while their local counterparts have emerged as a new powerhouse in the domestic football arena. So what has gone wrong with the Chittagong Black and Whites, despite being one of the oldest clubs of the country, having been established in 1950? The club building is currently situated at the oldest locality of the port city in Sadarghat area, having only three rooms under a one-storied tin-shed house. The club was first located at the home of Chittagong Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin’s father in Anderkilla before being moved to Sadarghat in 1972 replacing the Quaid-e-Azam Library. The same year, Chittagong Mohammedan moved to a new place, Kazir Dewri Khaja Recreation Club, ran by Bangladesh cricketer Tamim Iqbal’s father. However, the club later changed its name to Chittagong Abahani in 1982, informed Mohammad Ledu who is now the technical advisor of the Chittagong Sky Blues. The club has not been active in the local football leagues after getting relegated from the premier league in 2011. They however, have an affiliated club name - Mohammedan Blues – that is mainly youth-based and active in only local football. Chittagong Mohammedan were once one of the most popular clubs

A fruit stall, housed inside the Chittagong Mohammedan Sporting Club tent in the port city outside the capital and one among few successful teams before the liberation war in 1971. Players like Kazi Salahuddin and Abdus Salam Murshedy played for the club for a season in the late 1970s. Even Badal Roy and Monem Munna also played for the club. The club won numerous first division titles till the premier league started in Chittagong in 2002 and after that, they became champions in the Chittagong premier league three times in a row. The professional football league began its journey in Bangladesh in 2006-07 where they finished seventh. They end-

ed fourth the following season out of 11 clubs, finishing above current premier league clubs like Farashganj Sporting Club, Rahmatganj MFS, Arambagh Krira Sangha, Muktijoddha Sangsad and Chittagong Abahani. They played four seasons in the top-flight and finished above Chittagong Abahani on every occasion. Their last appearance in the premier league in 2010-11 saw them relegated with 17 points, which was still 12 points more than their counterparts, and both were relegated. Prior to last season, Chittagong Abahani have always been fighting to avoid relegation.

DHAKA TRIBUNE

“The reason they [Chittagong Abahani] are now one of the top clubs in Bangladesh is because of their current financial stability [through Tarafder Ruhul Amin]. They now have money to splash from the sponsors. On the other hand, we have been unable to improve our financial situation in order to stay in the race,” club general secretary Syed Shahabuddin Shamim told Dhaka Tribune yesterday. Shamim was also elected as the general secretary of Bangladesh Chess Federation this year. “We have a plan to make the football team fully active again. I

From happy days to a tough world

n Minhaz Uddin Khan Like any kid next door in Bangladesh, Taskin Ahmed’s cricketing zest was limited to the field close to his Mohammadpur home. He does not have stories to tell where he had to travel miles to attend cricket practice. Rather, he has tales where every evening it was either his father or mother who used to chase Taskin back home so that he could finish the school homework. Education was the main priority for his family. As a child, he never had any ambition to become a cricketer and it was only a Dha-

ka-based Under-12 competition which gave Taskin a first taste of competitive cricket. His height was the main reason behind him growing up as a pace bowler. People found his pace and bounce lethal from an early age and that showed when he injured 17 batsmen in his first-class debut for Dhaka Metropolis in 2011. Taskin hardly faced any challenge growing up as a cricketer but since 2014, several incidents have made him into a stronger character. Two years ahead of his Bangladesh debut, Taskin had to deal with a knee injury for around 18 months. He made his international debut in the World Twenty20 in 2014 when he replaced his idol Mashrafe bin Mortaza against Australia. Two months later, the world heard of the young Bangladesh pacer after he took a five-for in his

ODI debut against India in Mirpur. Taskin entered a Bangladesh team in disarray but only saw part of the difficulty as he was not playing Test matches. He was there during the golden phase since the Zimbabwe series in 2014 and into 2015 when they won four ODI series in a row. But the good times came to an end during this year’s World T20 when he was one of two Bangladesh bowlers to get banned for an illegal bowling action. He said he was broken from inside and to heal him, the team decided to carry him along but this was making things difficult for him. Taskin could not accept the fact that he had to sit in the hotel while his team mates were in the stadium either practising or playing a game. The desperate situation made him plan an escape. Taskin did not

want to face questions of his suspension following his return so after consulting a few senior players, he went on a holiday in Sri Lanka and Maldives. But that hardly changed things as even today, he is haunted by queries of his comeback to action. Taskin is currently readying himself for the re-assessment of his bowling action and most likely he will head to an International Cricket Council accredited bowling action review lab before England reach Dhaka in September this year. The 21-year old from Dhaka has his fingers crossed but his intentions are strong to make a comeback from what he considers is the biggest challenge he faced till date. He is well backed by his team, family and friends but knows all too well that the road ahead is quite lonely. l

alone provide most of the finances of the club. It has been really tough to get sponsors. We are looking for a sponsor to boost our financial situation. We already talked to a company and hope to reach a decision within a month,” added Shamim, who has been the general secretary of the club since the early 1990s. Veteran sports organiser Ali Abbas pointed out two reasons for Chittagong Mohammedan’s fall in the football arena. During the Mayor’s Cup in 1998, there was a controversy regarding a fixed match between Chittagong Mohammedan and Chittagong Abahani following which the club was not the same again. “They were hattrick champions in the Chittagong league and after that, they started playing in the Bangladesh league. They spent a lot of money to play in that level but when they got relegated, they had no financial stability,” said Abbas, who has been the club’s organising secretary since 1980. These days, the club is looking to add a sponsor’s name - Kingfisher East Bengal of Kolkata - and they discussed about the matter with the football federation. Nobody in the club wanted to talk about their president Shah Alam Babul’s (vice chairman of Prime Insurance Company) role behind the lack of development of the side. It was learnt that the election will be held to bring a new president who can look after the club financially. If everything goes according to plan, the club will try to play in the second tier from next season. They also have a plan to reconstruct the old building to create more spaces for practice. l

Sport

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

Tamim hails change in mindset n Tribune Report

The former and current national cricketers played a friendly football match during the Tigers’ conditioning camp at the Sher-e-Bangla National stadium yesterday. The current cricketers won the game 2-0 where Mushfiqur Rahim and Nasir Hossain scored a goal each BCB

Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal yesterday credited a change in mindset for Bangladesh’s impressive performances in the last 18 months. He said this during the ongoing fitness and conditioning camp at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. “Bangladesh have improved a lot in recent times. Previously, we were told what to do, as far as maintaining fitness is concerned. But now, times have changed. These days we don’t need any reminders or instructions. Because we all know what to do in order to maintain our fitness in the long term,” said Tamim. “Not only the senior players but

Locals say Games to hurt Brazil

Jamal, Russel eye first league win

n Reuters, Rio De Janeiro

n Tribune Report

Most Brazilians are pessimistic about impact on their country of the Olympic Games, scheduled to begin Aug. 5 in Rio de Janeiro, according to a study by polling group Ibope published in the Estado de S.Paulo daily newspaper. According to the survey, 60 percent of Brazilians believe the games, expected to cost about 40 billion reais ($12.2 billion), will bring more harm than good to Brazil, while 32 percent believe the games will bring more benefits to the country. Concern about the games has grown in Brazil as the country falls deeper into its worst recession in decades, preparations have been delayed, and evidence of corruption in contracts for the Olympics has been uncovered by police. l

Reigning champions Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club and former treble winners Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra will target their first victory in this season’s Bangladesh Premier League when the two sides take the field in different matches in Chittagong’s MA Aziz Stadium today. Sheikh Jamal will face a spirited Uttar Baridhara Club, the only winning side in the first round, in the day’s second match at 7:30pm while Sheikh Russel, the Bengal Blues, will be eyeing their first ever point when they play Rahmatganj MFS in the first match at 4:30pm. Sheikh Russel are the only losing side in the first round as they were stunned by Uttar Baridhara in the inaugural match. Out of six matches in the first round, five

matches ended in draws with the same result - 1-1. The minnows gave a hint that the premier league will be a different ball game this season. Along

Sheikh Jamal will face a spirited Uttar Baridhara in the day’s second match while Sheikh Russel will be eyeing their first ever point when they play Rahmatganj with Uttar Baridhara, Arambagh Krira Sangha, Rahmatganj MFS and Feni Soccer Club exhibited promising displays against some of the better clubs.

The foreign players kept their dominance in the highest goal-scorers’ list. A total of 11 goals were scored in six matches with the foreigners scoring seven and locals netting four. Three red cards were dished out in the first round and the foreign players were on the receiving end every time. Sheikh Russel faced Rahmatganj twice this season in the Federation Cup and Independence Cup and they beat the old Dhaka outfit on both the occasions. The only time Sheikh Jamal played Uttar Baridhara this season, they won 1-0 in the group stage of the Independence Cup. In the league’s 201314 season, Sheikh Jamal defeated Uttar Baridhara with 8-0, 6-0 margins in two matches out of three. Uttar Baridhara are now a better side while Sheikh Jamal seem to be weaker than the previous seasons.l

the junior cricketers in the side are also extremely serious about their fitness. This is big improvement I reckon. Around 15-20 Bangladesh national cricketers have slowly but gradually built up a culture. To continue that successful culture, we sacrifice a lot. These little things have changed Bangladesh cricket,” he added. The Tigers have been working on their fitness for a week now and are expected to continue the conditioning camp for a further seven days. Bangladesh’s last international assignment was the 2016 World Twenty20 in India earlier this year. England are scheduled to tour Bangladesh in September-October this year. l

Gomes seals ‘dream move’ n Reuters Barcelona have completed the signing of Portugal midfielder Andre Gomes from Valencia in a deal that could eventually be worth 70 million euros , the Spanish champions said yesterday. The 22-year-old, who has signed a five-year contract, described the move as a dream come true. Barca had reached agreement with Valencia last week to acquire the attacking midfielder, who was in the Portugal squad that won their first major trophy at Euro 2016. He came off the bench in his country’s 2-0 semi-final win over Wales but did not appear in the final against hosts France. Gomes said it had been a lifelong ambition to play for Barca, whom he chose ahead of Real Madrid.l

Putin: Absence of Russian stars damages Rio Games n AFP, Moscow President Vladimir Putin yesterday said the absence of some Russian stars at the Rio Games would hit the quality of the competition. “It’s obvious that the absence of Russian competitors - leaders in many disciplines - markedly lowers, and will lower the intensity of the fight and that means the spectacle at the upcoming events,” Putin told the members of the Russian Olympic team in the Kremlin. “The other sportsmen understand that the quality of their med-

als will be different.” The Russian strongman was speaking to 49 competitors including track and field stars Yelena Isinbayeva and Sergey Shubenkov who will miss the Games. He slammed the broader decision to exclude some Russian athletes from the Games over bombshell revelations of state-sponsored doping. “The current situation does not only go beyond the legal sphere, it goes beyond common sense,” Putin said. More than 100 Russian athletes will miss the Olympics.l

Members of Russia’s Olympic team, the country’s Olympic Committee president Alexander Zhukov and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill pose for a photograph at Sobornaya Square in Moscow’s Kremlin yesterday AFP

Sport

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016 SRI LANKA 1ST INNINGS 117 (de Silva 24, Perera 20; Lyon 3-12) AUSTRALIA 1ST INNINGS R J Burns b Herath 3 D Warner b Pradeep 0 U Khawaja lbw b Herath 26 S Smith st Chandimal b Herath 30 A Voges c Mendis b Pradeep 47 M Marsh b Sandakan 31 P Nevill c Perera b Herath 2 O’Keefe c Mendis b Sandakan 23 M Starc c Perera b Sandakan 11 N Lyon lbw b Sandakan 17 J Hazlewood not out 2 Extras: (b 4, lb 7) 10

QUICK BYTES Sri Lanka jails Australian cricket streaker A Sri Lankan court yesterday jailed and fined an Australian streaker for indecent exposure during a cricket Test between the nations, an act which local Buddhist priests found offensive. The man, identified as Alexander James from Queensland, was jailed for one week for his naked run across the ground in Pallekele near the picturesque town of Kandy during Tuesday’s washed-out final session on day one.

Total: (all out, 79.2 overs) 203 Bowling Pradeep 16-6-36-2, Herath 25-8-49-4, Dilruwan Perera 14-1-43-0, Sandakan 21.23-58-4, Mathews 3-1-6-0 SRI LANKA 2ND INNINGS R B K Perera lbw b Starc 4 5 K Silva not out 2 9 Extras: 0

–AFP

Federer to miss Rio, rest of season with injury Roger Federer said on Tuesday he will miss the remainder of the season, including next month’s Olympic Games in Rio, as the 17-time Grand Slam champion recovers from a knee injury. Federer, who turns 35 in August, underwent knee surgery in February before missing May’s French Open with a back problem, and the Swiss star said he was calling time on his 2016 season to focus on his recovery. –AFP

Extra substitute trial set for FA Cup England’s Football Association plans to let teams make an additional, fourth, substitution in extra-time from the quarter-finals onwards of next season’s FA Cup, the governing body said yesterday. The rule change will see teams who have made all three changes during the regulation 90 minutes of a quarter-final, semifinal or final tie permitted one more substitute during the 30 minutes of extra-time. –AFP

DAY’S WATCH FOOTBALL SONY ESPN 5:30PM International Champions Cup Borussia Dortmund v Man City

CRICKET SONY SIX 4:30AM Caribbean Premier League T20 Guyana v Barbados

STAR SPORTS 1 12:00AM Natwest T20 Blast 2016 Middlesex v Essex

TEN 2 1:30PM New Zealand Tour of Zimbabwe 1st Test, Day 1

TEN 3 10:00AM Australia Tour of Sri Lanka 1st Test, Day 3

B 15 5 62 53 115 63 11 80 29 25 18

Australia’s Mitchell Starc (C) celebrates the dismissal of Sri Lanka’s Kusal Perera during day two of their first Test in Pallekele, Sri Lanka yesterday AP

Aussies build up lead over Sri Lankans n AFP, Pallekele Australia took command yesterday of a low-scoring Test against Sri Lanka, building up an 86-run first innings lead before dismissing opener Kulsan Perera with the last ball of a rain-affected day in Pallekele. Despite the heroics of Lakshan Sandakan, who took four wickets on debut, the hosts were staring down the barrel at stumps on the second day of the opening Test after rain again forced an early end to proceedings. Perera fell for just four when he was lbw to paceman Mitchell Starc, leaving Sri Lanka wobbling on six for one still 80 runs short of having to make the visitors bat again. Australia had earlier been bowled out for 203 in reply to Sri Lanka’s first innings total of 117, with the rookie Sandakan and the veteran Rangana Herath both taking four wickets apiece. Adam Voges top-scored for the Australians with 47, meaning no player from either side managed to score a half-century in the first innings.l

CPL T20 eyes US n AFP, Miami The first ever Caribbean Premier League games in Florida could be the launchpad for the United States to have its own T20 cricket franchise, organisers said. The six games being held at Lauderhill in South Florida from today to Sunday are the first time that the CPL has branched out from its island bases to the United States. The games will be played at the Central Broward Regional Park, which has the only purpose built cricket stadium in the United States and which held the first full international matches on American soil, two Twenty20 games between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in 2010. Lauderhill is an area with a large population of people of Jamaican heritage while South Florida itself has communities from across the cricket-loving Caribbean region. “There are lots of hoops you have to jump through but if you look at the way America embraces its sport, having a local franchise here makes a lot of sense,” CPL’s chief operating officer Pete Russell said. “It ties you into the local community and makes it a lot more relevant. That would make a lot of sense. There is no issue with putting it into our schedule. But its one step at a time we have to see how these games go, but so far, so good,” he said. l

Total: (1 wicket, 2.2 overs) 6 Bowling Starc 1.2-0-3-1, Hazlewood 1-0-3-0

Sport

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

FIVE MOST EXPENSIVE TRANSFERS GARETH BALE (WAL) Spurs to Real Madrid £85.1m 2013 Welsh forward whose performances for an attractive Spurs side launched Real into a massive bid. The English side could not refuse such advances and let their star man go. He has built on his career at the Santiago Bernabeu with two Champions League titles, scoring in the final of the first of the two against Atletico Madrid. His experience in La Liga helped him lead Wales in their memorable run to the Euro 2016 semi-finals. Bale also scored a stunning winner in the Copa del Rey final against Real’s arch rivals Barcelona in 2014.

CRISTIANO RONALDO (POR)

Manchester United to Real Madrid £83.7m 2009

Real Madrid came calling for the Portuguese master with what was then a world-record bid. Ronaldo was keen to join anyhow, and since arriving in the Spanish capital he has become their alltime top goalscorer and consistently set records in the Champions League, which he has won three times in his career, twice with Real. He has achieved all this despite the hottest of competition from Barcelona’s Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi, who still leads in the overall La Liga scoring charts.

GONZALO HIGUAIN (ARG)

Napoli to Juventus £75.3m (90m euros, $98.8m) 2016

Juventus paid the biggest fee for a domestic transfer in history when they matched Higuain’s buy-out clause of 90 million euros to bring the Argentinian to Turin from Napoli on Tuesday. The 28-year-old former Real Madrid striker top-scored in Serie A last season with a record-equalling 36 goals as Napoli finished second to Juve. Coach Massimiliano Allegri led Juventus to a record fifth consecutive league title in

2016, but he will be hoping that Higuain can help his side improve in Europe, after following up their 2015 Champions League final defeat to Barcelona with a last-16 exit at the hands of Bayern Munich.

LUIS SUAREZ (URU)

Liverpool to Barcelona £75m 2014 Barcelona didn’t hesitate to sign the striker despite his shame at the World Cup finals when for the third time he bit an opponent, this time Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini. As a result Suarez was unable to play competitively or train with them for four months, but once his ban was over he repaid them in full. No disgraceful incidents have followed and he ended his first season with them by scoring in the Champions League final win over Juventus. His trident attacking partnership with Messi and Neymar yielded a La Liga record for three forwards of 122 goals that campaign. Scored a hat-trick to seal the league title for Barca last term and went on to complete the domestic double in a season in which he grabbed a staggering 58 goals.

NEYMAR (BRA)

Santos to Barcelona £71.5m 2013 Off the pitch alleged shenanigans over how much went to the player, his family and to the selling club itself have dogged Barcelona over the transfer of Neymar, who on the pitch has shone for them in their brilliant three-pronged attack. The Brazilian shrugged off an injury that ended his 2014 World Cup campaign early to play a pivotal role in Barcelona’s Champions League success. Like Suarez, he scored in that final against Juventus, and collected La Liga and Copa del Rey winners medals. There was no let up last term either as he scored in the cup final against Sevilla. Legal problems still hover over the transfer despite a high court judge ruling that he didn’t believe it could be pursued in the courts - as the prosecutor takes issue with that decision. l

Juventus’ Gonzalo Higuain from Argentina holds his jersey at the Juventus headquarters in Turin yesterday

From hero to zero? n AFP, Milan

On 36 occasions last season, Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain boosted Napoli dreams of ending a 26-year title drought as he inspired with goalscoring feats in the Scudetto race with Juventus. On Tuesday, Higuain went from hero to zero after completing the world’s third most expensive transfer to join Napoli’s rivals in a move that has underlined his quest for succcess, yet prompted swift criticism. Higuain was feted as the King of Napoli only two months ago when he broke Gunnar Nordahl’s 66-yearold record of 35 goals in a single Serie A season as the Azzurri battled Juve for a title they last won in 1990.

But less than a month before Juve begin their bid for a record sixth consecutive title, the 28-yearold Argentine’s name in Naples might as well be mud. As Juve fans largely rejoiced when they smashed the Italian transfer record by paying 90m euros ($98.8m, £75.3m) to capture Higuain, their Napoli counterparts reacted by posting photos of their former idol’s shirt in the toilet. Higuain will undergo a medical yesterday ahead of signing a fiveyear deal that would leave him behind only Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo in the list of most expensive transfers. But as Juventus, who have also signed exciting Bosnian midfielder Miralem Pjanic from Roma and

AFP

central defender Medhi Benatia from Bayern Munich, continue to reinforce Massimiliano Allegri’s squad for a fresh assault on the Champions League, they may also have unleashed the biggest controversy of the summer. From top footballers to television celebrities and even Napoli’s kit man, Higuain’s move to the most potent, revered and perhaps hated club in Italy was met with mixed reaction. For one-club man Francesco Totti, who is set to play his final season with Roma, it is a disaster that smacks more of “business than passion”. “People come to the stadium to have fun and to see a player that’s always with the same team,” he told. l

Pep denies weighty problems in City n Reuters

Neymar vows to keep partying n Reuters, Rio De Janeiro

Manager Pep Guardiola has dismissed reports that a small number of Manchester City players turned up for pre-season training overweight but stressed the importance of keeping players fit ahead of the new Premier League season. Guardiola’s emphasis on fitness was highlighted when left back Gael Clichy revealed that the manager had taken pizzas off the menu at City and imposed strict weight parameters on the squad, with the threat of a ban from training with the first team if they were breached. “They were not overweight but I want my players fit,” Guardiola told. “For me, the weight is so, so important. We need to run, to fight, to jump - to have the ball, after three days, then another three days, then another three days. When you are not fit, that’s when the injuries come.”l

Brazil striker Neymar has vowed to keep on partying after being asked if his off the field activities could harm the country’s chances of winning their first Olympic soccer title. The Barcelona player was pictured hanging out with Hollywood celebrities and pop singer Justin Bieber. He will be back to lead the Olympic side against South Africa, Iraq and Denmark in the group stage, which starts on Aug. 4, but the outstanding Brazilian player of his generation promised he would remain his own man. “I think you have to start by looking at what I do on the pitch,” he told a news conference on Tuesday. “The moment I am off the field it’s my personal time.” l

Manchester City players take part in a training session in Shenzhen Stadium, China yesterday

REUTERS

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Fabled monstrous bird (3) 3 Shrill-sounding insect (6) 8 Bovine animals (4) 9 No score (3) 10 Mock (6) 11 Stretcher (6) 14 Pay for another’s expenses (5) 17 Rate of progress (5) 20 Things to be done (6) 24 Suffer (6) 26 Owing (3) 27 Send out (4) 28 Emphasise (6) 29 Vaste age (3)

DOWN 1 Stagger (4) 2 Young horse (4) 3 Yield (4) 4 Inactive (5) 5 Like a weak old woman (5) 6 Carried out (3) 7 Vigilant (5) 12 Little devil (3) 13 Neckwear (3) 15 Cereal (3) 16 Assist (3) 17 Casts off (5) 18 Duck with soft down (5) 19 Ventures (5) 21 Precious stones (4) 22 Musical sound (4) 23 So be it! (4) 25 Fastener (3)

Downtime

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 8 represents L so fill L every time the figure 8 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 28, 2016

Slapped JT receives a “Sexy back(hand)”

n Showtime Desk Last week, “Sexy back” star Justin Timberlake experienced a rather awkward moment as the singer was slapped by a spectator, while he was attending a charity golf event. As he walked through the American Century Championship, a stranger from the crowd reached out and slapped him right across his face. Obviously, the surprising encounter was captured on camera, and TMZ did not take much time to post the video on their

the incident occurred, the Grammy winner slowed down, with his immediate response being, “Bro, why would you do that?” He then continued to pass through the crowds, security officials confronting the individual. According to TMZ reports, the man refused to leave the grounds later. He appeared to be intoxicated and claimed that he only wanted to “touch” the singer. Cops arrested him for disorderly conduct, but Timberlake refused to press charges, clearly unaffected by the event. JT breezed through the high profile event, and even danced with singer Alfonso Ribeiro and Stephen Curry, during the dance break. A golf fan since childhood, he previously shared how this sport is his “getaway” in a 2010 interview with Golf Digest. Timberlake, who was introduced to the game by his dad, also added that golf was the one outlet for him to step out and really “forget about everything else.”l

Bebo-Deepika’s tussle

website. When

I Hate Myself on Maasranga TV

n Showtime Desk Popular actor Sazal has yet again donned the role of a womaniser for a recent telefilm titled I Hate Myself. The telefilm tells us the story of a girl named Rini, how she is tricked into a relationship and eventually, discarded. Sharmin Zoha Shoshee plays the role of the girl. Written and

directed by Amirul Islam Arun, the telefilm will be aired today on Maasranga TV at 7:50pm. The plot follows Rini (Shoshi), who lost her mother back in her childhood and since then, her father and older brother never let her feel void of a mother. One day, a phone call from an unknown number which belongs to Fahad (Sazal), as she finds out

later, caught her attention. She talks to him for some time, and at one point, she falls for his words and eventually ended up dating him. Fahad brings her to his private place and takes advantage of her feelings towards him. Since the incident, Fahad suddenly stops calling her and the story takes a whole new turn from this point onwards. l

n Showtime Desk B-town has been buzzing with rumours of Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh tying the knot very soon. Fans were probably waiting for a confirmation from the couple, especially on Ranveer’s birthday which was celebrated recently. But there was no such announcement. On the contrary, Deepika Padukone recently stated, “I am not getting married and I am not pregnant.” Surprisingly, Kareena Kapoor Khan seems to have taken this comment as a jab at her, as she is currently nursing Chhote nawab’s baby in her womb. Blame it on the pregnancy hormones or her being extra sensitive, the Begum of Bollywood has picked up a fight with Padukone for a very weird reason. Not to forget, Kareena was recently very angry at news mongers for discussing her pregnancy like a “national casualty.” She said, “I’m pregnant, not a corpse. And what maternity break? The most normal thing on earth is to produce a child. It is high time the media backs off, and stops treating me any different

than I ever was. Anybody who is bothered (by my pregnancy) shouldn’t work with me. But my work goes on, like always. Stop making it a national casualty. We live in 2016, not in the 1800s. Even at that time, people were probably way more civilised and normal than the way, the media is behaving and speculating now.” “I’m just fed-up of people making my pregnancy seem like a death of some sort. In fact, it should be a message to a lot of people, that marriage or having a family has absolutely nothing to do with my career,” she added. A source close to KKK says, “While it makes sense for Dips to deny her engagement and marriage rumours, which have been doing the rounds, Bebo can’t understand why she denied being pregnant, because no one said she was! KKK is also annoyed at the unsaid implication that actresses who invest in building a family, are no longer serious about their careers or seem to scare producers away. Kareena is gearing up to begin shooting for her next film and even with a big belly and all, she will rock it.” l Source- Bollywood gossip

Showtime

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

Beyonce, Adele dominate MTV award nominations

n Showtime Desk On Tuesday, Beyonce shined in terms of nominations for the MTV Video Music Awards, as she basked in acclaim for her filmalbum Lemonade. The pop diva was in the running for 11 awards at MTV’s annual extravaganza. Adele came in second with eight nominations. All but seven were for the chart-topping English balladeer’s “Hello,” which is the fifth most watched video ever on YouTube, with more than 1.6 billion views. “Hello,” filmed by the Canadian director Xavier Dolan,

shows Adele on the phone with a younger version of herself. It is also the first music video ever to be created for the high-resolution IMAX format. “Hello” was in the running for the “Video of the Year” award against Beyonce’s “Formation,” the most overtly political work of the pop diva’s career, as she aligned herself with the Black Lives Matter protest movement. Other nominees for the same category included Kanye West’s controversial music video “Famous,” in which the rapper boasts how he made Taylor Swift famous.

Also in the running for the top prize were two videos dominated by dancing — Drake’s “Hotline Bling” and Justin Bieber’s “Sorry.” Other nominees for the 2016 instalment included the likes of Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Calvin Harris and Florence + The Machine. MTV revealed this year’s nominations via a panoramic street mural in New York City’s East Village. Winners will be selected through fan votes. The award ceremony will take place on August 28, at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. l

WHAT TO WATCH Cellular HBO, 5:56pm A woman is kidnapped, brought somewhere and locked in a room. There’s a phone in the room but before she could use it, her captor smashes it. She then tinkers with it and manages to get a dial tone but is unable to dial. She then crosses wires and contacts a young surfer. When she tells him that she has been kidnapped; he doesn’t believe her and/or care but he goes to the police to report the crime. Cast: Chris Evans, Kim Basinger, Jason Statham, Eric Christian Olsen, Eric Etebari Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Zee Studio, 6:40pm Jack Sparrow finds and

Fountain of Youth. Cast: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane, Kevin R. McNally, Geoffrey Rush, Keith Richards

confronts the impostor who is recruiting a crew using his name, only to find out that it is Angelica, Jack’s former lover. Angelica tells him that she is the daughter of Blackbeard and wants to save her father from a prophecy, which foretold Blackbeard’s death at the hands of a one-legged man. If Jack helps her in finding the Fountain of Youth, she will give him the Black Pearl. Barbossa, who wantd to exact revenge on Blackbeard for his cut leg also joins the quest to find the

Escape Plan Star Movies Action, 11:00pm The story of the film surrounds a structural-security authority who designs a prison and later gets framed for an unknown reason. It is this quest that is to be resolved. Ray Breslin is the world’s foremost authority on structural security. After analysing every high security prison and learning a vast array of survival skills so he can design escape-proof prisons his skills are put to the test. Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Caviezel, Sam Neill, Vinnie Jones l

Selena gets emotional n Showtime Desk Selena Gomez suddenly became emotional last Saturday in the form of a rambling Instagram post, saying she needed to “rethink some areas” of her life “creatively and personally.” The 24-year-old singer posted the cryptic note following a concert in Jakarta, Indonesia, which came a day after her birthday. “Tonight I felt extremely unauthentic, unconnected to both myself and my music,” Gomez wrote. “I’ve never really felt like my materials, wardrobe or video could define me.” “I’m stagnant, I stay still and don’t just sit with myself first and ask ‘Is this where I am, wholeheartedly?’ I’ve always told the truth, I’m always true

to my word, I’ve shown who I am but I need to rethink some areas of my life creatively and personally.” “Had to get that out,” Gomez added before commenting on her own post. “Not being negative about anything I’ve done. I’m grateful for every single moment I get here.” Gomez introduced the audience to her song “Kill Em with Kindness,” at the Jakarta concert. A Twitter video shows Gomez telling the crowd, “The next song, before I go home, is a song that’s so important to me because I get really frustrated. I get stupid sometimes. I say things that I don’t mean, or that come out wrong just because I care so badly. But the thing is, at the end of the day, no war in anger was ever won.” l

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THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

PM questions statements of BNP leaders Al-Masum n Mohammad Molla Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday called for an investigation to find out if there were any links between the BNP and militants, particularly with those that were killed during the city’s Kallyanpur raid. “Is there any secret link with them (militants)? We have to investigate if they (BNP) are involved with any conspiracy,” Hasina said, in her valedictory speech of the budget session at Parliament.

Militancy rose in the country during the 4-party alliance government, turning the country into a militant and dysfunctional state The prime minister applauded the courage of police and law enforcement agencies and their quick execution during the Kallyanpur raid on Tuesday early morning, where militants who were planning another attack within the country, were contained successfully. Nine militants were killed during the raid, one has been apprehended and one managed to flee. However, the prime minister criticised the statements leaders of the BNP made after the Kallyanpur incident, claiming that the statements reflected how the BNP is patronising militants and encouraging their activities. BNP leaders, in their statements, expressed doubt about whether militants were actually killed during the Kallyanpur raid. The premier said: “Why do they have such a hunch in their minds? Why such sympathy for them? Why do they feel such pain? I leave this question to the people.” She also criticised how the

statements of BNP leaders seem to consist of particular conditions. “Do this, do that or the terrorism will not be stopped. This means that only after accepting their conditions, they (BNP) will stop these (terrorist activities),” she said. Hasina urged the people of the country to be aware about this matter and that this will be addressed through a united effort. “That unity has been formed now,” she said. She also firmly said that those who are encouraging the terrorists and militants will have to face legal actions. Replying to a query, the premier mentioned how terrorism and militancy has spread across the globe like a disease and that the terror attack on July 1 in Gulshan has put a scar on the country's image. She urged the people of the country to raise their voices against militancy, saying that militancy and terrorism will never be established in Bangladesh. She also warned that the conspiracy of anti-liberation forces have started since the independence of the country and is yet to be stopped. Hasina said that Jamaat got opportunity to establish themselves financially and institutionally, when the BNPled four party alliance was in power. The Jamaat, during that time, she said, dominated the print and electronic media and even now, whenever they have the chance, they are seen to be engaged in anti-government activities. Militancy rose in the country during the four-party alliance government, turning the country into a militant and dysfunctional state, she explained. Whenever the government of the Awami League-led grand alliance has assumed the office, they have always take stern action against militancy and terrorism, assured the premier. “As a result, Bangladesh has now becomes a role model in curbing militancy.” l

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